Chapter 3

The days came and went with nothing of much importance taking place. Shirou had wandered around the castle's public areas, and while the scenery was nice to look at, he still felt himself drawn to Alsace. After the spectacle of his archery, some of the soldiers began to treat him a little better, though Shirou wouldn't fool himself in thinking everyone accepted his presence.

He did get along with the maids working throughout the castle, often offering a helping hand with their cleaning and other chores. Sadly, he wasn't allowed to cook anything, which was more than a little disappointing. He was thankful that he was allowed to go out and shoot his bow, though he was surprised by the soldiers who all asked him for tips.

One such soldier named Rurick, who he found out gave him the shoddy bow, was actually pleasant company. Shirou found the man to be a loyal soldier who thought highly of the war maiden. He was one of the best archers he had seen within the castle, probably the best if Shirou was being honest. Though, Shirou knew he could improve by leaps and bounds if he took Shirou's advice to heart.

The archers in Alsace were all gifted, each could have shot those 300 alsin targets. Well, most of them, then again, he knew that the archers of Alsace were a different breed when compared to others. Actually, he was just finding that out. His own archery was leagues above others, that was true, but he was judging everyone by what he had seen so far in the new world.

So far, he only knew archers from Alsace, a land made up of archers and hunters. Thinking back on it, maybe he could have played up that aspect when negotiating with Elen. Who was more than accommodating ever since their conversation. The ten day deadline he set for himself had already come and gone.

The war maiden's pleasant demeanor and penchant for conversation had caused Shirou to delay his escape. He found himself worrying about hurting the girl's feelings if he were to run off. Despite being her enemy, Shirou couldn't bring himself to want to harm her. Each chance he had to escape, the war maiden would have been directly in his way. So, he was waiting for a perfect opportunity when she wouldn't be there.

Which led to day twenty of his imprisonment, Elen had to leave the castle to take care of something important. At least, Shirou figured it was something important, as she seemed like she was in a rush and took Lim with her. Which was great for him, considering most of the soldiers he befriended would be gone and he could put his plan into motion.

He didn't know when they would return, so he knew he had to be quick. He hoped that Elen would forgive him for what he was about to do. He was pretty sure she would considering everything she said to him since he arrived. Besides, the note he had just finished writing would hopefully dull whatever anger she felt.

He let out a sigh, knowing that was more than likely not going to happen. Still, he could hope. He grabbed what things he had and prepared his great escape. "Trace on." He traced the one weapon he knew would be his most effective tool for this. Of all the weapons he had, it wasn't exactly the most powerful, but it was definitely one of the more useful.

Carnewennan, the dagger of King Arthur, was something he was glad about encountering in his last life. "Shroud me in shadows, Carnewennan." He spoke, activating the ability grant him a type of presence concealment. With this, he would manage to get out of the castle quickly, however, once the guards noticed he was gone, it would be a lot harder.

It couldn't cloak a horse after all. He used the dagger to open the door to his room, knowing that the guards were changing shifts. After he escaped his room, he quickly began to run through the castle, searching for a specific area on the ramparts.

He weaved through the guards, managing to make it to his destination. 'Now, for the part that will definitely hurt.' He thought to himself. He stepped on top of the wall and looked down.

It was definitely a long drop, one that he was hesitant about making. However, the main gate was a no go, and he didn't want to destroy any of the walls with his more powerful noble phantasms. So, this was really his only option. He saw the tree that he was looking for and began to take deep breaths, psyching himself up. He looked around and made sure that the guards weren't around yet.

Taking one last deep breath, Shirou took a step back, and proceeded to reinforce his body as he leapt off of the wall. He quickly projected Rider's chain in his hands while dematerializing Carnewennan. He quickly threw the spike towards the tree, easily impaling the trunk. The chain quickly tightened and he began to swing with the momentum of his fall.

He was now out of the castle, however, he ended up swinging directly into another tree. He immediately felt some of his ribs crack, even with his reinforcement. He let go of the chain and dropped down to the ground, allowing a few branches to break the fall.

