The carriage made its way around the corner and into the gates of the estate where they were staying. The very same one that would be host the other candidates shortly. As they approached the house, Wilhelm was already outside in the front of the place in clothes that were only slightly less formal than his normal wear, except that he carried four swords at his waist, two on each side.
The older man seemed to be readying himself to go somewhere, but when he spotted the carriage he locked eyes on it waiting to see who was inside.
"This has to be Peter now," May yelled from the front door, as if she were trying to calm Wilhelm down for some reason.
She and Rem were standing between the columns that marked either side of the steps, looking on and waiting to see what they could do.
Peter opened the carriage door and helped Emilia out. "What's going on out here?" Peter asked.
"Maybe you left too soon, but there's smoke rising out of the area near the palace. It looks like something is going on," May said.
"They're probably burning all the bodies," Emilia said. "Oh dear, that sounded rather morbid."
"What bodies are you speaking of, Miss Emilia," asked Wilhelm.
Puck flew out of Emilia's silver hair and circled around her until she could make a sharp turn toward May. "The castle was attacked, but we handled it," Puck said.
"Then what Wade said was true, the Witch's Cult is here in the city?" Wilhelm asked.
"At least one of them was. She called herself Cassiopeia and said that she was an Inquisitor," Peter said.
"I take it there were massive casualties," Rem said.
Emilia shook her head. "Not exactly, this Inquisitor fought using bodies that she brought with her. She used them like puppets, but when she was beat back the bodies that puppet bodies were just kind of left there."
"How many of these 'puppets' were there?" May asked.
"A lot," Peter said. "They probably think that burning them will keep there from being used later," he said.
"We should still be prepared for more attacks like this, if the Witch Cult is about there is no time to let our guard down," Wilhelm said.
"Are you okay?" May rushed out to Peter, throwing an arm around him and rubbing at his hair. "You're absolutely filthy."
"I'm fine, really. I'm going to take a bath right after we get inside," Peter said.
"I'm guessing you took on this Inquisitor all by yourself or did Steve help?" May asked.
"Steve was inside making sure everyone else was safe, I got help from a Knight. This Reinhard guy, I thought he might have been kind of a d-bag, but he seems alright," Peter said.
Wilhelm's steely blue eyes flit up and focus on Peter at the mention of the name Reinhard. He says nothing about what Peter was talking about.
Seeing him watching, Peter steps closer to him. "I've been asking a lot of people this," Peter said. "But is there anything you can tell me about the Witch's Cult? If they're going to be showing up and attacking us it might help to know who they are," he added.
Wilhelm stared over at Peter. "I knew a man who had a connection to the Witch's Cult," he started. "The actions he took several decades ago could have brought this country to its knees."
Peter began to swing his arms back and forth along the sides of his body in sync. "That doesn't sound encouraging," he said.
"Well, they are not to be taken lightly," said Wilhelm.
May was holding Puck now, stroking his belly like she would have done with a real kitten. "If everything turned out more or less okay with the Royal Selection, where is everyone else?"
"Steve actually met up with that Winter Soldier guy and um, the Falcon," Peter said.
May gave one of her patented, sardonic smiles. "I know who James and Sam are, Peter," she said. "I've been around them for months."
"Miss Crusch is actually bringing the other candidates back here to finish the ceremony," said Emilia.
The column of smoke rising beside the castle had reached a considerable height. It had begun to spread and blot out the sun above the palace. Peter couldn't be sure how many bodies there had been in all or what these Inquisitors did or were. This world got by on people not sharing everything with one another, he could tell that all around him there were people with the answers to things that if others knew out would make everything that much easier.
Rem clasped her hands. "If there are to be guests here might I help prepare the manor to receive them?" Rem asked.
Wilhelm turned to look at her, his jaw locked and his expression grim. Peter didn't know what was going on there, he had seemed like a normal nice old man before and now there was something else going on with him.
"That would be lovely, I would very much like to have the help," he smiled to Rem as he made his way toward her and the steps to head inside.
