Twisted Reflections

by vendetta543

She was a failure of a Mage, unable to cast even the simplest of spells. He was an Undead, a monster used as a pawn in battle he could never understand. They had nothing in common, and yet fate saw it fit to bind the two souls together.

39. The Purge

Before we start I need to ask: Did readers of the previous chapter get an alert when I updated? Usually when I update the story I get an email response of doing so but not for chapter 38. Can anyone give me a heads up if they got alerts or not? I'm kinda worried that the system is wonky.

As always - Big shout out to Hostis for helping me fix the chapter. Not sure if there are any missing paragraphs since he didn't point any out. Hopefully there aren't any missing segments.

Rushing through to get this done. Lets go.

---

Far beneath a castle was a room that everyone pretended didn't exist. One look inside made it clear why: Far from the luxuries of the castle's rooms or even the bare necessities of its prison rooms, the room was covered on all sides with various implements used for the express purpose of 'forceful coercion' ranging from small blades to large coffins filled to the brim with spikes.

It was here that the room's lone occupant stayed, the dried blood on the various instruments making it clear that they had been used recently. The figure was chained to a chair in the room's center, his posture gaunt. Traces of crimson dotted the chair and the area around and his breathing was shallow.

Renault groaned in pain, his tongue going over his lips to try and alleviate the dryness. Days...it had been days since he'd been trapped in this nightmare. He winced as his tongue lapped over his missing teeth. Time had lost all meaning to him, the darkness being his only companion in his solitary stay here. He blinked a heavily swollen eye and tried to move his fingers once more.

"Agh!" He hissed in pain. Broken fingers; he knew that of course, but he still needed to try. They weren't going to free him - they would kill him once they had the information they needed - and no rescue was coming for him. Reconquista gave generous rewards for service, but rescuing lost operatives wasn't one of them. At best they would send assassins for him to ensure he never talked.

Again he tried move his fingers and he was greeted with a soft snapping sound. His feet fared no better, being caked in blood and sporting rather nasty holes at the center. Their idea of a joke, no doubt. To keep him from running even on the off-chance he managed to slip out of his chains. They thought he would go back to the usurpers, that he had actual loyalty to them and believed in their cause.

Hah...he knew he was a dead man either way. He was a traitor to Tristain, and once Reconquista found out about his failure the best he could expect was a noose. The rest of his life would be spent as a fugitive, a pathetic cripple that always ran in fear of death.

The solitary door to his room opened, temporarily blinding him with light. It didn't last long before he was shrouded in darkness once more, though now he could make out a lantern carried by the one who had entered.

"Another day of this, Renault," Agnes lowed the lantern, her voice neutral. He was surprised she wasn't laughing; she no doubt got off on this, "This would be much simpler if you just talked. If you're holding out for a rescue it's not coming. Tell us what want."

That insane guttersnipe. Every day she would come, and every day he would end the day's tortures missing a few more body parts. How many fingers had she snapped? How much teeth had she bashed out of his mouth with a chisel? Frankly it was a miracle that he could still see out of both eyes given how painful it was to even blink the one she had pricked with a hot iron. He wouldn't have put it past them to be healing him after he passed out in order to prolong their amusement.

"You're losing touch, Milan. If those God-forsaken Vampires with their abhorrent magic couldn't convince me then you'll fare no better," He smirked, and she made a slight sound of distaste as she caught sight of his missing teeth and bloody gums. She found it astounding that he could still retain his pride despite the days of torture he had endured. Most men would have cracked in a quarter of his time. She had to respect his stubbornness, at least.

Her eyes combed over the various devices. He'd been put through the rack, his feet had been drilled with foot drills, his fingers had been snapped with corkscrews but through it all he refused to talk. He didn't beg either, though his screams were often loud enough. At one point they had even placed him in the metal coffin for a day to see if the fatigue and humiliation would change his mind. She was both impressed and put-off when he seemed to find it a nice break from the other tortures.

"Wasn't trying to convince you," She replied, "Her Majesty still wishes for you to not die like an animal, as I've told you before. But if you don't talk then there's nothing I can do," She paced to the left and pointed her thumb to the triangular shaped seat, "We haven't tried this out yet. I assume I don't need to tell you about this. You've probably sent more than a few people in this thing yourself."

Ah, the 'Defiler's Cradle'. Sparing the details, once he had been put in that thing he would never be able to sit again. At least they had the decency to clean it, so he wouldn't suffer from infections to his buttocks after the torture.

"Last chance," She moved back to him and forced him to look up, "If you don't want your ass to be wider than the twin moons then you'll tell us who's been giving you orders. I don't care how many bribed soldiers you give me; we want the head of the snake."

He gained nothing from keeping quiet. At this point death would have been a release, but pride kept him from talking. He was a noble, a proud member of a venerable family and he wouldn't break from torture when it came from heretics and monsters. He wasn't afraid of their depravities; they could take out his eyes, destroy any semblance of sanity he had, he wouldn't give them the satisfaction of breaking.

"Go plough yourself, Milan," He spit in her face.

Agnes' lips curled into a slight frown before going back to her mask of neutrality, "Right, cradle it is then."

He made no effort to resist being taken from the chains. It would no doubt be painful, but at this point he was getting used to the agony. Through pained eyes he just barely made out the door behind her suddenly opening before he closed his eyes to cut off the light. He grunted in pain as she suddenly let go of him and turned around. She'd been the only one coming here for weeks.

"Agnes, it's just me," Daphne raised her hands in surrender and gave her a disarming smile.

Immediately she felt herself calming. She shook her head roughly and scowled, "Knock it off with the 'Charm' magic. You know I hate it when you or Amethyst do that," She turned back and quickly bound Renault's hands and feet once more. Wouldn't do with him trying to run.

"M-My apologies, I didn't really mean to," She bowed quickly before handing her a letter, "Louise sent this letter. Me and Amethyst read it and...well, I think you'll want to see for yourself."

Renault saw his would-be torturer snatch the letter from the Vampire's hands before poring over it quickly, "...I must be dreaming...this is far too convenient," She tightened her hold on the parchment and read it again and again. His unswollen eye widened as, for the first time in his days here, her face broke out into a grin and she started laughing like a madwoman.

"A-Agnes...?" Daphne backed away slightly before the knight suddenly stopped laughing and handed the letter back to her.

"Sorry, it's just...I guess Brimir does look out for people after all," She was no longer laughing, though the smile still held through, "I'll tell you the reason why next time, but first we have to deal with our guest."

Renault couldn't hold back his grimace as Agnes forced him to look up once more, "Well, it looks like out time together's over," He said nothing and she let go of his head, "I knew it'd be someone higher, but to think it would be Richmond...well, the head of judicial affairs being the traitor. I can't say I expected that."

"What!?" He struggled against the chains, "How did you-"

"Huh, guess your reaction means it's true. You held on for a good while, but some alcohol "She smirked and turned back to Daphne, "Right, guess we really are done here."

"Wh-What do we do about Sir. Renault then?" It never ceased to amaze her that a Vampire could be so meek. It was pretty far from the expected image of a bloodsucking monster she'd been told about in horror tales. Her continued refusal to look at him had to make him wonder whether it was out of pity or disgust.

"We'll have to ask Her Majesty, but my guess is she wants the bastard put in a cell," Agnes shrugged. Executing him for treason would have been the valid response, but the new Queen was insistent on showing mercy, "Either way he's not our problem anymore. What you should be more worried about is finding a new taskmaster for you and your sister. Finding someone who's going to be willing to work with Vampires is going to be tricky."

The pair walked away and left him, plunging him into the darkness once more.

Again his only companion were the darkness and his own injuries. So that was to be the fate that awaited him? Waiting to die like an animal in a cell for that Queen's amusement as a show of 'mercy'? Whether intentional or not she had done something far worse to him than the guillotine. With an execution he could at least die with pride, but now he was left broken and kept bound like a puppet with its strings broken.

It felt like hours before the door opened once more. Milan coming to get him, he supposed, or perhaps the other Vampire who made her dislike of him evident. Despite her limitation she would take pleasure at seeing him broken.

"Whoa, they really did a number on you, huh?" Female, but not a voice he recognized. Weakly he looked up and blinked as he caught sight of three hooded figures of varying sizes. Was this some kind of dying dream? Had he died from his injuries and death had come to take his soul?

The shortest figure grabbed his chin and made him look around, 'oohing' and 'aahing' at his injuries, "Woah, these guys could give Sheffield a run for her ecu. Didn't see someone like this since that upstart who tried to usurp the king."

"Hands off him, Jeanette, we're not here to play around," The largest one reprimanded. It was difficult to see through the darkness, but the man's figure was gigantic and what little he could see of his face showed a hard jaw and muscle along with oddly vibrant red lines going through his eyes. Tattoos? Mercenaries of some kind. No knight would be allowed to openly wear tattoos.

"Come off it, Jack," The girl scoffed. He just barely made out purple hair before it was covered by the hood once more, "You were the one who was laughing at how much money we were going to make doing this."

"Sh-Shut up!" Despite his yell it was clear the man was embarrassed.

"Can't be helped," The third figure finally spoke. His features were the easiest to make out as he made no effort to keep the hood on his head all that much. Blond hair and a handsome face sporting a smile. A young man by the looks of him, "Jack was so excited since we almost never get jobs anymore. Isabella almost never sends us out on anything but killing a few people who made her mad and she doesn't even pay that well."

"Too right, Bleu," The girl replied cheerily, "So don't blame me for being curious. I mean they sent us all the way here so this guy must be important."

"Who..Who are you?" Renault finally spoke. He hadn't been fed or drank anything yet - Agnes having either accidentally or deliberately forgetting to do so - and he found it even more difficult to speak than usual.

"Doesn't matter," Jack answered gruffly, "Let's just do this quick before Big Bro Damien gets annoyed."

"You're here to kill me then?" He smiled slightly.

"Yep," Jeanette answered with a casual nod, "Sorry, nothing personal but the boss said you gotta go. We didn't really ask why: Soldiers don't really ask, you know? They just do the job and get paid." She frowned slightly, "So...you're not gonna start begging and crying, right? Offer to do anything so we'll spare you or whatever? Cause I'm telling you now we're under contract so you'd be wasting your breath."

"Hmph, I expected that, though you could have come sooner. Don't worry, I won't beg. I knew what my fate would be once I was caught. I should have been less sloppy and I have no one to blame but myself," Renault did his best to sit up straight, "If you can could you make it quick? I'd prefer this farce to be over with as soon as possible."

"Right, right~" His smile never wavering, Bleu unsheathed a dagger from inside his cloak and jammed it at side of the prisoner's neck. He gave no struggle and Bleu waited for a few seconds before taking the knife out.

"Hmm, he was pretty calm about that," Jeanette commented lightly, "Usually they start crying."

"He knew what he was signing up for," Jack said, "Besides, he's a soldier, those types always try to keep their balls. Our next target's going to be a crier, if that's what you're looking for."

The door opened and another hooded figure stepped in. Shorter than the others, though the way the others stood at attention indicated respect. From behind him two guards were snoring peacefully, unaware of the prisoner's death. The figure underneath the hood was a child, at least in appearance. Bright blue eyes and scruffy blonde hair made him appear the picture of innocence.

"Big bro Damien," Jack greeted.

"Is it finished?" He asked with an easy smile.