He landed on his back and was looking up at the top of the wall. As he did so, he wondered how much of a scolding he would have received for that stunt back in his old world. He managed to mitigate most of the damage, however, along with his ribs, his arm was dislocated. With a groan, he slowly made his way to his feet.

'Maybe I should have just fought my way out.' He thought as he quickly popped his shoulder back in by hitting it against a tree. He let out a grunt of pain, before making sure it was back in place. Breathing was painful, but nothing that he hadn't dealt with before. He looked up at the sky to see where the stars were. He made sure to watch them closely upon his capture.

After figuring out where to go, he quickly began to run. Hopefully, he could find someone with a horse on the way. He didn't want to steal or rob someone, but he needed to get back home. After a few minutes, he could hear the horns sounding behind him. Most likely, they were now aware he was gone.

He quickened his pace, relying on his reinforcement to speed him up. He was lucky for now, there was plenty of woodland to shield him for awhile. However, the moment he was out of them, he would need to have a horse. He refused to be captured again, he needed to get home.

Images of Alsace ran through his mind. He had resolved himself to give it his all. With each step, he reminded himself of the consequences if he didn't make it home, or if he was caught. He knew that the castle would be sending out riders as soon as they realized he wasn't inside of the walls.

After making it a decent distance away, he stopped to catch his breath. Even with reinforcement, he was still only human, besides, he was reaching the edge of the current forest. With his vision, he just needed to keep an eye on the roads nearby. It may have been night, but there were still plenty of people who travelled at night.

He walked to the edge of woods and waited. Enough time had passed that the riders would have been sent out. One of two things would happen, he could steal a horse from a rider or steal it from a traveler. If he had to choose, he'd prefer it was a rider. He decided to do something that always brought him comfort at night. He peered up at the moon in the sky.

In doing so, he remembered the times he used to sit on the porch of his backyard at night. He didn't know what it was about the moon that comforted him, but it did. He remembered laying on his back as he died, being entranced by the sight of it.

He wondered about how much time passed in his home world. If it moved the same, then his girls would likely be in their thirties. Ayako would be in her fifties more than likely. He hoped that they were doing well. His eldest daughter was becoming an amazing archer, even managing to apply elemental magecraft to her arrows when he died. Her little sister was more of magus, being able to grasp different types of thaumaturgy easily. Rin said she was a genius.

Which caused him to wonder about her and Luvia. They said they would help his daughters if anything happened to him. Though, considering how amazing his wife was, she probably didn't need much help. Besides, she had Sakura there to help her out. She loved spending time with his girls, so really, he didn't have to worry.

Those thoughts eventually shifted back towards Alsace. He hoped that Titta was okay. She had a tendency to overreact to certain things. He hoped that Bertrand and Lord Mashas were able to help her out with his absence. She wouldn't require it for long, he was on his way home. He promised her to return home, and he never broke his promises.

He was brought back to reality when he heard something approaching. He traced a few arrows and Rider's chain, just in case he needed to grab the horse with is. He looked towards the direction of the noise and saw a rider heading down the road.

It appeared to be a messenger, heading towards the castle. He quickly ran out onto the trail, startling the rider, causing him to quickly stop. Rather than say anything, Shirou simply threw the chain around the rider and pulled him off the horse. The horse startled and began to run off, however, Shirou was ready and, with his reinforced legs, dashed forward and managed to grab the reins and pull himself to the top of the horse.

Admittedly, he felt really bad about taking the horse as he heard the rider shout and curse at him. However, he had to prioritize his land. Unlike in his world, he was responsible for the people that relied upon him as the count of Alsace. He knew that without him there, the inevitable power struggle would endanger Alsace.

Shirou shouted out a quick, "Sorry!" before quickly riding off. From what he knew, there were some roads that led through the mountains, which is where he would begin to head. If he was lucky, he would be able to reach the mountains without having anyone getting close him.

Unknown to Shirou, he had two people currently on his trail. One was his captor, Elen. The other, was the reason why Elen had to leave the castle in a hurry. A girl with blue hair and a spear was also searching for the escapee. The two were both chasing after him for their own reasons. One was obvious, however, the other was being very secretive about it.