May pulled at Peter's tattered jacket, trying her best to straighten it up. "Peter, if you could refrain from mentioning Reinhard around Wilhelm," she said whispering to him. Emilia turned, her ear tilted upward. Of course she could hear, she was half-elf.
"Wha-what? Why?" Peter asked.
"Reinhard is his grandson and since the death of Wilhelm's wife things have been rather rocky," May explained.
Peter glanced up to see the older man headed inside with Rem, the two of them chatting amicably. "Then we might have a problem, because Reinhard is almost certainly coming here."
"What?"
He looked to Emilia and then May. "That was the day's big announcement, he found the final candidate for the Royal Selection and he plans to give her his backing as her knight."
The room that the proceedings were continued in was less than a quarter the size of the grandiose throne room from the Royal Palace. It could have never hoped to contain all of the people that had been part of the ceremony to start, but it was hardly a bland space. The walls were a deep maroon with gold trim running at their edges and the floors were carpeted in plush, green carpet with a maroon pattern set through it.
A few bookshelves were placed along the walls and there was a window facing the central courtyard. One of the things that had been made sure of this time was that knights and Crusch's own men would be patrolling the courtyard and the halls outside of the room. The main feature of the room was a long table, long enough for all of the Wisemen Council to be seated at comfortably.
Miklotov was at the head of the table with the others fanned out around him. The candidates had returned for this bit and were lined up across in front of the table with their sponsors behind them. Priscilla with Al at her back, Crusch with Ferris, Emilia with Rosawaal, and Anastasia Hoshin with Julius.
Felt had been made to stand off to the side of the room with Reinhard van Astrea at her side, the two of them separated as they were the only ones who had yet to make a declaration.
Peter, Bucky Barnes, Sam Wilson, and Steve stood along the windows that were behind the candidates watching the whole thing shoulder to shoulder, waiting for it or anything to begin.
"So the silver haired girl, this is who you've been staying with," Bucky asked in a low voice.
"Her sponsor there, really," Steve answered. "He supposed to be helping us out in getting back to Earth and in exchange we're helping her out."
Bucky shook his head. "Pretty sure we're never getting back," he said.
Steve glared at him. "Why?"
"Because something is wrong with this place, it's different," Bucky whispered.
"What do you mean?" Asked Peter.
Sam steadied his hand out in front of him. "We've discussed this back and forth and let me answer your question with a question: since you've been here have you seen any sign that half of all life disappeared?"
How could Peter have been so stupid? He hadn't thought of it, but that had been the thing Thanos's goal all along. Snap his fingers with the stones or whatever and wish half of all life out of existence. So, then why wasn't it happening on Luginica?
Miklotov raised his hand up to silence everyone as the door opened and Wilhelm, May, and Rem stepped through to wait just in side of the room. The members of the Wisemen Council came to a hush and were looking to one another before the leader spoke out.
"Now then," Miklotov started. "I know there was a fair bit of excitement this morning and I know that dragging you all down here so that we could let one girl speak might seem excessive, but—"
Priscilla cut him off. "—but you old men are all the same, full of hot air that's just spraying out the both ends," she said.
It was at this that Felt actually snickered.
"It's quite tiresome to be moved from one end of the city to the other just to continue this disastrous meeting. And the fact that it is being held in the House of one of the candidates," Priscilla said. "Seems to show some level of bias." Then she leaned out to glare at Crusch. "Don't worry, this little stunt won't overcome the fact that this world, by design, works in my favor."
Miklotov cleared his throat over the last part of her sentence, Crusch hadn't even turned to look at her. "Miss Felt has the floor," Miklotov said.
Felt came forward with Reinhard at her side, though he seemed to be trying very hard not to look toward the door where his grandfather waited. He stopped, kneeling at her side as she took a few more steps forward and spoke.
"Attention, old men, ladies, perverts—" Felt began her speech and the tension in the air was drawn so taut that Peter could feel it threatening to set off all the alarm bells in his head. "If I am forced to say something then let it be there: I couldn't care less about your stupid crown or being your damn Dragon Priestess!"