"Yep," Bleu answered, "Guards aren't dead, right?"

"Of course not," Damien scoffed, "We weren't paid to kill them and more bodies is going to lead to trouble," He eyed Bleu's knife, "Plant that blade on the guard's hand. With any luck they'll believe it this was an act of misguided loyalty or even a mercy killing. We still have one more target and its best if we don't garner attention to ourselves while we're here."

Jack waited until Bleu came back from his task before continuing, "So we're gonna go kill that Richmond guy, right? Pop up into his room and make it quick-"

"Not yet, Jack," Damien interrupted, "Our contract does say that he dies last, and that Sheffield told us to 'make a show of it'," Damien shrugged, "I don't really know what that means, but she told us she'd give us a signal on when we can strike. She made it clear that Lord Joseph would be watching and I'd hate to disappoint him. You of all people should know the consequences of that."

"Oh, come on!" Jack groaned, "This is ridiculous! He's right there, why the hel can't we just kill him!?"

"Beats me," Bleu replied jovially, "But remember, this is our beloved 'Mad King' we're talking about. We don't even know why we're doing this; it's not like the guy has any information worth silencing about. For all we know it's just because he doesn't like the guy's perfume."

"It's not in our place to ask," Damien reminded, "We're given a task and we do it no questions asked. The payment we're getting for this job is pretty good, better than our previous ones by a long while at least, so we should just follow instructions," He tapped his side, "Besides, he's not our only target. The other spies die first, then the puppetmaster."

"Speaking of which, we should get the hel out of here," Jack commented, "Don't know how long those guards are going to be asleep for."

"Ohhh~ I know a place we can go to!" Jeanette grinned excitedly, "I saw it on the way to town. I think you guys are gonna like it."

"Fascinating. Lead the way, Jeanette."

---

Working with his eyesight restored was far more convenient, that was for sure. Granted washing plates was still somewhat difficult since he had a bad tendency to break them after applying too much force but at least he could do it by himself without having to rely on someone else to guide his hands.

Raziel put away the last plate and wiped away the blood on his palm. He really needed to be careful about these damned things. Focus on trying to avoid using the dinnerware like they would solve his problems if he destroyed them all.

He sighed. He knew exactly what the problem was.

His gaze shifted over to the other side of the kitchen. Siesta was currently talking to Jessica, a smile on her face as always. When she caught sight of his look she turned away and continued her conversation with her cousin, her expression unchanging.

He winced. He had to have expected that would happen given recent events, but it still stung. He had hoped - a foolish notion - that she would understand and that they could still be friends.

"Hah..." He sighed. Of course she wouldn't take it well. If Laurentius or Solaire told him they were going to willingly commit suicide he probably wouldn't have reacted that well either. Granted he wouldn't ignore them, but he'd also try his best to convince them that there had to have been another option. Ultimately if he couldn't convince them then he would simply accept their decision. He couldn't control their lives.

Still, words were cheap and he knew her response wouldn't be the most pleasant.

"Hey, Artorias, something wrong?" Marlene sidled up next to him and took a seat on the counter, swinging her legs idly. He didn't really know much about her, but her company had been pleasant given that Louise had usually been too busy to talk with him.

"Nothing I wish to discuss..." She was pleasant enough, but he had no desire to reveal his problems to her.

Though granted his conversations with her allowed some insight to how the establishment worked such as the fact that many of the girls, herself included, had come from rough backgrounds and once they saved enough money they would either open up their own business, return to whatever place they called home, or seek their fortunes elsewhere. No one ever stayed, at least as far as he was told.

It at least explained their loyalty to Scarron despite his eccentricities. When he had first laid eyes on the man he understood why Louise was shocked, but the male - and he was definitely male, despite his protestations - had proven affable enough that he appreciated his company...though he did at times grow jealous of the man's muscles. For a supposed delicate lady he had a musculature that put even Solaire to shame. He looked down at his practically emaciated limbs and sighed. Some day...someday the would reach the man's standards...

Still, things had been improving as of late for both him and Louise. He eyed his master. It had only been a few days but she had improved greatly-

"Get your hands off my butt!"

...Alright, perhaps 'improved greatly' had been an exaggeration. He looked away as the distinct sound of a slap reached his ears. After managing to get the info from that noble Jessica had recommended to her mood had gone up in recent days. Granted she had been surprised about who she had found to be the snake among the court's midst but she sent the report to the tyrant regardless.

Still, she had only proved violent whenever someone touched her inappropriately, which he could understand given the circumstances. Provided the customers actually followed the rules she was much more willing to follow her supposed story of being a normal peasant girl and serving them with a smile-

"Hey, Artorias, you're staring off into space again," Marlene snapped her fingers in front of him and he blinked. Right, she was talking to him...he'd been prone to becoming distracted in recent days.

"Ah...my apologies, Marlene," He replied half-heartedly.

"Don't worry about it," She waved off his apology with a grin, "So...what's up with you? I mean you've been staring at Sie-Sie for days now. Trouble in paradise? The married couple have an argument?" Her tone indicated that she was joking, though he found no amusement in her prodding. Still, he forced a smile and tried for a casual shrug.

"Something of that manner," He sighed, "Me and Siesta are not together romantically-"

"Could've fooled me."

"And this 'trouble in paradise' does cannot apply to our current relationship," He continued, pointedly ignoring her jab, "Siesta has...good reason for her anger but I will not change my mind despite her justifications."

"Haha," She giggled, "I've seen this kind of thing all the time. You guys are like a couple of fish swimming around each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. You probably don't know but she stares at you too when you're not looking. Watching you two is kinda sad to be honest," She leaned in and faked rubbing a hand through her eyes, mimicking a cry.

"Dry your tears elsewhere then, I do not wish to clean up after you," He scooted away slightly and faced away from her. Perhaps she was trying to cheer him up but he didn't appreciate her methods.

"Alright, alright, stop being so grouchy," She ruffled his head. Louise still insisted on the farce of being his older sibling and, whether they believed her or not, the others played along for their own amusement. He had to resist the urge to slap her hand away from his head; he really wasn't in the mood to be treated like a child.

"Did you come here for a reason or are you just here to mock me?" He rubbed a hand through his hair. Damn thing was getting longer for some reason and he'd have to cut soon.

"Oh, right," She pulled two strips of paper from her bosom - why did they insist on storing things in their breasts? It was impractical - and held it out to him, "Two tickets to the play coming on tomorrow night. It's a really romantic play about two lost lovers who were reunited after ten years. I can't tell you everything - it'd ruin all the fun - but trust me you're gonna cry. It's all about how love can surpass time and even the boundaries between noble and commoner."

"Ah, so watching the impossible then?" He replied flatly. As Louise had told him, nobles only loved nobles. It was how the world worked, "And is there a reason you are showing this to me?"

"Well duh, invite Sie-Sie and whatever you're arguing about will be solved in a snap," Her open smile contrasted greatly with his doubtful expression, "Trust me, she's a sucker for this romantic stuff. Just one show and she'll be confessing her love to you and you can all live happily ever after in a countryside cottage with your seven kids."

"I doubt it will be that easy," He pursed his lips, "And no, there will be no cottage or seven kids. Siesta is a close friend, nothing more. Besides," He mimicked a yawn, "She does not feel romantic attraction to me. I would realize if she did."

"Yeah, uh-huh..." She muttered something under her breath that distinctly sounded close to 'She could be flashing her ass at you and you wouldn't notice' before her smile returned, "Trust me, just invite her and she'll be happy."

"I will have to decline," He shook his head, "Much as I wish this problem could be solved by nothing more than a simple play, I know it will not happen. I would prefer it if we talked about this."

"Rrgh, spoilsport," She pouted and placed the tickets on the counter with an unsatisfied click of her tongue, "You know how hard it was to get these things? I had to wake up extra early and I spent two hours lined up just to get decent seats!"

"Apologies then," He appreciated the effort, but a trifle distraction wouldn't be enough to excuse his withholding of information, "Our problem is one that requires we understand one another. This is not something I can wish away so simply."

"For Brimir's sake, you're such a downer," She frowned briefly before she once again returned to her smile, "Right, well if you don't wanna go with Sie-Sie how about going with me? I don't wanna waste it and all."

"That is...an abrupt invitation," He raised an eyebrow. He didn't think anything of the invitation; flirtations were common for the employees regardless whether they were working or not. He supposed it was similar to the mercenaries who held their pride and propensity for violence even when there was nothing at stake. One couldn't fully separate their work and personal life.

"Why not? I don't want to throw it in the trash after all the effort I put in getting it. Besides," She winked and leaned in, a coy smile on her face, "You're cute."

"I am...cute?" His expression was that of distaste. This face, it wasn't his. What he truly appeared as was rotten and malformed. He wasn't 'cute' any more than that impostor was Wales.

"Yeah, can't you tell?" His only response was to scoot away from her. She pouted, "See? Right there. Your attitude's kind of a turn-off, yeah, but your face is good looking and the hair adds to that androgynous charm that some people find attractive. If you made an effort to take care of yourself then you'd get a lot more attention."

"Attention like that is not what I need," He scoffed, "My friend-" He bit his tongue. Wrong, "Acquaintance...Guiche. He might fit your preferences and his fiance has just left him so he has no responsibilities."

"Not really interested in a relationship," She waved him off, "Really, don't think too much about it. I'm asking you out on a date, not marriage. You've been depressed and it might cheer you up," She returned to her mischievous grin, "Besides, it might make Sie-Sie jealous. She's not doing anything now cause she thinks she's safe, but once she feels threatened she'll push. I'll be the 'bad guy' so you two can kiss and make up."

"We are not-"

"Artorias, get over here!" Louise's yell pierced through the bar's normal rumbling.

"Apologies, my dear sister calls for me," He left the slightly annoyed Marlene and trudged over to where Louise was screaming. She had never really screamed for his help in the time they spent here, so it must have been severe.

Raziel's eyes widened ever so slightly as he caught the source of her panic. A girl, her hair purple and dressed in an odd mix of frills and furs, was groping drunkenly for his master's skirt with a half-focused smile on her face. Given the redness tinging her cheeks it was quite obvious that she had drunk her fair share of alcohol to get to this point.

Sitting beside her were three males who looked like they didn't belong in the same group. While two retained the same hair color their differing ages made it difficult to imagine that they would be friends. The taller blond was cheering his sister on while the large, muscle bound man was groaning into his hands. The youngest just smiled as if there was nothing wrong with the display.

Whether it was severe or not, Louise certainly thought it worth calling for her Familiar over, "Let go of me!" She pinched Jeanette's hand but the drunk girl only giggled in response and pawed at her corset, "Hey, where are you touching!?" She tried to pry the girl's hands off but she was met with no success. Brimir above how was this girl so strong!? She would have expected this from her brute of a brother but not her.

"Hey, another round!" Bleu raised his mug and took a deep gulp of the alcohol.

"I think you've had enough!" Jacks screamed in annoyance, "People are staring at us! Don't you-"

"Aha, got a lace undone~!" Jeanette licked her lips and tried to touch the other girl's chest before Louise finally managed to push her away with a knee to the face. Not giving her a chance to recover the pinkette went behind her Familiar and glared at the purple haired Mage as she rubbed her nose and tried to stop crying. It didn't hurt all that much but her nose was somewhat sore.