The Snow Princess of the Frozen Wave, Ludmila Lourie, the war maiden of Olmutz, was determined to reach Shirou's location before her rival. You see, because of Shirou's, or rather Tigre's, impressive show of archery, word eventually reached the ears of Ludmila. Most normal people might write off the deeds as over-exaggeration. But, not her.

For she had seen such skill in an archer once before. One who matched up with the description of Tigrevurmud Vorn. So, she knew that it was the same person she had met all that time ago. If such a thing was true, then she was determined to get him on her side, even if it meant incurring Eleonora's wrath. Such a thing was of no real consequence anyways.

Unlike Elen, Ludmila knew that he was a lot craftier than he let on. She saw first hand how skilled he was. So, rather than chase after him, she would cut off his route and find him that way. The only problem with this strategy, was that he had the advantage of sneaking around any of the troops she had brought with her. She would use Elen's chase to cause him to make a mistake and reveal himself.

As she was riding, she wondered if Elen would give up when she reached the border. She sort of hoped she would, because Ludmila wouldn't be stopping. She would continue on to Alsace, if necessary. She was slightly worried about showing up unannounced, however, she had a feeling he wouldn't exactly mind.

Shirou may have miscalculated his odds. 'Seriously? I recognize Elen's flag, but whose is that?' He thought to himself as he scanned from the top of a tall tree. The groups were too far for him to see clearly, but he could see that there were two different groups on his tail. Which was concerning, considering he had only planned on outrunning Elen.

'I'll just improvise like always. If worse comes to worse, I'll just have to trace some of Nobu's matchlocks and ambush them. Nobu would probably be proud of that tactic.' However, doing that to Elen's group left a bad taste in his mouth. He'd rather avoid that if possible. He would have to keep an eye on his mana usage though.

This new world felt like it was still in the age of gods, or an equivalent, but that didn't mean he could be careless with his circuits. They weren't low quality from atrophy like his old world, since he opened them when he was younger. However, that didn't mean he could just spam his projections. Especially against a war maiden.

Elen almost felt like she had a endless amount of mana. He knew that wasn't the case, but she definitely had a large amount. He figured the others were similar in that way. More than likely, the weapons they had augmented this. Add to that, they were natural dragon slayers. More than likely, they were born with a magic core in their bodies. It would explain why the Viralt's choose their owners, rather than just allow any normal person to wield them.

Then again, he was applying his worlds laws of magic to this one. It could be for a totally different reason that he has no way of actually knowing. He hadn't met any mages in this world, nor did he really hear that many stories of magic. Only the tales of heroes and war maidens, or gods and demons, were things that he actually read about.

Maybe after peace was established, he'd travel and study the legends of the different countries. Perhaps he'd be able to add some weapons to his reality marble that way too. Such a thing was far away though. First thing he had to do was return home. He could worry about everything later.

After taking one last look at the two forces, he jumped down and climbed back onto the horse he had procured. Rushing would do him no good. Best to take it easy and not have his horse fall into a hole or something. That would just end up causing more trouble than it was worth.

He had a hard enough time escaping that castle. He was thankful that he didn't have to go through the city. That would have been a huge hassle. Either way, it would take him at least another seven days to reach the mountains. He could probably make it in five if he really pushed it. Then came the really hard part.

While he could probably find another way through the mountains, it would take far longer than going through the predetermined path. Which led to the dilemma. If he didn't make it there before Elen and the other unknown group, then he would definitely need to fight. A fight he wasn't about winning.

He wasn't a legendary hero who could battle armies. He may have their weapons and could access their skills, but he was still just a squishy human without any outstanding powers, barring his magecraft. In order to completely defeat the contingent he saw, he would need to use his reality marble. Which wasn't an option. He wouldn't be showing that off lightly. But, he didn't want to kill anyone anyways.

He'd have to play it smart. He knew that Elen would be chasing him, so he would use some small tricks to delay them. The other group, he was more than happy to battle. If they caught up to him, he'd be ready. However, he'd rather avoid a confrontation. If he was lucky, he'd make it to the Vosyes Mountains before anyone caught up to him.