The Wisemen gasped, some of the other spectators who had slipped into the room couldn't believe what they were hearing.
"So then you mean to drop out of the Selection?" Asked Miklotov.
Felt put her hands on her hips, a smug smile plastered on her small face. "You read my mind, old man."
Bucky leaned over to Steve. "Was this planned to go this way?" He asked.
"After puppets attacked the whole thing earlier I don't think that anyone is willing to accept this as even that much of a deviation," Steve whispered back.
"There may be something here that can change your mind," Miklotov said. "Or rather someone—will you take a look out that window behind you, Miss Felt?" He asked.
All eyes in the room were locked on Felt as she walked back to the window at the rear of the room, right near where Bucky and Sam were to peer down into the courtyard of the Crusch estate. In the center of the courtyard, guarded on all side by a contingent of knights and soldiers they could see Old Man Rom.
There was a rush in Peter's chest, a desire to help the old man, but he didn't move because there was something else at play here. And because they could probably do something before he could get all the way out there to stop them.
"We found him wandering the ground after the Witch Cultist attack, it would seem to me that a member of their ranks got left behind," Miklotov said.
"That's bullshit and you know it, Old Man Rom is my family. He's my only family!" She yelled.
"He may have mentioned you, I'm told." Miklotov's eyes were closed and he gave a nonchalant wave of his hand. "Were you a candidate for the Royal Selection you would be afforded the power to make all of this go away, possibly even see that your family there is well taken care of, but I am afraid that the price of insurrection and breaking into the castle like this is a swift death, or so the knights tell me."
This was rough to watch, Peter couldn't just let them kill Rom, but before he could even move Felt screamed out.
"Wait. I'll do your dumb Royal Selection," she said.
Reinhard had remained kneeling this whole time, but he lifted his head and smiled up at her. His blue eyes seemed to burn with a renewed resolve.
"But there's just one thing you have to know about me and what I think about this Kingdom: I hate the knights, I hate the Royalty, and I despise the nobility—if I become ruler the first thing I'm going to do is level this place. Maybe a little fresh air is just what this place needs!"
The guards and knights were already releasing Rom as she said this, she waved at him and then turned back to the council. "I'll make sure every one the crooked sacks of shit that let things become this get what they deserve."
"I've never heard anything like it!" One of the councilmen yelled.
"She's defiled the Royal Selection! Knight Reinhard, how could you bring her before us like this?" Asked another.
Reinhard looked up, a devilish grin on his face. "My Lady comes before you only to give you her truth—I would expect nothing less from her as it is my goal to see to it that her wishes are fulfilled."
There was an aura of excitement and anticipation to whatever it was that comes next, but Peter couldn't help but think about what it was that Bucky was saying before. He hadn't known the stars in the sky here earlier and now there was the fact that this place had never experienced the results of the Thanos snap even though Peter knew it to have happened.
Perhaps there was a range on it, but it didn't seem like the kind of situation where they could have gotten that lucky. So, had they crossed into a parallel universe like he guessed earlier?
Upon entering the room where Lady Crusch waited the first thing that Emilia noticed was the panoramic view through the long window that stretched out overlooking the capital down the hillside. It was hard to remember since the house itself was build up onto the hill, but they were at a higher elevation that most of the city except some of the walls and the actual palace itself.
This district towered over the parts of the city that stretched out uphill to until they were back at the height that palace district itself was at. There was still a faint column of smoke visible in that direction. In a bid to keep the fire controlled and from getting too large, they had probably elected to burn the bodies slowly, Emilia figured.
Who was to say that they would be done with the horrific work by morning. Her eyes traced the horizon, the sun had set and there was still a hint of orange in the sky, but night had spread to cover most of it.
"I often catch people admiring the view," Crusch said without bothering to look toward Emilia. "I'm up here often enough that it is hardly remarkable to me, though I can't say it doesn't surprise even me sometimes."