"Lou- Desiree, what is-"

"You just saw what's wrong!" She gripped his shoulders tightly, "She was pawing at me like I was nothing more than a piece of meat!" She snarled, "Why doesn't anyone stop her!? It's supposed to be against the rules to touch the servers."

"Then serve another table," Raziel sighed. Compared to the tax collector he found this an annoyance at best.

"I can't!" She whispered hotly, "That girl pays extra to make sure I'm the one serving this table and Scarron doesn't see anything wrong with it! I'm getting more information here than anywhere else, so we need this job!"

"What do you wish for me to do about it then?"

"I don't know, why don't you-"

"Ahem," Damien coughed, interrupting their squabble, "I'd like to apologize on my younger sister's behalf. She...isn't normally like this," His smile twitched slightly as Jeanette and Bleu laughed at one drunken joke or another. Jack simply groaned, "I'm afraid they get precious few chances to indulge in luxuries such as alcohol so their behavior can be off-putting-"

"'Off-putting'!? She tried to strip me!"

"And you have my sincerest apologies for that," Damien repeated, "I'll discipline her later along with Bleu. You don't have to serve us any longer and we'll leave a bigger tip to compensate you for the trouble we caused."

Louise grit her teeth. He was treating her as if she was nothing more than a common whore who could be bought off with a few pieces of silver. She wanted to shove his glass down his throat to wipe the smug smile off his face but she bit her tongue and nodded, "Thank you...very much..." She forced out. It was very difficult but she needed to swallow her pride. She was finally fulfilling her objectives, she couldn't afford to lose her position now.

It didn't take long before Louise was dragging him back to the kitchens. Siesta, Jessica and Marlene had left, giving them a modicum of privacy despite the continued sounds of chatting and drunken ramblings.

"God, I hate this job," Louise sat on the counter with a sigh. She wanted nothing more than to go back to their dusty attic room but she needed to keep an eye out for nobles. After all with the use of the bustier she had found out that Francis Richmond, one of the highest ranking nobles in the Queen court...it might have just been drunken ramblings but his comments on spies, locations, dead drops and whatnot made it seem more legitimate.

Either way she wrote all her findings and was waiting for a reply.

"Why are we still here?" Raziel crossed his arms and frowned slightly, "You have the information you came for. Can we not leave?"

"She didn't want information on spies. I took that upon myself," She explained, "What she really wants is to see how the populace feel about her decisions. Going to war...it's never pleasant but surely they can see that this is for the best?"

"I doubt they will. From what I have found war is something that no one but the nobles in this land benefit from," She opened her mouth to protest before sighing. There was no point in arguing with him.

"So...what is it with you and the maid?" She asked, changing the topic, "I mean you-"

"Why do people find that an interesting topic to discuss?" He interrupted with a grunt, "I do not wish to discuss our problems any more than you wish to discuss what happened with your last fiance. Let us drop this, please."

"Fine," She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, "Either way I'm expecting a response of some kind. I doubt any of them were expecting to get something as severe as finding out the head of judicial affairs is some kind of spy."

"If it is even true," He said, "You cannot forget the possibility that drunk simply lied to you in order to impress you. When Guiche was under the effect of the Vampire's perverse magic he would have claimed anything."

"Yes, but why him then?" She asked back, "If he was simply spouting random names in order to impress me why didn't he just blame any other commoner? It'd be much more believable to think a peasant would rebel against the Queen over one of her inner court. Also," She smiled slightly, "He gave me a letter of correspondence. I don't know why he was carrying it around; maybe he thought he could use it as blackmail? Either way it's better than nothing."

"You must be proud of yourself then..." Her smile was the only answer he needed. To feel proud of helping a tyrant was idiotic, "Either way our role is now done. We should-"

"Hey, Desiree, you have a visitor!" Jeanne called out.

"A visitor? Hope it's not another admirer," Louise sighed and clapped him on the shoulder before making her way back to the crowd of clamoring drunks. He watched her go with a frown - They were both going to die in Albion and this was to be their preparations? Completely pointless. He had lasted longer than he thought he would...than they would, in all honesty. The Earth Mage Thief, Albion, Tarbes, that impostor who wore Wales' face...time and again death had come for them and they kept surviving.

It was nothing more than luck, and eventually it would run out.

"Oh, there you are, dearie!" Scarron made his way to him breezily and shoved a dark bag in his arms. Raziel's face twitched slightly at the smell; it was rancid, "Take this trash out in the back, would you? There should be a basket in the alley not too far from the door."

"Yes, mi mademoiselle," He answered flatly, eliciting a minute shriek of glee at the use of the name.

As soon as he closed the door to the alley the sound of drunken revelry was immediately silenced, being replaced with the overpowering quiet of the dark town. He looked up at the dark skies and wiped away the single drop of water that hit against his cheek. It was going to rain soon, "Too much rain recently..." He still liked the water showers but there had been far too many. Not to mention that his most recent memory of the event was...

He could feel his skin being torn apart by both water and wind. The pressure was overpowering, but he stood his ground even as the skin of his arm began to split apart. He could taste the blood on his tongue, the agony on his eyes as what felt like knives cut through his eyelids to the vulnerable flesh underneath. With every second that passed his body felt as if it would collapse from the pain.

Agony, that was the only way he could describe it.

"Need to stop thinking about it..." He shoved the bag into its container with much more force than necessary before sighing. Too much reminiscing on past events was unhealthy, even for someone who was already dead. He needed to move on; as long as he didn't have to see that foolish monarch he would be fine. Louise would do all the talking for them.

With that thought in mind he turned around and nearly feel as a hooded figure bumped into him.

"Wh-What the-" He held onto the figure's shoulders and pushed them away slightly to keep his balance. The hooded individual looked around briefly before turning back to face him.

"Sir, if you could please give me some directions?" His eyes widened. He knew that voice, "I need to know where the Charming Fairies inn is-"

As the figure looked up he caught sight of a pair of blue eyes and purple hair. The Queen. She gasped slightly as she recognized him but he shoved her away with a scowl before she could say anything else.

"Sir. Raziel? Is that you? Then that must mean-"

"Out of my way," He pushed past her and tried to make his way back to the inn. Alright, keep calm...keep calm...Louise wouldn't react very well if harm were befall to her best friend so he should just pretend he saw nothing.

"W-Wait!" She grabbed his hand, "I need to know if-"

"Shut up. Let go of me," He shook of her hold on his hand but she grabbed his shoulders once he turned to leave once more, "I am warning you now. Persist and you will regret it."

"You have good reason to hate me, but I cannot stay here," She looked to the side of the alleys once more and frowned. She could hear footsteps, "They're looking for me. I have to find the Charming Fairies inn."

"None of my concern," He scoffed, "Leave. Now. I have to get back to Louise-"

"Louise? She's here then?" She looked to the slightly ajar door he had come from, "Yes, this must be the inn then. Oh, I should have asked Agnes for better directions."

"Ah, hey-"

"No time. I will explain once we're inside," With that last order she pushed him in a panic to the back entrance.

---

Agnes glared down at her mug of vodka. Drinking on the job wasn't something she usually condoned but God damn it did she need one right now, "Son of a bitch..." She muttered her under her breath before swallowing the foul liquid in on gulp. This wasn't enough to get her drunk but she wished right now that it was. There was no way she could do what her Queen asked her to do with a sober mind.

Capture Francis Richmond alive and, if need be, save him from any would-be assassins. The man who had authorized the burning of her village, the one man she wanted to see dead above all else...and she had to make sure he was alive and even save him if it came down to it. She slammed her hand against the table. Her loyalty to the Queen was absolute, but could she live with herself saving the life of someone she despised so much?

Across from her she made out Amethyst and Daphne talking to the pink haired Valliere. Why they were even informing her about their responsibilities for the night she had no idea but Amethyst had insisted, justifying it with the fact that it was Louise that was the reason that the Queen wasn't crucified in Albion right now. That and it had been her who had given them their information to begin with. The information that pushed the Queen to spare that bastard...

...She needed another drink. Grabbing the bottle of hard alcohol she poured it messily onto her mug before she raised it up to her mouth.

"Don't," Amethyst's hand covered the mug's hole and she forced it down onto the table. Agnes glared at her but the Vampire's only response was to push the mug away from the scarred knight, "Our task is sensitive. You can't afford to get drunk."

"I'm not drunk," Agnes half-heartedly reached for her cup but Amethyst slapped her hand away with a glare.

"I understand you're angry but you're not so stupid that you'd think you always get what you want," She pursed her lips, "What did you expect? It's doubtful Richmond is the only spy and considering his position he would be best-suited to knowing how many other nobles are sympathetic to Albion's cause. Killing him would be a waste, you know that. We need the information he holds."

"Amethyst, I think she understands," Daphne chided gently.

"Yeah, I know," Agnes sighed, "Doesn't mean I have to like it, though. Nobles like him...all he'll get is a gilded cage. Sure he'll be dishonored, but he'll live the rest of his life on his own terms. He'll never talk if we torture him," Louise's face went slightly green at the word, "So he'll make a deal. For treason he's going to get away with a slap on the wrist."

"It won't be the first time," Amethyst shrugged, "Eustace got away with nothing but house arrest and even then he got away from that despite his attempted regicide. Believe me, I know how you feel. That man's tortures...I still remember them to this day," Her hands shook slightly, "We move on eventually. I did and so will you."

"Yeah, well, I don't have forty years," Agnes scoffed. She imagined immortality would change her view.

"We should go elsewhere," Daphne cut in, changing the topic, "Louise, do you have a room here? We need to discuss more things but not in public."

"Oh, r-right," Louise stood up shakily and guided the three older women to their shared room in the attic. Along the way she caught sight of both the customers and the workers staring at them - Her two older sisters in particular. Even without meaning to they garnered attention, though at the very least knowing the 'Charm' magic's existence was enough to dispel most of its effects.

"It's up here," All three of them gave doubtful looks when she jumped up slightly and pulled the attic's ladder down. She couldn't blame them - She could hardly believe she was staying here either.

Louise was the first to go up, and what she saw nearly caused her to let go of the ladder in surprise.

"Are you mad? No, I should not even have to ask. You went with that masquerading spirit," Raziel turned to glare out the window, not even noticing Louise entering the room, "What on earth made you think I would agree to this inane request?"

"I know that what I'm asking might seem unreasonable, but-"

"Unreasonable? That is certainly a polite way of putting it," He scoffed, "You want me to protect you? You must be-"

"Your Highness? You're already here?" Agnes interrupted. Both the monarch and the Undead's attention was drawn to the entrance as the four clambered up the entrance one by one. How had they not noticed them? The five females reluctantly sat around the uncomfortable room while Raziel kept his distance, his hands crossed over his chest and continuing to glare at the monarch.

"I thought you were supposed to leave an hour after us?" Amethyst added.

"Yes, apologies," She bowed slightly, "I grew nervous after what happened to Sir. Renault. To think that assassins managed to infiltrate the palace-"

"Assassins!?" Louise practically jumped, "Princess, what do you mean assassins!? Are you alright!? If they touched you I'll-"

"Louise, I'm fine," She held up her hands to calm the girl down, "I'm not the assassins' target. Given their killing of Sir. Renault it's reasonable to assume that they're tying up loose ends."

