Chapter Four: Allen's Plan
Millerna was left to stand alone in the tower at the place where Allen had been, her entire being filled with powerful longing.
How I wish I could go with you, and leave all this behind... Millerna sighed wistfully and stared out over the quiet misty city of Palas, the capital of Asturia. I would do anything for you.
It did not seem as though the hapless princess would be able to keep such a secret from her spouse, yet she believed she was able to. Millerna assumed that Dryden was ignorant of the situation; however, the merchant prince knew quite a bit more than he let on.
Every day I'm away from you, I want you more, Allen... rescue me...
After Allen closed the tower door and started down the twisting staircase, he couldn't help but grimace. He was leading her on, to say the least, and it wore on what was left of his conscience. Despite his renowned position as head of the Knights Caeli, Allen had commited some fairly despicable acts in his lifetime, and here was another to add to the list.
Millerna loved him, but Allen's heart belonged to another. Even after all these years, it was Marlene who he dreamed of every night. In his eyes, no one could compare to her - ethereal, loving, and with the face of an angel.
Through no fault of his own, he had the ability to bring women to their knees and make them beg for him. It disgusted Allen sometimes, but at the same time it was rather amusing.
Another wooden door brought Allen to the main halls of the palace. A maid who happened to be passing by at the moment smiled and nodded to him, but asked no questions.
It was not a long walk to the outer bounds of Palas where the Vione waited.
Aboard the fortress, Allen was escorted by a pair of nondescript soldiers to the main viewing area. It was from here that the activities of the Vione's staff were directed by Strategos Folken. Listening to the orders and watching the chaotic-like proceedings on the viewing deck, he was smiling smugly when he reached Folken.
Allen put on a nonchalant smirk. "Quite impressive for old Zaibach technology."
Folken sighed inaudibly, knowing that the knight would make the meeting nearly unbearable.
"I was surprised to find this thing visible, but then I suppose the stealth mantle is malfunctioning as usual."
"It happens to be working just fine," said Folken, not looking at him. "There's been so much fog over Asturia recently, it's a waste of power to activate it."
"Yes, and you wouldn't have much power to spare, would you? No finance, no resources, no power. Whatever happened to Zaibach over these years?"
"Wars are expensive. Asturia should try funding one for a few centuries and see how their resources look."
Allen laughed. "Ah, but if Asturia put as much into the war as Zaibach, where would Zaibach get its funding when it ran out?"
Folken scowled. He still wasn't looking at Allen. "You there," he shouted at a random crewmember, "go have them warm the engines. I want this thing over the Asturian wilderness within the hour."
"Yes, sir." The crewman bowed and scurried off to do his task.
"You still haven't answered my question, Strategos," Allen said. He was frowning now.
"I didn't realize you expected me to."
"It's called courtesy."
"Really? Perhaps you should learn some and tell me what this is all about." Folken was beginning to lose his patience.
Allen's smile returned quite unexpectedly. "Strictly to business then? All right. I have an offer for Emperor Dornkirk, an offer I don't think he'll be able to refuse." Allen looked distastefully out over the viewing deck where crews were hastily doing repairs. "An opportunity for Zaibach to get the finance and resources it needs to end the war."
Folken said nothing.
"Perhaps, if there is a way, I might be able to meet with the emperor to discuss my plan . . ."
Folken studied the knight for a long moment. He had been explicitly instructed by Dornkirk to collect Allen from just outside Palas. The emperor had recently held audience with the knight when word first reached him about a proposition for Zaibach. Originally, Folken had been suspicious and expected the rumor actually to be a trap, and said as much to Dornkirk. The emperor, however, insisted that nothing was amiss and that Folken was to bring Allen aboard the Vione as soon as possible for a second audience. Yet still, something about the whole affair did not bode well with the Strategos.
"Very well," he said, masking his suspicions and distaste. "It's this way to the communications level."
Folken led Allen quickly through the Vione several levels up to the communications floor near the top, where reception and transmission came in best. On this deck was a large room containing a massive screen set in one wall and a hologram generation appliance in the center. The doors slid open to allow them admittance to the communication room and the machine clicked on.