"Lord Roswaal's manor is far from any large cities and most of the surrounding area is woodlands, so there is rarely something this dynamic for me to look at outside my window," Emilia said.
Crusch turned to her, rising from her chair to meet the other woman. "I apologize for asking you to come alone, in reality I wanted to know that the decision that you make here, tonight, was by your own volition. I didn't want any maneuvering of Roswaal or you to consult your knight," Crusch said.
As Emilia took her hand to shake it, she wondered why this woman who was her opponent was being so open and earnest with her about this kind of subtle plotting and planning. There had to be some ulterior motive, though she couldn't guess what.
"I was interested to hear your proposal, though to tell the truth if you hadn't said to come alone I would have at least brought Peter," Emilia said.
Crusch smiled and turned to pour herself a drink from the table near the entrance to the room. "I'm an honorable woman," she started. "Did you think I would try to have you killed?"
"No," Emilia said, wondering if she had misspoke. "With the Witch Cult around I don't think that I could ever be too careful though."
For a moment Crusch seemed to study something in the air around Emilia. Then she nodded as if satisfied with that answer. "Would you like me to pour you a drink?" She asked.
Emilia waved her hands in front of herself. "I mustn't," she said. "I really lack any kind of tolerance for it."
"I see," Crusch said. "Would you care to guess why I asked you to come here tonight?"
Slowly, Emilia paced around the room and glanced out over the city. Of course she had been thinking about this since the castle where it was mentioned to her, but everything that she had thought about back then felt somehow wrong. She had been thinking about what Crusch would want and what kind of person she was from what she knew of the other woman.
But maybe she should think about why Crusch would want her specifically.
When she focused her energies there a few things came to mind and without really thinking or hesitating at giving her hand away, she rattled a few of them off. "I'm the most trustworthy of the candidates besides you," Emilia said. "At least, in your eyes."
Crusch stood, her expression neutral.
"I lack the support of almost anyone, so there is no risk of whatever you need my help in backfiring—this is some kind of collaboration. Even if I gain popularity from it, you're so far past me that it will only serve to, at most bring me up past our opponents."
Crusch stared at her, gulped the rest of her drink down, and placed the glass on the table. "You're far more intelligent than I gave you credit for too," Crusch said.
Emilia's face turned red at that.
"You knew that you couldn't guess what it was that I wanted to do, how could you, you probably haven't picked up on the differences in the capital after being here a matter of hours, but what you could see was why I would ask you—a smart strategy, actually," Crusch said.
There was nothing that Emilia could think to say to that, so she nodded.
"Surely, you know the Three Great Demon Beasts, right?" Crusch asked.
"The Black Serpent, The White Whale, and the Great Rabbit," Emilia said.
Crusch gave a nod of her head. "Any one of them is a massive problem and they have plagued the land for four hundred years now. There was never an expectation or reason to chase them down before as the Royal Family was too preoccupied with other things and the Wisemen Council has mostly taken to treading water and not trying to affect real change," she said.
"The thing is I have been gathering forces, supplies, and manpower to show the people that an active ruler who puts their mind to something can do the impossible and I have made a promise to a friend—that is why I plan to lead in the Subjugation of the White Whale," Crusch explained.
The moment that she heard that, she knew who the friend Crusch was doing this for was: Wilhelm van Astrea. He had a very personal grudge against the White Whale since it had killed his wife some years ago. Emilia had heard the story, it was just one of the many morbid tales that seemed to follow the old man around.
"And you want me to help you lead an attack on it?" Asked Emilia.
"Not exactly, I just want the help of your men, Steve and Peter," Crusch said. "I've seen Peter in action and Misters Barnes and Wilson talk about how much of a legendary leader Steve Rogers is all of the time. I could really use them to fill out some of the ranks and help bring this thing down."
"Why not at the very least try to enlist the help of Reinhard?" Asked Emilia.