"A purge," Amethyst said, "Every spy in the capital will be erased in order to ensure those who weren't compromised remain hidden. Cutting of a limb so the body can survive, so speak," She rubbed her forehead with a sigh, "For all we know the assassination stopped with Renault, but this isn't the first one of its kind we've seen; these types tend to remove any and all possible loose ends."

"Good riddance," Agnes scoffed.

"We can't let them die," Daphne cut in, "Like Amethyst said if the spies here are killed then the others not in the capital will continue being threats. Reconquista's reach is long, we know that at least. It wouldn't surprise me if they had more hands and ears in other places of crucial import."

"So...what do wish to do, Princess?" Louise asked reluctantly.

"Much as we might dislike it, we need the information these spies possess," Henrietta stated grimly, "Sir. Renault was killed a mere few hours ago so we don't have much time. I disappeared from the castle without telling anyone but a select few. The news of this should spur these spies into contacting one another, leaving them exposed. We need to capture them before they're killed."

"If you wished to incite a panic then you have succeeded," Raziel looked out the window and looked down at the scrambling soldiers, "They are stopping people and questioning them. Looking for you, no doubt," It was difficult to see, but they were also setting up roadblocks and stopping anyone who passed. It the would-be Queen wanted to leave she was out of luck.

"Now's our chance then," Amethyst said, "Your Majesty, the letter Louise sent us as has a list of locations. Inns and the like. Daphne and I will investigate them for suspicious activity. With any luck we'll find them before these assassins do."

"You can count on us," Daphne nodded, flashing a reassuring smile.

"I'll get 'Sparrow' then," Agnes said, "I have a hunch on where he's going to be based on the information Ms. Valliere told us but it's purely guesswork. Whether I succeed or not we need to rendezvous in front of the theater in three hours time."

"The emergency meeting spot..." Louise muttered. Dominic's letter made it clear that in case of unforeseen circumstances then they were to meet there at midnight.

"I have to leave as well then," Henrietta commented, "No doubt they will search this place as well and a moving target is harder to find," She sighed, "Which brings us to our previous discussion," She turned to the scowling Undead, "Sir. Raziel, I need your help-"

"Not a chance," He sneered, "You must be suffering under delusion if you believe-"

"Shut up," Agnes interrupted, "She wasn't asking. We're under a time limit here and we don't have time to deal with your whining. Just do what her Majesty says before this entire thing falls apart."

"Agnes, please, there's no need for-"

"I do not take orders from fools or their puppets," He snarled.

Agnes stood up quickly and grabbed his collar before pulling him close, "Say that again, I dare you!" She glared at him, which he reciprocated with a growl.

"Are you deaf as well as mindless? Fine, I will repeat it once more: Your Queen is a farce and you're nothing more than a pawn she will not hesitate to kill if it gets her what she wants-"

Agnes balled her hand into a fist and smashed it against the side of his face. Just barely she heard Louise scream from behind her but she was striking him again before she realized it.

"Stop it!" He heard Louise's yell, but he chose to ignore it. Grabbing the knight by her neck he rushed forward and slammed her against the opposite wall, earning him a grunt of pain.

Just as he was about to strike her he felt a hand snake around his wrist, "That's enough!" Amethyst took hold of his other wrist and pulled him back roughly. Across from him Daphne did the same to Agnes, though the latter Vampire made sure to apologize first.

"Agnes, please, stop fighting!" Daphne pulled her arm back as Agnes made strangling motions to her little sister's Familiar.

"You're both acting like children!" Amethyst hissed as Raziel stepped on her foot, "We don't have time to fight on this! Every minute we waste here those assassins could be accomplishing their mission. Kill each other after we're done, not now!" She shoved the glaring Familiar at the bed and looked back at Agnes, "You're angry because we need Richmond alive, but it's not an excuse to act like a brat. Your duty or your desires, pick one. If you can't keep your emotions in check then leave."

Agnes looked down with a scowl, "Fine," She shook off Daphne's hold on her and took a deep breath, "I know when I'm wrong. I need to get to that inn before I miss my opportunity."

"Do not expect an apology," Raziel traced a hand through his forehead as he sat down on the bed. It didn't hurt all that much but he would still pay her back for that, "Make your plans and do what you wish, but leave me out of it."

"Raziel!" Louise wanted to say something but the glare he gave her caused her to pause. She could make him do it, he would follow her orders like he always did, but if she did that...she didn't know how badly he would take it. Their relationship was already strained given recent events.

The pinkette bit her lower lip and looked at everyone in turn. Agnes was already making her way down while her sisters were looking at them all in turn. She didn't fully know what it was exactly that the princess wanted from her Familiar but it must have been important; she wouldn't have asked someone who had attempted to kill her if it was something she could simply ignore.

She took a deep breath, "Raziel...I want you to help Princess Henrietta with whatever she needs."

"What?" She flinched slightly at his caustic tone, "Louise, you know that-"

"This is not up for discussion," She forced her voice to be neutral. There would be no room for questioning, "The Princess needs our help and I'm not about to deprive her of that. I'm going with Agnes - I'll be able to help her since I talked to the would-be spy - but I can't let you stay here when she needs your help. I trust you and I know you won't hurt her so please just listen to what she needs and help as best you can."

"Louise, I refuse to serve her as if nothing was-"

"This is not up for debate!" Her voice was louder than she anticipated but she kept going, "Are you forgetting something!? You're my Familiar! That means you do what I say!" She poked him forcefully in his chest, "I'm not asking you, I'm telling you! You're going to help her and that's final!"

Louise took deep, fatigued breaths as the words finally registered in her mind. She had done nothing wrong and had only stated plain facts - Regardless of his complaints he had to follow her orders.

Still, she didn't miss his expression of hurt. Had she not known him so well she would have assumed it was nothing more than a trick of the light as when she blinked his expression turned neutral once more, "Understood...master."

"Wait, Raziel-"

"Go, or you will lose track of Agnes," He nudged his head to the ladder, "Do not worry. I know my place. The Queen can expect the utmost obedience from me."

"Raziel I didn't mean-"

"I know what you meant," His voice was devoid of emotion, just like their first days together, "Just go."

"We need to talk-"

"Louise, we have to go," Daphne cut in softly, "You can talk to him later."

She looked back and forth between her best friend and Familiar before reluctantly leaving the room, the two nigthstalkers following her shortly. Amethyst was the last to leave, and her lingering look at him made it apparent that she didn't share Louise's trust.

As soon as everyone had left they were engulfed in an uncomfortable silence. Henrietta gulped and fingered the fabric of her dress. She suddenly felt nauseous and the urge to void her insides was rising with every second that passed. She sat down on the bed and took a few breaths to keep herself calm. Everything was going to be fine, she just had to focus on the task at hand.

"I'm...sorry that I-"

"Quiet," He interrupted, "I promised Lou- Master that I would follow your commands and that is what I will do. It does not mean that I have to listen to your ramblings or fake sympathy. Tell me what you need and let us get this done."

"Oh, well..." What was it she needed? Damn it, she had to focus, "Um, a change of clothes?" Was she asking or telling him? He turned to face her before she continued, "That's right, clothes. I need clothes," She coughed, "I need to disguise myself as-"

"I do not care for the reason," He snarled, "I assume you mean 'commoner' clothes?" Her only response was a nod, "Fine. Wait here, I will get some that are your size."

---

"So where's this spy?"

Louise tightened her cloak and shivered slightly even as they entered the inn. Agnes' eyes narrowed as she looked around the watering hole before she dragged the smaller girl to a table.

"Keep quiet," She placed a finger against her lips and looked to the bar. The cloak and armor covered her body shape well enough and the leers the other patrons were giving the pinkette's outfit were enough for her to gauge their guesses: A prostitute, or at the very least some other kind of paid companionship. Though once they caught sight of her chest - or lack of one - they all looked away.

"What's going on?" Louise asked, rubbing her shoulder.

"Tell me everything you know," Agnes sat next to her. A bit too close for the noble's liking but she didn't say anything, "That's the reason we're here."

"O-Oh, right," Louise nodded, "Well, Dominic said symbols and the like would be too risky so they mentioned color would be used as the designation," She wrinkled her nose in distaste as Agnes suddenly grabbed the bottle from the table and chugged its contents. What in the void was she doing?

"Keep going," She whispered, grabbing another half-finished bottle of vodka. It wasn't hers but she couldn't afford to be picky.

"Oh, right, and since today's the third day of the week it would be..." She clicked her tongue, "Red. I'm...pretty sure. First day it's brown and second it's green."

"So we need to look for someone with a red cloak. Great..." She surveyed the crowd. She could spot at least three cloaks alone at first glance, "Fuck. Anything else? Anything else that can help us?"

"N-No. I don't know anything else."

"Shit," Agnes shook her head to clear up her blurring vision. Maybe she had too much, "Well I guess we have to wait. Once one of them leaves we'll have to follow him but I count at least three of them wearing cloaks. If we leave and follow the wrong person then we're up shit's creek."

"Yes, though I'd use a more polite term for it," She shook her head, "Hopefully the others are having better luck than we are."

---

"Damn it!" Amethyst shoved her way past the crowd of drunks at the inn, "Out of my way!" Ignoring the yells and complaints following after her she ducked under the server and ran up the stairs as best as she could without breaking her cover. When she came upon the split in the halls she looked at both ends before ducking to the left. She couldn't afford to waste any more time.

Two spies dead. It hadn't been long before she found the first spy and she supposed she shouldn't have been surprised to find him hanging from a rope. At first glance it appeared to be suicide, but given what happened to that bastard Renault she doubted that was the case. Ransacking his room had proved fruitless; any documents or incriminating details had been taken or put to the torch.

The second one fared no better: All that was left of him were chunks of his body along with a severed arm. The rest was a mangled mess of body parts that had been smeared against the wall with such force that she would have assumed another Vampire had assaulted him.

"The purge started earlier than we thought," She scowled. Unlike the other spies she didn't know exactly where this one was residing. She knew he was at this inn, but beyond that she would have to guess-

"Ahhh! What are you doing!? I've been-" The other hallway. She let out a hiss and doubled back to the other side. Already the screams were gathering attention and a crowd was forming in front of the would-be spy's door. Amethyst shoved her way past them and wriggled the door knob.

Locked, of course. She would get weird looks but she didn't have time to dawdle. Stepping back slightly she kicked the door and it gave way with a large snap. The others around her quickly stepped back as she rushed inside.

"Spirits take us," The Vampire snarled. The dark haired male was lying back on his back on a pool of his own blood, his eyes open and unfocused. Ignoring the scent of blood she looked around the room quickly and scowled when she saw the burning embers of paper on the floor. Dead again and all the evidence had been removed.

Running over to the window she looked down and just barely made out a shadow darting down the alley. She debated briefly on whether she would follow before deciding against it. Too many people watching and chasing after them now would be pointless. Given the state of the corpses there had to have been more than one assassin and the time frame of their deaths couldn't have been more than a few minutes apart. Even with her enhanced speed she couldn't catch three or four synchronized assassinations.

"Spirits, they must have left something," She started searching the bed and cabinets, ignoring the crowd staring at her, "Come on, come on!" She opened the containers haphazardly but only found clothes and other necessities. Did these spies not keep notes? Surely they would have something. An insignia or even a keepsake, anything they could use to link who their true masters were.