As the application loaded its programming, Allen walked around the room slowly, unable to help being impressed. "So this is where funds in Zaibach go. I suppose communication is most important when a country has its armies dispatched," he said, stating the obvious.
The screen flickered on and transmission data showed, opening a private communication path between the Vione and the Zaibach capital. A moment later, the withered face of Zaibach's Emperor Dornkirk appeared on the screen.
Folken inclined his head slightly and Allen bowed with respect.
"Ah, Sir Allen Schezar . . . so you have arrived."
"As you requested, sir."
"Good, good. Tell me of the happenings in Asturia."
"As of late, things between Asturia and Zaibach are quiet. However, there is quite a bit of discontent concerning whether or not things will stay this way for long. The people are frightened of Zaibach's power. I think it would settle their minds if there was a peace treaty in effect between Zaibach and Asturia. King Aston does not seem to share these views, but the princesses agree that a settlement would be most beneficial."
"How do you plan to sway King Aston?" Dornkirk asked.
Allen smiled mysteriously. "Oh, I have a way."
Folken was confused. What was all this about a peace settlement with Asturia? In all the time he had served Dornkirk, the emperor had never been interested in lasting peace with any of the countries of Gaea. Peace settlements were always a temporary way to keep countries from attacking Zaibach while it prepared to overthrow them. And what, above all, did Allen have to do with any of this?
"Asturia's ties with Freid are long withstanding. It's become as if Freid were only a province of Asturia and not its own country," Allen was saying. "If Freid were to be in any kind of trouble, you can be assured Asturia would do anything in its power to get them out of it." He looked up at the screen. "I believe Zaibach could use this alliance to its advantage."
"You have a plan?"
"Sir, if I may," Allen bowed low again. "Freid's government at the time is a bit . . . negligent. Prince Chid, in the event of the Duke's death, has been made ruler of Freid and, seeing as he is still only a small boy, lacks the experience and knowledge to rule properly. It might have been possible at one time to convince Freid to ally with Zaibach, but the prince has seen what Zaibach did to the Duke and he has developed an early taste for vengeance. He probably won't have anything to do with Zaibach willingly.
"Instead of convincing Chid that it would be best for Freid if they formed an alliance with Zaibach, I suggest he be captured." Allen's right hand lingered near the hilt of his sword. "If Chid can be captured, Zaibach can hold Chid ransom to Asturia, with the ransom set at Asturia's willing signing of a peace agreement with Zaibach."
"How do you intend to go about capturing the Prince of Freid?" Dornkirk inquired. He was glaring down at Allen through narrow eyes, but this was not because he disliked the idea. If he hadn't liked it, Folken knew he would have dismissed it before Allen had a chance to say this much. Though he was old, Dornkirk did not have a lot of patience for wasted time.
"This is where I come in," Allen went on. "I can lure Chid away from Freid to any place Zaibach would like to pick us up. Then, we'll explain to him that he is being kidnapped. Don't worry about what you say — he's just a little kid, he'll hardly think anything of it.
"From there, Chid must be held prisoner until Asturia agrees to sign the treaty. You will have to be rather gentle with him, since he is only a boy, so be sure to treat him better than usual prisoners, but some kind of pain will make him more willing to go along with your requests.
"As long as I am allowed to stay with him, I can convince Chid to sign a peace agreement with Zaibach, and his presence as a Zaibach captive will force Asturia to sign as well. This way, you will have two countries with high finance and resources to continue funding Zaibach in the war."
For a minute there was silence as Dornkirk thought through this information.
"Excellent," he said after a time. "This could be very beneficial to us. With Asturia and Freid out of the way and Lamarth posing no threat, we can easily crush Fanelia." Dornkirk turned his attention to the Strategos. "Folken, what word is there from Dilandau on his attack?"
"None so far," Folken replied. "The Orion has been out of communication for several days, but there could be any number of reasons for the silence."
Dornkirk looked grim. "It's very important we get that information about Fanelia's forces as soon as possible."