"The kingdom depends on him far more than it should for the wrong kind of things, but he is really hampered by legality about where he can be and Reinhard is the only scrap of legitimacy Felt has, really other than looking like the Royal Bloodline heirs. No need to add to her chronicle by allowing Reinhard to push her popularity further."
Emilia sighed. "I've never really shared this with anyone before, but I have actually faced down one of the Demon Beasts, part of it anyway. A long time ago the Black Serpent's poison attacked my home in the forest. It threatened a nearby village and everything for miles around—it took everything I had to beat back just a bit of what it leaves behind."
"The Black Serpent is the least understood, most dangerous of the bunch. There aren't even pictures of the actual things body. Reports exists," Crusch said rushing to a table at the opposite of the room and motioning for Emilia to follow. "Of people wounding the White Whale, even using the wounds to get away from it in lucky moments. I have drawings of it, models of its size and Wilhelm van Astrea has what might be a way to track it—at least the instances where it can be tracked."
"I thought the whole issue was that it appears randomly?" Emilia asked.
"It can appear randomly, but those instances differ a lot and we suspect there is something else going on there or something calling it. Other times it appears near a spot where it last attacked, but a certain distance away. The earliest indication of where it is going to be is the fog, really," Crusch said.
Emilia looked at the map that was laid out on the table with various pins and notes stuck to it. Despite this map being a newer looking copy, it seemed years worth of work was here. Some of it had to have been carried over from the work Wilhelm did elsewhere; it looked quite extensive and she didn't want to down play that, but this all seemed like a large risk.
"Why would you have just Steve and Peter and not me there?" Asked Emilia.
"It should be obvious," Crusch said with a smile. "If the White Whale swallows me whole, then you're going to be the candidate most suitable to bring her vision to the Kingdom. If we're both lost that would just leave Anastasia Hoshin who, from what I can tell, could at least run a prosperous company. Other than that, we're looking at leaving the Kingdom in the hands of a narcissist or an anarchist."
Emilia dragged her fingers over the map, to the far North East there was a portion of the map marked with a wooded area, Elior Forest. That had been the last place that she had known the Serpent to be, or at least known its influence to be. From what Crusch said it did seem like the White Whale was less formidable.
"You've got this all thought out, I admit it does seem interesting, but even if the beast is killable, why do you think you can bring it down?" Emilia asked.
"Because in the past when people fought it they had encountered it on the road when they were unprepared or traveling. Usually, by the time a force can be mustered to go after it, it will be gone already. I am preparing a force large enough that we can move to everywhere it might be the next time it appears and once we have it, we can pin it down and kill it."
This does sound like the kind of thing that Peter and Steve would actually be willing to help with, if they understood what was going on. But she couldn't order them to do it, even if she outranked them in social standing.
"I would have to consult with Peter and Captain Rogers," Emilia said. "Maybe we could even bring your plan to them?" Asked Emilia. "If Captain Rogers is a brilliant strategist, there might be something he could do without even lifting a weapon."
"So, you would bring them in on this and consult with them, if it were something that you were planning?" Asked Crusch.
Emilia nodded. "If you would like me to keep your plan secret and not tell them or anyone else, I would be happy to oblige. But I will not order Captain Rogers or Peter to take this kind of risk," she said.
"Even though it would better position you to see your goals realized?" Crusch said.
"Even if it would assure me the throne," she said.
Crusch pointed at some of the pins jutting up from the map, they were yellow and round, pushed into various spots around the countryside. "The Witch's Cult wasn't even that active, until about eight months ago."
"Eight months?" Emilia said. "All of these yellow pins, are from within that time frame?"
"Three dozen sightings," Crusch said. "Since you were found to be eligible to become the Dragon's Priestess. You know, they write about you claiming that you're the daughter of a Witch, that your name appears in their deranged gospel—even if you find one of the things they're unintelligible so it's hard to tell."
"You've touched one?" Emilia said, horrified.