Did he keep it on him? Taking a deep breath to steel herself she straightened the cooling corpse and rummaged through his pockets. The blood surrounding him and coating her fingers made it difficult to keep focus, but she endured. The crowd had dispersed now, but that only meant she didn't have much time before the guards came to investigate the scream and she didn't want to be caught like this.

"Nothing in his pockets," She wiped her blood-soaked fingers on the floor and turned him over, "She'd dealt with spies before. They always had something on their person, a final message so to speak.

"Aha!" She allowed herself a smile as she removed his boots. A single strip of paper, attached to a symbol of some kind. Wiping her hands on her pants she took the small keepsake and held it up against her face. The symbol was one she didn't recognize; certainly nothing she'd seen beforehand. Some kind of stone with runes attached to it. The paper attached to it was marred by blood, but she could still see one word that stood out.

"Joseph?" She read aloud. That...didn't mean anything to her. She knew at least two Josephs from the castle alone. This wouldn't get them anything, but the runes could provide a clue. She quickly stuffed them into her pocket and turned to leave-

"Stop right there!" Guards. They were covering the doorway. The panicked sentries took one look at her blood-soaked figure before raising their spears at her, "P-Put your hands up and come quietly!"

Amethyst growled and turned to look back to the window. She had no time to explain; even with Charm magic there was only so much she could get away with, "I said stop!" Ignoring his command she jumped down the window. Ever so briefly she felt the rush of air before she landed and ran, the screams of the guards following her. She hoped this was all worth it.

Across the open window, a crow turned to look briefly at the escaping Vampire before flying away with a caw. It had to see what happened next.

---

"Search the north side!"

Raziel held up a hand to keep the monarch back as the patrol walked past them. How many times had this happened? Guards stopping them at every street end, inspecting them all as if they expected the Queen to be dressed as a peasant...granted that was true but no one in the right state of mind would think that.

He turned to look back at her. Siesta's clothes had fit her well enough, and the make-up did its job of masking her natural features but if one looked closer they would still be able to see the selfish ruler underneath.

Her hair was also purple rather than brown for some reason, but he didn't want to dwell on it. It brought back uncomfortable memories of his 'home'.

Raziel looked past the alley's corner and grunted as the guards set a perimeter. The longer the Queen was missing the more they panicked, "We need to move past them," He didn't bother hiding his annoyance. When she asked for a bodyguard he had expected it would require combat, but so far they were sneaking around like rats. The fact that he was doing it with her made it all the more annoying.

"I know," She frowned. Taking a nervous breath she closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his.

"What are you-"

"Move, now!" She hissed. He glared at her but followed her instructions regardless. With some difficulty she steered him towards the group of guards before she whispered again, "Hold me closer. Pretend we're lovers and they won't look twice. Hurry!"

His master was going to pay for this. Trying to reign in his grimace he pulled her closer to him. As she had proclaimed the guards didn't give them a second glance, though it probably helped that he kept his face down to avoid them seeing how put-off he was. As soon as they put a fair distance between the guards and themselves Raziel shook her off without a word.

"My apologies," She said softly. Again he gave no reply. The walk was quiet for a few minutes before he finally spoke up.

"Where do we go now?" He looked up at the skies, "Rain is coming. We need to find shelter."

"That might not be such a good idea," She subtly looked away as another group of guards stormed past, "They're searching every building. Inns would certainly be on their priority."

"This would not have happened if you did not feign a kidnapping," He rubbed his eyes in irritation. His eyesight hadn't been completely fixed and being near one of the people responsible for his weeks of darkness wasn't doing it any favors, "How much longer do we need to stay hidden-" He pushed her against the wall as a guard turned to look at them. They stayed that way for a minute before the guard turned to leave.

"We need to keep moving," She grabbed his wrist and pulled him into another alley, "Keeping off the main roads would be a good idea."

She didn't know much about the town's seedier segments and the need for a bodyguard was more cautionary than anything when Agnes had first suggested it. The presence of assassins certainly didn't help things; even if she wasn't their supposed target she couldn't discount the fact that she might be targeted as a way to lower Tristain's morale. It wouldn't be long before they started their invasion, after all.

She looked back at her would-be protector. He hadn't talked much but his posture and actions said it all: Fists clenching every few seconds, his head turning at every little sound. The only weapon he had was a knife he had taken from the inn's kitchen but she knew well enough that even with his bare hands he would prove more than a match for threats. After all, he had been the one to kill Wales-

"No, that wasn't him," She muttered. It was her fault those men died, her desperation to want to see her beloved again that she refused to see the truth in front of her. She knew it wasn't him. Not completely, but when they kissed she already felt something was wrong. But she wanted him to be alive, to imagine that a happy ending was still possible for her despite everything. Those men died for her and she did nothing.

"Spare a few coppers?" She was jolted out of her reverie as she felt a hand grab her skirt. Looking down she nearly let out an 'eep' of surprise when she saw the old man giving her an open smile, allowing her to see his missing teeth, "Please, I need to eat. Just a few coppers," One hand held onto her while the other was raised feebly to accept a donation.

She gulped nervously and pulled out a couple of ecu before placing it in his palm. The man's eyes widened, his smile expanding as he let go of her, "Oh, thank ye! Thank ye kindly!" He hugged the coins to himself as if they were his salvation. Henrietta wiped the small smudge of dirt on the skirt and stepped back. By just a few coins he appeared so glad, as if he had been given something priceless.

Thinking on it now, this was the first time she'd ever gotten this close. Her infrequent forays into town were always by carriage and the knights never let her out of their sight. This was the first time she'd actually what the so-called 'underbelly' was truly like. How many more were like this man? Living in an alley, forced to beg for coppers to survive another day. She knew about poverty...or at least, knew as much as the Cardinal told her and what she'd read about but seeing it first hand was...

"What are you doing?" Raziel nudged her forward, ignoring the display, "We need to keep moving, like you said."

"W-Wait," She dug her feet into the ground and looked back at the man. She didn't pack that much gold, just a handful she grabbed in case she had to buy anything, but maybe she could still do something.

Raziel was silent as he watched her talk to the old man once more before offering him pouch. He couldn't make out what the despot was saying, but the man was certainly vibrant with his response. Personally he thought the crying was enough, but the bowing and kissing of her feet just made him wonder how delirious from hunger the man had been to do that for a few coins.

"Lets go," Henrietta walked past him briskly, a slight smile on her face, "He...told me had a family. He thanked me and said that they wouldn't starve thanks to what I did..."

"If you believe that then you are a bigger fool than I am," He scoffed, "He will spend it all on himself. It is doubtful he even has a family," He looked up at the sky again and flinched as a few drops hit against his forehead, "We cannot stay out her any longer. An inn would be preferable. I trust you were not idiotic enough to give him all of your coins?

"No, I still have some on me," She rolled her eyes. His insults were becoming increasingly petty, "Still, I'm not sure if going to an inn is the appropriate course of action. We do not have to hide for much longer and the rain is nothing more than a light drizzle-"

Her words died in her throat as the rain suddenly worsened. Her first instinct was to get her wand and cost a water sphere to shield herself before she remembered that it would completely destroy the point of her disguise. Commoners couldn't do magic.

Raziel looked up at the sky once more before giving her grimace. Wrapping her arms around herself her only response was to silently nod back before they miserably trudged to the closest inn.

---

"Damn it, you're heavy..."

Louise grunted with effort as she forced herself to drag Agnes towards the rooms. Ahead of them a man in a red cloak walked stiffly, his hands fingering his pockets as he looked around erratically. Was it due to the alcohol or something else that made him nervous? Either way he was on the lookout for something or someone and that was more than the other two had shown.

Granted he could have been nothing more than a husband cheating on his wife, but it was a risk they had to take.

"Well I have to look drunk," Agnes whispered back so softly that Louise barely heard it. While tailing him sneakily was possible the man's paranoia would have caused him to jump out the window if he assumed he was being threatened. But a drunk knight and what looked to be a prostitute? He wouldn't look twice.

"Come on, Sir. Where's your room?" Louise forced a teasing smile, though Agnes would describe it as crooked at best.

"It's, uh...around here...somewhere..." Agnes waved her hand haphazardly before leaning into the smaller girl's frame. Louise grunted once more as the older women's weight fell on her and she wrapped the blonde's arm around her neck tighter, "So..uh...how much do I owe you? I mean...you did come highly recommended...and all..." She hiccuped and laughed boisterously. Louise couldn't tell if she was faking at this point.

"Let's discuss my price after the...ahem, service, Sir," Brimir, this was embarrassing! The man looked back at them briefly but as soon as he caught sight of Agnes pawing for Louise's chest he turned back with a shake of his head. To him they were just a knight and his whore, something that one could find in any seedy bar or back alley.

It wasn't long before the man stopped walking. Louise heaved a sigh of relief and placed Agnes with her back against the wall, "Finally," She panted. She really wasn't meant for manual labor and the woman smelling of alcohol didn't help things. Ignoring Agnes' whispers she turned to look at the man. He was pacing in front of a few doors, muttering to himself. Damn it, which one was his meeting place?

The man turned to give one last look at them and Louise only realized her when she saw his eyes narrow. She had been staring at him, and quite openly at that. As her mouth opened to make up an excuse she suddenly felt someone grabbing the front of her uniform roughly and pulling her down.

To describe what happened next would have been something she regretted for the days to come. She remembered the taste of alcohol, a tongue forcing her mouth open and violating her personal space. She remembered struggling ever so briefly before Agnes deepened the kiss with an almost hungry growl.

She beat against the older woman's chest but it accomplished nothing. Almost desperately she started grasping for her hand before Agnes used her free hand to keep her still. Her first kiss - any prior ones with the craven and Raziel didn't count - and this was how she would remember it?

Just barely she heard a door open and close and as soon as it had Agnes separated from her with a gulp of air. Shaking her head slightly she stood up and tried to follow before Louise tugged her back.

"Wh-Wh-What in the helheim was that!?" Louise roared. Agnes looked around in a slight panic to see if anyone had heard her, "You just...you just kissed me! I was pretending to be a whore, that didn't mean I actually am one-"

Agnes covered her mouth forcefully with one hand, "Shut the fuck up!" She hissed, "I wouldn't have had to do that if you listened to me and kept your eyes from wandering! That guy was practically going to attack if I hadn't distracted him."

"Mmmph!" Louise glared back at her.

"I don't want to hear any complaints about how 'shameful' it was or that you don't swing that way - I don't care," She stopped covering her mouth, "Let's just get this done before something else happens."

Agnes walked slowly to the door and pressed her head against it, Louise reluctantly following behind her with a still-red face. The knight placed a finger against her mouth and gestured to the door.

"Sparrow, what's happening? The Queen has been kidnapped. Was this another plan?"

"I don't know," Ah, the mysterious Sparrow. Agnes unholstered her gun and Louise followed suit by taking out her wand, "None of the other agents have been responding either. I don't know what's happening."

"Perhaps Richmond planned this?"

"Doubtful. He wouldn't risk himself so overtly after the failed kidnapping not a few weeks ago," Footsteps. He was pacing, "We need to contact him. No doubt he and the others will be at the theater at midnight. We can convene then."

"Now!" At Agnes' scream Louise cast a quick incantation and pointed it at the door. The wooden structure was blown back in an explosion of smoke and Agnes charged in. Through the smoke she could just barely make out the cloaked man's unconscious form buried underneath the door and another figure coughing heavily from the sudden attack.