Throughout the days of riding, Shirou constantly remembered some of the conversations he had with Elen. She was a interesting girl, if he was being honest. She was strong, skilled, charismatic, intelligent, and beautiful, all of which made her a formidable leader. Each person in Leitmeritz looked to her for protection and governance.

Her weapon, Arifar, was a viralt, or dragon tool, and seemed to command the air element. Shirou was surprised by her willingness to share such information. He had been interested in her weapon since seeing it in action on the Dinant Plains. He found it interesting that each war maiden was chosen by the Viralt, rather than being appointed. He wished to meet other war maidens, but knew that it was unlikely.

Still, Elen was interesting enough. He knew that she was also interested in him, though he couldn't exactly understand why. He remembered one conversation they had. The two were conversing in a small grove that Shirou found. Elen had just finished a bath and a small dragon led her to him. The two made small talk, mainly about his conditions, before she changed the subject. "Can I ask you something?" She asked him, before he responded with a nod.

"What kind of place is Alsace?" Shirou turned his head to look at Elen, noticing a slightly saddened expression.

"I'm surprised you'd ask. Any reason behind wanting to know?" She had a small smile on her face, though he could still see some hint of sadness in it.

"Well, when I asked you to join me, I thought I had given you some good conditions. Yet, you rejected me quite readily. I'd be lying if I said that rejection didn't hurt. You told me you'd consider it if Alsace was included with you, so I suppose that I grew interested, especially since you seemed so adamant on returning there."

'I see, well, perhaps I can use this to my advantage.' He thought to himself. He gave her a small smile, "The conditions were quite good." He said, before relaxing a bit. "It's mainly made up of forests and mountains. Before I took over for my dad, there were no real roads or highways. To get to the capital, one would have to go to a neighboring territory to find a good road, which took days."

"You seem to remember it fondly. I can tell you enjoy talking about it." Shirou could hear some jealousy in her tone. He let out a small chuckle, she really did remind him of Nobu in a lot of ways.

"The hunting is quite good. Wolves and brown bears are always in the forests and mountains, though you can find snow leopards, occasionally." He said, reminding himself to do something with the pelt of the snow leopard when he returned home. "The herbs and such are plentiful, allowing one to live through winter with a small amount of food with enough knowledge. It's a peaceful place and the people under my charge are kind and helpful."

"Winters can be tough, but with blankets and a fireplace, it can be quite enjoyable. Summers are cool and storms are rare, mainly being filled with sunny days. If you have a good spot, you can look out over an ocean of green hills. It's quite a sight to behold. Especially when sharing an afternoon with someone, just enjoying the day on a plain of blooming flowers with a blanket on the ground and a basket of whatever food you prepared."

Shirou then clammed up slightly, not meaning to add that last part. He had gotten carried away, causing him to share a personal past time he shared with Titta. He didn't realize how much he missed Titta until that moment. Lost in his thoughts, Shirou missed the slightly bitter smile on Elen's face.

"You seem content with that life. Do you...not yearn for something more? Like, becoming the king?" She asked him, snapping him out of his thoughts. He didn't miss the hesitance in her voice. He sat and thought about it.

"Becoming king? I have never really given it much thought. Perhaps, but I think I'm happy where I'm at now. If I had a wish, it would be to make it so that no one in my lands ever had to cry. It may be greedy, but I wish to make my lands into a place where everyone is safe and can just share their happiness with others." He said looking up at the sky. How long had he worked for such an outcome? This would be his second life now. It didn't matter if it was impossible, he would strive for that dream. Even if it was only Alsace.

Elen looked at him with a dumbfounded expression. He would give up becoming the king, for such a wish? Such a dream, to most, would seem childish and would more than likely be mocked. But, Elen felt something upon hearing his words. He wished for others happiness, rather than his own. His happiness, would be seeing others happiness.