Crusch leaned in so close to Emilia that the older woman's yellow eyes were locked with hers, she could feel the warmth of Crusch's breath rushing over her shoulder. "I've touched many of them. I don't fear their un-divine providence or a vengeful wrath of the witch anymore than I believe you're the rebirth of Satella. The same way that I don't think the Dragon's Covenant was made for our benefit," Crusch said.
Sure, Crusch had always been polite to her, but to hear that another person wasn't afraid.
"You don't fear me?" Emilia mouthed.
"I'm alone with you in a room without guards or anyone to call for help, if I believed that you were going to do something to me I would have at least worn my weapon," Crusch said.
"I see," Emilia said.
"You spoke about equality and how you wanted these things for selfish reasons and I could tell all of that was true. And I could tell it was a goal you wanted, but now I will say this: if you want this nation to survive the possibility that trade goods can travel unimpeded on roads needs to be true. Equality means that people in Picoutatte or Costuul have access to the same goods and services as someone in the capital." Crusch said.
Then she added. "Something and simple as geographic location will effect everything that a person has available to them."
Emilia had never thought of it that way, how shallow had her ideal of equality really been.
"And if the Whale is out there then no one is safe on the roads, no one will be able to feely serve the Kingdom's trade routes," Crusch said.
"So this benefits my long term goal?" Emilia asked.
"It does for both of us. By showing people a world where the Dragon is not depended upon to intervene for us, I can teach them that there's power in what we can do here and now," Crusch said.
"And this somehow ties into the Witch's Cult?" Emilia asked.
Crusch nodded. "I think they're connected to the White Whale in some way, perhaps they're following it or able to summon it, but there does seem to be some relationship between them and the beast."
A sound by the entrance caused Emilia to turn and look, then she saw a shadow beneath the door move. It was too near to be a simple change in the light. Emilia turned to Crusch and whispered. "A guard?"
"No," Crusch said, "there should be no one."
Emilia neared the door with Crusch. As she moved she summoned a ball of ice into being near her shoulder and just let it levitate there. They opened the door together, throwing it back to reveal a woman with lavender hair, clothed in white furs pressed up against the wall to the side of the door.
Anastasia Hoshin stepped out into the center of the hallway, one hand clutching the strap of her satchel and the other curled around her slender waist. She cracked a little smile, eyeing them both. "Hm, it would seem those Elvish ears really do pick up subtle noises."
"What are you doing, Miss Hoshin," Crusch asked.
"Had an associate look over what you're doing in here. People in and out of the place at all hours, you've been buying up my stock of several items, and you've raised the kind of army some cities wouldn't be able to support. I knew you were attacking something, but I didn't know what," she said.
"And depending on how long you were out there you know everything now," Emilia said.
Anastasia Hoshin nodded. "And the thing is, you're already using me to supply a lot of your endeavors. A shipment that was delayed due to something mysterious happening at a trading post near the city only made it because I personally had it brought to you."
"Go ahead and tell us what you want," said Crusch.
"I want a little of the glory and, most of all, I want those trade routes clear. To put it mildly the things you were discussing in there have been bad for my bottom line," she threw her hands up striking a rather joyous pose. "So if the Hakugei were to be defeated this would greatly benefit me, even were I not selected as ruler."
It was a little odd to Emilia that she wanted to help them, even after her had hadn't been considered in all of this.
"Besides supplies what else is it that you bring to the table?" Asked Crusch.
Anastasia chuckled to herself, putting her fingers over her mouth in an almost dainty display of mischief. "Why, the might of the Fang of Iron Private Military Group of course," she said. "If Crusch Karsten has a plan and we can field this army, then I don't see why we can't see our goals realized. All that's left is for Emilia to discuss with her friends what they want to do."
Emilia couldn't believe this, she had eavesdropped her way into this situation and now she was just inviting herself into their pact. She and Crusch turned to each other, staring and unsure of exactly what the right course of action was here. It felt now, like Emilia would be forced to help Crusch in some way, if she didn't want to be left out as the candidate who shrugged off the chance to do something grand.