"What the-" Sparrow coughed and raised his wand to attack but the knight was quicker, grabbing his hand and forcing him onto a table. Twisting his arm around painfully she slammed her fist against his elbow and was rewarded with a snapping of bone and a scream.

"Stop screaming," She pressed her gun against his temple, "I was ordered to take you alive but if you struggle then I won't hesitate to shoot."

"Void take you, Tristanian dog- Ahhhhhhh!" He screamed louder as Agnes punched his broken elbow again.

"That's only one arm. You still have one more arm and two legs. I can snap them all and carry you out of here or you walk out with the rest of your limbs intact. Make your choice before I snap another limb."

"Alright, alright!" He screamed, "Fucking animal! Fine! We'll play by your rules then! I know when I'm beaten!" He breathed heavily as Agnes forced him to stand and quickly bound his wrists together with rope.

"Valliere, check on the other one," She called back.

Reluctantly Louise entered the room and winced at the scene. It was nothing compared to everything else, but violence was still something she preferred not to see. With a nervous breath she turned over the unconscious male and nearly jumped back as the saw the blood and deformed flesh on his forehead. The skin looked as if it had been pushed inward with a bullet.

"Hey, are you done- What the fuck?" She looked down at the unconscious body and scowled, "Argh, fuck. The explosion must have killed him."

"Y-You mean I did this!?" Louise looked up at her with wide eyes.

"Well when a door explodes in your face I expect it's going to do more than make you dizzy," She coughed, "Well, come on. We have this guy and that should be enough-"

Agnes found herself being forcefully shoved to the ground. Biting back a grunt of pain she aimed her gun and raised an eyebrow slightly as she caught sight of Sparrow holding a knife with both hands. Her knife, actually; he must have taken it off before pushing her.

"What do you plan to do with that, huh?" Agnes stood up, her aim steady, "I have a gun, idiot. You think you can stab me before I shoot you? Be my guest. Now if you don't want to die then put down the knife."

His response wasn't what she expected. With shaking hands he raised his arms and pressed the knife against his neck, "What the hel are you doing!?" She stepped closer but he only pressed the knife deeper into his neck. His eyes were wide and his lips trembled, trying to form words.

"Help...me..." He stabbed the knife into the flesh and carved it to the other side.

"No!" Agnes grabbed his hands but with a strength he shouldn't have possessed he continued to inch the knife slowly until his entire neck had been carved open. Agnes breathed rapidly and looked down at his empty eyes.

"Wh-What happened!?" Louise shrieked, "He just-"

"I know what he did! I saw it!" She brought a hand through her face, "These aren't ordinary hired killers. He didn't kill himself, he was begging for help! Fuck! I was expecting an assassin, not..." She stood up. He didn't care about the man, but whoever had made him do that was using something she'd never seen before.

"We have to go," He pulled the pinkette out of the room in a daze. Across the window another crow cawed before flying away.

---

The room they had gotten was simple, containing only a single bed, small table, lamp and window at the far end. Henrietta traced her hand across the wall and sighed as she saw the dust coating her fingertips. This room looked as if it hadn't been cleaned in weeks, though given their circumstances she knew that they were lucky that they even had a mattress. Considering the price a bedroll and blanket would been more than fair.

"Achoo!" Henrietta hugged herself tighter as she shivered. Cold...she felt cold, and the clothes stuck to her uncomfortably, "Is...Is there a fire?"

"No," He wasn't shivering, of course. Henrietta knew he was Undead: Wale- That impostor had called him one and she had seen it with her own eyes. Still, looking at him now it was hard to reconcile the frail young man with the monster that had nearly killed her.

"It's c-cold," She sat down on the bed and rocked back and forth slightly. A part of her wished that she knew fire magic now to try and add some warmth.

Raziel rolled his eyes and lit up the tip of his finger with a small flame before pressing it against the lantern's wick, "Take this and stop your chatter," He placed it next to the bed. The warmth wasn't enough, though the monarch found it comforting regardless, "Get under the blankets if you need more warmth. Master will not be pleased if you suffer a sickness."

"T-Turn around then," His brow furrowed at the sudden command but he followed regardless. From behind Henrietta reluctantly started unbuttoning the blouse and peeled it away from her with a wet shift. The skirt and sandals followed soon after and she placed them next to the lamp before ducking under the covers. Almost immediately she felt much more relieved and, most pressing of all, warm.

Raziel waited another minute before turning back to face her, his eyes only paying the barest attention to the discarded clothes. Right, she needed to keep warm. Following suit he took off his shirt and placed it next to her own discarded pile. He didn't feel cold like she did but moving around in wet clothing wasn't exactly a comfortable experience.

He sat on the floor with his back against the wall, not saying a word to her. This wasn't what he would call ideal, but he had no intention of sharing the bed with her. Mimicking a yawn he looked outside the window: The rain was still going strong and at this point he wondered how long it would last. At this rate they would need to get cloaks to shield themselves from the rain.

Henrietta watched him through half-asleep eyes. The temptation to sleep was overwhelming but she forced herself to stay conscious. Had Agnes and the others succeeded? Would they get hurt? Thoughts likes these kept pushing through her mind and made her turn uncomfortably on the mattress.

Hah, she never would have imagined she would be here now. Had she a darker sense of humor she would have laughed at the situation. Here she was, her body bare save for her undergarments, lying in bed across from someone in an almost comparable state of undress and yet she never felt colder than she had tonight.

She had never done too much with her beloved. Kisses and tokens of affection were reciprocated, but deeper intimacy was something they both knew they could never have. Saving themselves for marriage...a part of her always resented that reason. She was to be the untouched flower of Tristain while he was to be the perfect prince charming of Albion. Roles they were given since they were born.

Thoughts of joining with casual partners did occur to her. She wasn't foolish; her dad had more than likely lay with other women besides her mother and the stresses of daily life made the temptation all the greater as the days passed.

She moved uncomfortably as she felt an itch go down her back, "Dust..." She grimaced. If the walls weren't clean she had no reason to expect that the bed would fare any better, but she would have preferred to be itching over freezing. Still, her minor discomfort paled in comparison to what the others must have been facing. At least dust wouldn't try to kill her.

Raziel glanced at her. The blanket covered her entire body and all she could make out were her hair and parts of her face, "Mmmh," He let out a slight growl in his throat. Her hair color was something he'd seen only in Lordran. Purple hair, a trait of a dying race of mystics. Legend had it that their control of magics impressed even the Sorcerers of the Vinheim Dragon school.

Why did she choose that color of all things? It just made her stand out.

"It's my natural hair color," She answered. Had he said that out loud? "I'm not dark haired like my mother so I dye it brown to avoid any accusations. The water ruby reacting to my presence already proves I'm not a bastard but it's better to be safe than sorry," She moved around uncomfortably, "No one else but a select few know this so I thought it'd be easier to move around like this."

"..." He rubbed his eyes and said nothing.

"And you? You look different as well from when I last saw you," She was grasping, trying to find anything to fill the silence. He should have ignored her but once again he found himself talking.

"It is nothing more than a disguise," She looked up slightly. She hadn't been expecting an answer, "You know what I truly look like. You have seen it first hand and know what I am," She winced. It wasn't a pleasant memory.

"That you are an Undead, just like he was..." Her fingers wrapped around her neck as she recalled painful memories. Death staring her in the eye as she struggled to escape, to live.

"Not like he was. He was...different," His hostility had been replaced with uneasiness, "No Undead I have ever seen manifested in such a way. To control corpses in such a way, it was almost like Nito. That was not Wales, but it knew things only he would know. Undead are the individuals who have stayed on this earth long after their time has passed, the souls clinging to the decaying flesh. Wales was ready to move on...something had taken over his body, perverted his memories."

"But he came back in the end..."

"After the first spirit was expelled by Louise's spell," He replied, "It kept a part of Wales inside so it could pretend to be him. It could not have been an accident. Someone had intentionally placed that spirit in his body and-" He stopped talking and stood up, pacing around blankly. Why was he even talking to her about this? It wasn't as if he gained anything from talking to her.

"You do not come from this land, do you?" No answer, "The way you talk, your knowledge of Undeath. No one in Tristain would know what you do. And I'll admit I've never seen others like you before."

"I do not come from this land or even this world," He pursed his lips, "Master would have told you eventually; it is very evident that she places you above all else."

"Sir. Raziel, I'm sorry that-"

"There is nothing to apologize for," He interrupted, "I am here, am I not? My 'home' is nothing more than a decaying corpse that has lived past it's death. Master saved me from a fate worse than any death, and my life is hers."

"...Tell me about your home then," She sat up, though she made sure to keep the blanket wrapped around her.

"We are not friends," He crossed his arms and glared at her.

"I never said we were," She answered coolly, "But I am curious. Louise is a Void Mage, and from what I've read in legends the Familiars of the blessed one needed unique requirements before they were chosen."

"There is nothing to say," He scoffed, "I was simply the most desperate. Imagine...burning for eternity. No respite, the pain never getting any duller regardless of how much time you spent bathing in fire. It felt as if my very soul was being seared. When I saw that portal open in front of me, I did not think about what lay on the other side. I simply wanted to escape."

"It sounds like Helheim. The final resting place for all sinners."

"Perhaps," He conceded, "Lordran itself is...difficult to describe. I have only been in this world for a short time but it feels...safer here. The land is not choking itself," He shook of Chester's masked image, "I have no interest in telling you of everything that transpired there. The main difference I can see is how you treat your Gods."

"Father Brimir?"

"I care not for names. Your Gods are...absent. In Lordran every God showed himself, demanding worship of some kind. They were the 'benevolent' rulers of the land. The Kings and Queens while everyone beneath them was nothing more than a lost child in need of guidance."

"That sounds...both amazing and terrifying," She let out a held breath, "Every priest and devout follower wishes to grow closer to Father Brimir. The creator of magic, and from whom the blessed Void element came from. But...what would we do if we saw him, truly? Would we bow in worship? Ask questions? Demand that he solve our problems? The idea of seeing those that you worship is overwhelming."

"They were not that different from us," He smiled wryly, "For all their talks of morality and guidance they were prone to sins as much as any other human. Nito demanded human sacrifice; Seath took innocents and turned them into monsters; The Witch treated those under her like expendable pawns; and Gwyn did not hesitate to drown a city full of his loyal followers out of fear. Even now, monarchs are always selfish."

She flinched as if she'd been hit. She didn't miss the obvious insult.

"My turn to ask a question then," He started, "Why did you need me to safeguard you? You are a Queen. Despite your faults hundreds would throw themselves into the slaughter if you willed it."

"There was no one else," She answered in a strained voice, "Daphne, Amethyst and Agnes have crucial roles to play and the musketeers are preparing a trap as we speak. I needed to keep my disappearance hidden from everyone else. No regular guard would agree to my plans. Also," She bit her lower lip, "They don't trust me anymore. They think me either a traitor or a fool.

"One wonders why..."

"I'm not going to apologize - I know it'll never be enough," She shook her head, "I know it was my fault that they died. I wanted Prince Wales to be alive. That his death be nothing more than a horrible nightmare. I wanted to believe that he had truly faked his death," He gripped the blanket tightly, "Even when I knew that he wasn't my beloved I refused to see the truth. All those men died because of me..."

"Do you expect me to feel sorry for you?" He looked away with a scowl.