Such a path would be filled with hardship, but she could see that he already knew that. It may even be impossible, but she knew that he would strive for it regardless. What kind of person was this? She had never met someone like him. She had to admit, that it made her angry to think that someone like him would try so hard, only to fail anyways.

She couldn't understand why, but she wanted to believe that he could make his wish come true. She wanted to see it. No, more than that, she wanted to be there to help him see it through. She couldn't explain why she felt this way, nor did she understand why she seemed drawn to him. He was an interesting person, if a bit foolish.

She then smiled, this time it was a genuine smile. He was a fool, someone who cared not for what others thought of him, only hoping to make those around him happy. His skills scorned, his beliefs likely ridiculed, and his lands likely looked down upon, yet, he strove forward all the same. She wasn't dumb, she knew that his offer to join her with Alsace, would render him a traitor, but he would bear that, if it meant Alsace would be safe.

For the smallest fraction of a second, she swore that she saw a glimpse of Tigre standing atop a hill of swords, alone, yet a smile on his face all the same. She clenched her teeth, such a sight was unacceptable to her. She didn't know it at the time, but she had made up her mind on Tigrevurmud Vorn. She reached over, placing her hand atop his, startling him, though he didn't pull away.

"I hope to see your wish become reality, Tigre. I hope that you think on my offer a little harder, for I wish to help you accomplish that dream." Shirou hadn't expect such words. He knew what he sounded like. He was aware of how childish he sounded. Which was why he was surprised to hear Elen say the same words Ayako and Titta said to him.

It was because of that, that he hoped his gambit paid off. Escaping was risky, but if it paid off, then that meant Alsace would be safe. He would endure whatever punishment she rendered onto him. It would be worth it. However, he needed to get back to Alsace in time, especially if the rumors he heard were true. If the civil war was real, along with Thernadiere marching north, then it would make for a good introduction for Elen. That is if she went along with what he was trying to do.

He had rode for six days, cutting down trees along the road to slow Elen's troops. However, he had finally made it to the Vosyes Mountains. Now, he had to cross the mountains and travel back to Alsace and home to Selestat. Admittedly, Shirou was nervous. It was a bit too easy. When did anything ever go according to plan for him.

He had just started up the mountain trail, when a spike of ice rose from the ground and caused him to fall from his horse. 'There's the bad luck I was expecting.' He thought as he scrambled to his feet, nocking an arrow as he did so. He looked around, not knowing where the attack had came from. "Trace on." He spoke as the image of the hammer of a flintlock firing appeared in his mind.

He reinforced his body, before stepping out with his bow and aiming towards the smell of water. It was magical in nature, so he figured that's where his enemy was. However, he wasn't prepared for what he saw. A girl with blue eyes and blue tied up hair was standing before him. She had a slender body and was shorter than Elen and himself. However, it was the somewhat revealing dress and long bow that tied up her blue hair that jogged his memory of his opponent. 'Oh, come on!'

"It's good to see to you again, Tigre. I've been waiting for you. Now, allow me to introduce myself formally." She said, before giving him a small formal curtsy, "My name is Ludmila Lourie, the war maiden of Olmutz, also known as the Snow Princess of the Frozen Wave. Now, why don't we have ourselves a friendly chat with some tea." She said with a sweet smile.

Went through a few renditions of this chapter before settling on this one. I won't lie, Mila is my favorite Vanadis from this series. Her spear, Lavias is so freaking cool, and I have some cool ideas on some things it can do. She'll be a bit different from canon, as she met Shirou before. I wanted to incorporate some of the Michelia spin off, so we'll see how that goes. Mila is super cool and arguably one of the smartest war maidens, if not the smartest. I changed up a bit of stuff, like the surrounding of where Shirou was kept, its not a big change, just a small one. I will say, that we'll start to see more of Shirou's past and what he's capable of. I'm excited for this story, as I want to do something a bit different with him than what I'm doing with the other versions. As he is a leader of a territory. Next chapter will be Akashic Records, or FoZ, as both chapters are partially finished. We'll see. They will be out in a few days, if not tomorrow. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, I appreciate you reading and the reviews, until next time.