"Yes, sir."
The audience lasted another hour, in which Allen explained the intricacies of this plan and several other ideas he had concerning Asturia and the war. There was a lot of information he could deliver about the happenings of Asturian society and the royal family itself, information that Folken knew would prove valuable to Zaibach later on.
Despite his knowledge that this information would be a good thing, Folken didn't like it. Allen proposed sneaky underhanded tactics
Besides, wouldn't it just be easier to send a peaceful envoy to Asturia and talk out a settlement? After all, what predisposed disagreement had Asturia ever had with Zaibach? Surely convincing Asturia to ally, and then having Asturia convince Freid would be just as effective—and probably simpler—than Allen's plot. But Dornkirk wasn't interested in what Folken had to say. Multiple times during the conversation, Folken had voiced his thoughts, but each time Dornkirk rejected them. In the end, Folken decided just to say nothing at all.
When the transmission finally ended and Allen was escorted away, Folken sighed with relief.
As he was leaving the transmission room, Folken was approached by one of the communications officers. "Lord Folken," he said with a bow, "we've just received a transmission from the Orion. Lord Dilandau says the attack was successful and the battle data has been stored in the Vione's logs."
Folken thanked him and had him call one of the senior officers to the viewing deck to take over control of the Vione while Folken retired to his chambers. When he arrived, Folken remembered regretfully the stack of designs he was supposed to be redoing for the Lydia. But sleep was so alluring and he was so exhausted from dealing with Allen that he couldn't force himself to work on them. Instead, Folken lay down and went to sleep, resolving again that he would finish the blueprints later.
Yukari sat on her bed and stared at the ceiling, willing herself to keep the tears from pouring down her face in rivers. Everything was going wrong today—no, not just today, but for the past year or so.
An American tune filtered in from her radio through the noise of the rain spattering on the roof. Yukari could just barely hear the lyrics: "When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears . . . when you screamed I'd fight away all of your fears . . ."
Thoroughly depressed, she pushed a pile of clothes off her bed and propped her feet up on the wall. After hours of shopping, her feet throbbed. Shopping usually made her feel better, but it hadn't worked this time.
The tears that had been building up let loose in a flood. Hitomi, why won't you come back?
Why won't you rescue me?
Hitomi awakened before the sun, certain that someone had been calling her name.
Hitomi . . .
The voice sounded very familiar. Without a second thought, she returned the signal. Hello? Who's speaking to me?
I must be hallucinating, the voice said tearfully. God, Hitomi . . . you were my best friend. I'm all alone now, with nowhere to go.
Hitomi was incredulous. Could it be?—but she'd never been able to communicate this way with Yukari before.
She tried it out. Yukari? It's me. I can hear you.
I can hear you, too, but I know you're not real.
I am real, Hitomi relayed, but I don't know how it's possible for us to speak. We're in two different worlds.
Yukari's voice took on a desperate tone. That goddamn medication must be screwing up my thoughts. On second thought, I think I forgot to take it this morning. Here it is. It's still on my bedside table.
Suddenly the connection was lost—Hitomi felt it sever itself, and her mind became a silent place again.
Allen Crusade Schezar was awake at dawn as well. By the time the sun had fully emerged from the horizon, he was on board an airship bound for Freid. The five-year-old king's home was lush and forested in its northern region, and desert in the south. The capital was located on a plateau between the two extremes, and it would take roughly eight hours to get there. It was a good thing he'd started the journey early.
Allen held a tear-stained, crumpled note from Princess Millerna in his hands:
Dearest Allen,
How can you leave me without telling me what's going on? I'm in love with you, but I never receive any tangible feelings from you in return. I'm not like my sisters, Allen—I'm not going to let you forget about me and move on while I bear your child, or worse, become an old maid like Eries.
It's really difficult for me to say this, but I think we should see other people for a while. If we decide to, we can return to each other, but for now, this is goodbye. You are still welcome to visit the palace any time you'd like, but I will avoid you, because if I saw you, my heart would break again.
—Millerna
P.S. I still love you, no matter what happens. Don't forget that.