"No. I wouldn't expect you to," She laughed bitterly, "I don't want pity, I've wallowed in it long enough. The deaths that will be my responsibility will only get worse from here. In the war that looms every dead soul, whether it be from Tristain or the enemy, will die due to my declaration. I will not run. As the Queen and ruler of Tristain I must-"

"Shut up," He snarled. She let out a surprised gasp at the spiteful tone, "'As the Queen'? You sound like the Gods of Lordran," He sneered, "Sending hundreds, thousands to their deaths and then paying lip service about how you will 'take responsibility'. How? Will you feel every wound they incur? Bury every soldier that falls? You hide behind fanciful words but ultimately you are nothing more than a tyrant."

"And what would you know about being a ruler?" She stood up, her voice equally venomous, "Do you think it's easy? That there's always a 'right' choice with no consequences?" Another bitter laugh, "I've seen the reports Louise sent. I know the people hate me for what I'm doing, but what's the alternative? Let Albion get away with their crimes? Leave ourselves open to attack once more? It was due to Louise's miracle that we weren't slaughtered in Tarbes. We won't get a second chance."

"I am sure your reasons are all selfless, of course. All hail Her Majesty, Queen Henrietta," He bit back, "You talk of difficult choices but what do you suffer? Others die in your name while you stay here and do nothing but wait for your victory."

"You think the life of a Queen is easy? That I can order people to die and they would do it with a smile?" She shook her head, "No. They demand the impossible. They demand that the one sitting on the throne be a perfect jewel, spotless and infallible. Every flaw, every aberration no matter how minute is unacceptable. Every good thing I do will be forgotten and yet every mistake will be recorded for history to look back on."

"And yet whose orders they ultimately follow? Flawed or not, hated or not, you are surrounded by puppets who defend your every action. That knight of yours who refused to believe any insults to your name. Your best friend, who is willing to die for you for nothing more than loyalty. Would you even care if she died?"

"Of course I would!" She stepped closer to him and he reciprocated by glaring at her, "I know what I'm doing can never be excused, but what choice do I have!? Louise's power could mean the difference between life and death. Do you think I'm unaware of the severity of my sins? I'm not so self-righteous that I can excuse what could happen to her."

"And yet you do it anyway, justifying to yourself that your regret is enough to excuse your actions. Master- Louise will die because of you-"

Henrietta brought her hand back and threw it forward as hard as he could. The slap connected with a sharp crack and Henrietta backed away with tears in her eyes.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" She shrieked, "Louise is my closest friend! Do you think I want her to go to war and endanger her life!? If there was any other way I would gladly do so! I would give my own life if need be!" She wiped away her tears, "I would do anything else...but there is no other option. Without her Void Magic Tristain will fall. I have no choice."

"And I thought rulers had the freedom to choose," He rubbed his left cheek slightly, "Fine. Continue to delude yourself. Take 'responsibility' if you believe it will absolve you of your sins."

A knock on the door quickly reminded them of their situation. Guards, yelling that they were looking for the Queen. Raziel gave the door a blank stare before giving her an empty smile, ""You are the monarch here. State your solution."

Henrietta looked to the window and down at the street. No, she would break her legs if they jumped. Her make-up had already been washed off and even with her different hair color they would be able to recognize her face once they looked closer.

There was no way out. The guards had to leave without looking too close.

"Nothing? I am not surprised-"

"Be quiet," Taking a deep breath she released the blanket and exposed herself to him. Raziel gave no reaction to the display save for a slight curling of his lips downwards. The guards began to beat harder at the door, taking the lack of a response as something worth investigating.

God she was going to regret doing this. With shaking hands she forced him into the bed and pressed their lips together.

The first thing she noticed was the chill. He was cold; it felt as if her lips were lips were in contact with glass. He struggled briefly but as soon as she wrapped her arms around him he began to lie as still as a statue. It felt...wrong, as if she was kissing her own reflection.

The guards barged into the room and she was forced to deepen the kiss. She had to stop herself from shivering: If his lips were cold then the inside of his mouth felt like she had dipped her tongue into freezing water. What little skin she could feel in her arms was sticky from the rain and dust, and his unnatural stiffness made her tempted to just back away and leave the attempt altogether.

"L-Lets go. We got the wrong room."

She waited for their footsteps to fade before she separated himself from him, taking deep gulps of air as she scrambled to the other side of the bed. Brimir above, she had kissed him...she was feeling dizzy.

Raziel followed suit and sat up, wiping his mouth with his wrist and an expression of distaste on his face. It was his first experience with a kiss of that kind, and it wasn't one he hoped to repeat any time soon. Feeling his cheeks heat up he stood up and grabbed for his shirt.

"...Has enough time passed?"

"H-Huh? Oh...yes," She nodded blankly. Raziel threw her clothes at her and she caught them with some difficulty, "...Fetch us some cloaks from the innkeeper. I should still have enough coins to afford a pair."

Raziel left the room silently and Henrietta put on the attire in uncomfortably solitude, "It had to be done," She reassured herself. She had to do it this once and she would never do it again, "...Brimir above, what a terrible night," She put on the sandals and tied her hair up into a ponytail. Well, at the very least she looked like a town woman again.

Time to finish this.

---

Louise pulled her cloak closer to her. Sitting at the fountain's edge she found herself watching Agnes pace back and forth, continually muttering to herself and clenching her fists erratically. It wasn't as if she missed why the older woman was so agitated but her pacing was doing nothing but making her nervous too.

Something like that...it reminded her of the corpses that malevolent spirit controlled. Obviously dead and their actions weren't their own. Agnes had broken the man's arm and yet he had enough strength to slit his own throat. Even if he hasn't beseeched them for help that alone was suspicious enough. The man was willing to surrender to save his life, he wouldn't have had the guts to kill himself like that.

Kill...damn it all. She sighed. She'd killed someone by accident, but that wasn't what caused her to feel sick. While she had initially been surprised what made her feel disgusted with herself was that she ultimately didn't care. What had happened to her? Not a month ago she threw up at the idea of someone dying because of her and now deaths she caused, whether it was intentional or by accident, it barely even registered anymore.

"What's happening to me?" She gripped the fountain tightly. Was this why her mother never told them about her days as a soldier? She knew the stories, but only ones told by awestruck admirers. She'd killed hundreds if not thousands already, so what did one more matter-

"No!" She stood up abruptly. Agnes stopped pacing and looked at her worriedly, "It's not like that...I'm not like that," She held onto her head and took deep, ragged breaths. She wasn't someone who could kill without caring. She was better than that.

Agnes made to say something before she felt someone tapping her shoulder. Looking back in a slight panic she calmed down when she saw Daphne smiling at her reassuringly.

"Daphne, there you are," She sighed, "Any luck?"

"No," She frowned and shook her head, "Given your tone I expect you had as much luck as I did."

"What happened?" Louise asked. She needed to focus; she could worry about her problems on her own time.

"I found a spy and tried to charm him into coming with me willingly," Her shoulders slumped, "Eventually I managed to make him agree but as soon as he took a drink of the alcohol we bought he started choking and died not long after. I tried to save him, but...there was nothing I could do. Poison of some kind. No wounds on his body but his heart had stopped beating."

"Probably rat poison. Crap like that's common at any inn," Agnes clicked her tongue, "Great, now what? 'Sparrow' ended up killing himself and with our luck I doubt Amethyst had any more success than we did."

"We should wait and see than," Daphne answered back bleakly.

Agnes' prediction turned out to be true. Not long after the other Vampire came and judging by her expression and utterances of 'Idiotic guards' and dead leads she had fared no better than either of them.

"I ran as fast as I could to each meeting spot, but every time they would be dead just before I got there," She hissed, "The timing is too convenient. They're dangling them in front of us like bait and then yanking them just as we're about to reach. They're toying with us, whoever they are."

"So Richmond might not even show up. Bastard could be dead and cooling in his bead for all we know," Agnes crossed her arms, "This was a complete waste of time. We should have just let the purge continue unabated."

"We need their information, Agnes," Daphne reminded, "The amount of money and information they have access to...I doubt a half dozen or so spies would be able to get them all even with Lord Richmond's help. Others are helping them."

"Tch," She turned away. They had a point, but that prick deserved to die screaming.

"Ah, princess!" Louise's face lit up in a relieved smile as the monarch finally joined them. Henrietta returned her smile, though it was noticeably strained. From behind her Raziel looked at Louise briefly before standing away from the group.

They each explained their version of the events. Henrietta's expression dropped as Agnes finished recounting her story.

"Clearly no normal assassins," The Queen sighed, "We have no time to waste then. If Lord Richmond is still alive he will come here and it's where he'll be at his most vulnerable. He'll be expecting the others but because they won't come he will panic. With luck we can use his desperation in order to cut a deal with him."

"That's if we get to him before these Assassins," Amethyst said, "What Agnes told us about 'Sparrow's' supposed suicide makes me think we're dealing with Spirit Magic which could mean that our contract killers are either Elves or other Vampires."

"Elves..." Louise shivered. Demons given physical form. She didn't want to imagine that they were up against those devils, but considering her older sisters were Vampires and working for the crown she wouldn't discount anything at this point.

"Hopefully not, though with a couple of Vampires on our side we should be alright," Agnes commented, "Either way I'll tell the others to be prepared. The musketeers should have set up by now inside the theater."

"If we're dealing with Vampires or Elves then guns and swords won't be enough," Amethyst scoffed, "Daphne and I will do our best but we should prepare for the worst. Richmond is likely to be their last target and I don't like our position in this place: We're leaving ourselves exposed."

"Agreed," Henrietta nodded, "Louise, stay out here with Sir. Raziel. If you see anyone suspicious then use your magic to give us a signal but do not engage them. You've done enough."

"But I want to help!"

"Please, Louise, I can do this much by myself at least," She took the younger girl's hand in hers briefly before she went inside without another word. Daphne also hugged the girl in reassurance before she followed the monarch and her sister inside.

"Take this," Agnes unsheathed a sword from her side and handed it to the Undead, "I have an extra and that knife's not going to help if you get into a fight."

Raziel took it without a word and walked to the side of the building. With some hesitation Louise followed after him, her hand tentatively gripping her wand as if her life depended on it.

"Were you attacked?" Louise asked. Raziel stood against the wall and gave her a flat look, "What? There are assassins running about; of course I would worry if the princess would be in danger."

"Do not worry, no one touched your precious monarch," He traced a hand through his mouth briefly before he shook off the memory. Much as he despised her he had to at least admit the diversion worked.

"That's...good then," She suddenly found it hard to speak, "Raziel, we need to talk-"

"No, we do not," His mouth twitched, "I do not want to hear any more platitudes."

"Look, all I want to say is I didn't mean it like you thought I did. Can't we just-"

"No, not this time," He interrupted again, "No more 'let's stop arguing' or other such tripe. You made it clear: I am your Familiar, and you are my Master. It was my fault for forgetting that," He mimicked a breath.

"Damn it, Raziel, what was I supposed to do?" She hissed, "Princess Henrietta needed our help and she could have died without aid. I don't want this to come between us, alright? We need to stop fighting."

He shrugged, "Is that an order? Tell me to keep my mouth shut and I will-"

Another slap. He was getting annoyed by this, "You want to be a child? Fine!" She went to the opposite wall and crossed her arms, "You want to ignore each other then fine, have it your way."

"As you wish, Master."

---

Jeanette sighed. The night's events had been far too boring. Granted this hadn't been her first purge, but almost none of them would put up a fight or even die with dignity - All of them begged, insisted that it must have been some kind of mistake or some nonsense that she'd heard before. Working for the Mad King of Gallia provided many undignified deaths.

"What's wrong, Jeanette?" Jack asked, looking back at her.

"It's nothing," She sighed again, "I dunno, I guess it's just that this little 'show' we're putting on is kinda...boring, right?" She looked at each of her siblings in turn, "I mean all we're doing is the same stuff we usually do. It's just so dull," She groaned.

"Now, now," Bleu placated, "Let's not mix business with pleasure, right? We can have fun once we get back. With the amount of money we're getting we can go do something else you want when we're home," His smile widened, "Speaking of which, why did you act so drunk earlier? I know you can hold your alcohol much better than that, sis. Did you really like that girl so much?"

"It's not that," She yawned, "I mean, yeah, she's pretty cute but that's not it. I could practically feel the magic radiating off her," She tapped her nose, "It was almost overpowering. Her magic's just like King Joseph and I was curious what a barmaid was doing with such power," Her shoulders drooped, "Sadly she left before I could examine her. I doubt she's really a tavern wench."

"Can't you keep it in your pants? It was damn embarrassing watching you go at it," Jack complained.

"Aww, is little Jackie shy?" She asked back teasingly, "I mean the way you were looking around I'd have thought you were a dying fish. You do know it's not a shame to look at them, right? I mean they're showing their assets for all to see."

"Sh-Shut up!"

"We're here," Damien announced, breaking up their argument. The three younger siblings looked ahead and Jeanette couldn't help but laugh as she saw the theater looming overhead. Of course it would be somewhere like this.

"So this is to be our stage, then?" Blue asked.

"Yes," Damien smirked, "And our signal's already been sent," He pointed to the crow in the opposite building staring down at them, "We should-"

"Hey, theater's closed!" A feminine voice yelled. The four siblings turned and Jeanette's face broke into a wide grin as she saw Louise trudging over to them, her Familiar in tow.

"Desiree, what a coincidence," Jeanette called out. Louise stopped and suddenly wanted to turn around and leave, "So, what're you and your brother doing here? Planning to see a show."

"N-No," She steeled herself, "Important business is going on inside so we can't let you through. Come back another time."

"No can do, Miss," Bleu replied cheerily, "You see, we have important business in this here building too. Rather urgent, in fact."

"Again, I'm sorry but I can't let you do that," She gripped her wand tighter, "You can come back tomorrow-"

"Alright, can we just cut the shit?" Jack snarled, "You're no waitress and you're holding a wand behind your back. Your 'little brother's' also packing a sword, so it's obvious you're working for that Queen."

"Aww, you're spoiling all the fun, Jack," Jeanette pouted, "We don't want to make her too angry. I saw what she did to that door; poor guy was lucky he still had a head left. I'm surprised I had to make Sparrow off himself."

"Th-That was you!?" Louise pointed her wand at them, "P-Put down any weapons you have and surrender! I won't ask twice!"

"Argh, can you believe this?" Jack cracked his knuckles and stepped forward, "Listen, little girl. We're going to get in there and we're going to do our job. You can get out of our way or we'll go through you."

"Back off!" She pointed her wand at him, though her trembling diminished any sense of fear he may have had.

"Have it your way then!" Jack charged forward and prepared to incapacitate the pinkette before he felt a strong punch connecting with his jaw, "What the-" He barely looked up before a kick to his stomach sent him stumbling backward. That hurt...impossible, his spell should have broken the arm of anyone who attempted to use their bare hands to attack him.

Raziel shook his hand in slight pain and kept Louise behind him. What in the abyss was that guy's flesh made out of? It felt as if he was punching a stone wall.

"Seems you have a protective brother, Miss," Bleu's hands went for his sword, "I think we should stop joking around then."

---

Inside the theater, Henrietta thought things were going smoothly all things considered. Richmond had showed up and, though surprised at her appearance at first, was willing to her offer of amnesty in exchange for his knowledge. He had denied her accusations of his oncoming assassination, but as time passed and no one else showed up he was quick to realize that he was utterly alone.

Granted he had attempted to double cross her by using the hired mercenaries masquerading as the actors to kidnap her and use her as a bargaining chip to save his life, but the disguised Musketeers in the audience had quickly taken care of that.

"So you say you're willing to make a deal?" The old man shook the chains binding his hands behind him. He wanted them off, but considering the circumstances he could improvise, "What exactly are you willing to offer?" He looked around the barren theater. His secret entrance was atop the stage and he was surrounded not only by the musketeers but the two Vampires as well. There was no chance of escape.

"Your crime is treason and attempted regicide. Were it any other man you would face execution," Henrietta frowned, "But you have information we need. Cooperate with us fully and give us the name of your compatriots and I promise that I will ensure your safety. Your lands and authority will be taken from you but you will be allowed to keep your estate under house arrest. The severity of your crimes demand no less."

"Or you can refuse and you die before the night ends," Agnes commented.

"If there is an assassination attempt, you mean."

A loud explosion from outside caused them all to look to the entrance. This was quickly followed by the sounds of something repeatedly smashing against the door's frame.

"Must be our assassins," Amethyst clenched her fists, "Going through the front entrance? They must be confident."

"I hope Louise is alright..." Daphne took a calming breath. She could do this.

"Shoot whatever comes through that door," Agnes commanded. All at once the rest of the musketeers trained their flintlocks at the entrance.

What came next wasn't what they expected. The door splintered with a large boom and Raziel was flung through bodily before landing near them with a dull thud. The defender's attention was drawn to the prone figure before focusing back on the door.

"Damn. Little prick was stronger than he looked," Jack shook his bloody fists, "Now where the hel is-"

A barrage of bullets interrupted his search. Over a dozen bullets hit against his large body but there was no blood. Agnes' eyes widened and she pulled out her spare gun to shoot him once more before Amethyst forced it down.

"He's using spirit magic to harden his body," She bared her fangs. Holding back wouldn't do here.

"Very astute, Miss," Bleu came up from behind the larger male and clapped his hands mockingly, "You nearly caught me earlier, if I recall."

"We're here for one reason only," Damien called out, "The older genteman's life is forfeit. If you give him over to us we promise to leave without any conflict. You gain nothing by protecting him, so this should be an easy choice."

"Wh-What!?" Richmond screamed.

"Shut up," Agnes hit him in the face before turning back to the three, "Aren't you forgetting something? Spirit magic or no we outnumber you a dozen times over."

"Ah, but we have a hostage," Henrietta's breath caught in her throat as she saw Jeanette drag a struggling Louise forward, "Don't worry, we weren't contracted to hit her and as long as she behaves we won't have to hurt her," She licked her lips and pressed a knife against the smaller girl's neck.

"Let her go!" Henrietta pointed her wand at the purple haired girl.

"Hey, come on, we're just getting to know each other better," Louise sucked in a nervous breath as Jeanette licked her cheek, "Don't worry, you just watch us. We'll be done before you know it."

"...Let her go..." Through pained spasms Raziel forced himself to stand. Grasping blindly for his sword he wiped away the blood smeared across his face, "Let her go or you will all die..."

"You're still alive!? You're a stubborn little bastard," Jack clicked his tongue, "Fine, let's finish this."

"Hold on, Jack," Damien raised a hand, "Your Majesty, our offer still stands. We can end conflict here and now."

"I..." She looked at Louise before swallowing nervously, "If you let Louise go then-"

"Don't do it, Princess!" Louise screamed, "Forget about me! Just-"

"Right, right, that's enough," With a wave of her hand Louise found herself losing consciousness, "Don't worry. Like I said, I won't hurt her," She set her down gently on the wall and gave them a wide smile, "I'm going to keep her."

"We can't let you do that," Henrietta stepped forward. Louise wouldn't be safe even if she surrendered, "So I have to refuse your offer."

"Ah, such a shame, though it was to be expected," Damien sighed. A flapping of wings came from behind him and a crow flew past him before landing on the rafters above. His smile returned and he looked at each of his siblings in turn.

"Alright, I suppose it's time. Let's start the show."

---

This chapter came out different than I thought it would. Looking at the chapter the characters are way more confrontational than they usually are, but that's because all of them are pretty much cracking under something: Agnes has to spare/save the guy who sanctioned burning her village down; Henrietta has crippling guilt with her indirectly killing the Griffon Knights and sending thousands - best friend included - into a meatgrinder war; Louise has to deal with getting permission to go to said war, possibly saying goodbye to her family/life and her growing apathy death; and of course Raziel just lost his best friend, is dealing with fear of death and is forced to guard the person who shredded his eyeballs and left him blind for about a month.

So yeah, the chapter's focus kinda shifted. Louise and Raziel don't care about the kisses as much as they originally did when I planned the chapter out a while ago. Likewise everyone is much more pissy and willing to curse and insult one another with the Vampires being the only exception. And oh goodie, next chapter's going to be a long fight scene. Why do I make life difficult :p Oh well, wish me luck.

Oh and the four siblings are canon, you can look em up on google. Their names are Jeanette, Bleu, Jack and Damien.

ForteOfTheBallad - Romance really isn't a priority here. As of this chapter Kirche and Tabitha are platonic/distant, Siesta is ticked off with him, Henrietta is...well, just look at their segment and Louise is like a sibling.

Krulla Chief - Raziel, or at least as close as I can get. I tried to find a pic of Julio but prick's always smiling like a smug bastard so I couldn't use any.

Kishininokurobi - No you got a good point, though Guiche also does comment about just 'wanting to show her how much he loves her' so I thought that was good enough. And yeah, I couldn't use actual rape cause I REALLY don't think I'm good enough to deal with how Monty would actually respond.

Granted attempted rape is no doubt traumatizing as well but in a society where virginity/purity is so protected for women and Monty was raised in such a way she'd probably have an even worse reaction compared to the modern day person. Some really traditional families would outright exile/kill her for being 'defiled' and that'd be just a tinge TOO dark.

And yes, with Siesta that COULD be her segment but it really wouldn't relate to the overarching story at all. I dunno, I mean at best it'd be filler and no one really likes that.

As for Sylphid...he only wants her for her body, so that probably won't work. I mean a purely physical relationship where he uses his sword to take her most precious thing against her consent probably wouldn't go over well.

Sperance - Less being a woman and more that he keeps insulting her and essentially treats her like she's a kid. As for Henrietta's mom...really that was mostly a joke, and I thought people would just ignore it. Besides, knowing this story this joke's going to end up unfunny with later plot revelations.

TodayParade - Thanks for the reassurance :) And yeah, it's not truly one-sided but as his talk with Marlene shows he thinks she's platonic. It makes sense considering that in Lordran literally NO ONE ever references romance or even sex (No, Lautrec sounds like he does with Rhea but he's talking about her Humanity). He thinks philia (friendship) is the highest form of love and might not even be truly aware of eros (romance). His only exposure to it is with Wales and Henrietta, and that ended in tragedy. Again his crush on Marianne is a joke and he never implies wanting sex with her so its debatable if he even if thinks of it as eros.

Man with a Strange Power in His Right Hand - Nope, Creon was based on Tyrion Lannister; Varric isn't as openly Crass.