The Kidnapping of Katarina

Make a bad one good, make a wrong one right

Power of love will keep you home at night

~ Huey Lewis

Chapter 3

The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury. ~ Marcus Aurelius

Alan leant out of the window as the first carriage came into view of the Berg mansion. They could have ridden horses and arrived faster, but that would have meant leaving the girls behind. Mary had insisted on going, arguing with Gerald, but the final argument had been delivered by Olivia Campbell, brought by Angelica when the duke's daughter heard that Katarina had been located.

"She may be h-hurt," the scholarship student had declared. "And light magic is supposed to be able to help against dark magic! Let me help!"

For a moment he'd half expected Gerald to simply throw the girl up onto the saddle and ride off anyway, but after a moment, his brother had instead simply nodded and seized the reins - pushing aside the coachman in the full confidence that he could do a better job.

Given that their carriage was a good half a street ahead of the second - holding Nicol, Sophia, Keith and Angelica - Alan thought that his brother might have a point. It was immensely irritating at times. Actually, a lot of the time. Reaching into his pocket, the musician checked that he had the toy snake Katarina had given him once.

He'd never actually thrown it at Gerald, of course. He certainly wouldn't now. But just touching it was a reminder of the first time he'd ever seen that veneer of perfection broken.

The image of eight-year old Gerald leaping back and screaming in terror at the thought that he might have had a snake leap out at him still served as a reminder that no one, not even his twin brother, was perfect. And that it was therefore okay for Alan not to be perfect.

He'd still try to beat Gerald, of course. But he'd learned to take satisfaction from the few victories he came across and simply be proud of his brother when he came second. Because at least he was the very best second that he could be.

Right now though, Alan was very glad to have Gerald at his side because there was something very wrong with the Berg mansion.

"I can't go any faster!" Gerald snapped, before he could ask. "Do something about the gate!"

Ah, making himself useful! Water coalesced before Alan and he flung it forwards, slashing open the more or less ornamental locks securing the gates to the Berg's estate. A second and third projectile hit the metal framework hard enough to force both panels back, opening a gap that the carriage could just barely get between. Alan had to heave himself back into the window or his face would have been scraped off.

"What's going on!" demanded Mary. "Is Lady Katarina alright?"

"I don't know," he admitted.

The horses, almost spent from the run, slowed and the coach began to roll to a halt. Anticipating Mary, Alan grabbed the handle of the door. As soon as it was slow enough, he held it open and hopped down onto the step, and the instant they stopped his boots were on the ground so he could help first Mary and then Olivia out.

"Oh my god!" Mary shrieked, and she pulled up her skirts to dash towards the mansion the moment her boots were on the ground. Gerald was already running ahead of her.

Half of the mansion was gone.

Well, that was an exaggeration. Half of the front was gone - as if something massive had crashed against it and ground away the wall. Rooms were gaping open to the elements, some of them with part of the roof falling in. Debris from the architecture and wrecked furniture was scattered around, both inside the rooms and across the grounds outside.

"What happened here?" Olivia gasped in dismay.

Alan shrugged, seeing the second coach navigating the gates with a little less confidence than his brother had. Looking at the rest of the mansion, it seemed alright. In fact, the front door was open and inside he saw servants. "Let's find someone to ask," he decided and took Olivia's arm, drawing her towards the door.

The little elf boy hopped down after them and followed them. "Bartford," he muttered to himself. "This has to be Bartford's fault."

"Leon isn't even here," Olivia protested.

"What has that got to do with it? Everything is Bartford's fault!"

"Make yourself useful." Alan forced himself not to run up the steps. "And whining about Lord Bartford isn't helping." Plus, the kid really ought to watch his tongue when it came to using people's titles. Even if Alan didn't care much, a lot of lords would make trouble for the ministry if their errand boy was too sloppy about protocol.

One of the servants - a footman, Alan thought - came to intercept them once they entered. "I'm sorry sir, the household is not welcoming visitors today."

"Who are you?" he snorted. He'd never seen this one before… hadn't there been something about Selena changing up her staff here? "Where's Lady Berg?"

"Sir, I must ask you to - urk."

The footman's words choked off as Alan seized him by the front of his shirt and yanked him up onto his tip-toes. "Lady Berg is to marry my brother this winter. Under the circumstances I am just a little concerned for her safety!" Forcing himself to let go, he leaned in. "Now where is she?"

"We don't know," an older maid declared when the footman seemed unable to speak clearly. She was crouched over another servant, who was on the floor with a bump on her head the size of a goose-egg. "She was in her room as far as I know when this happened, but she's not there now."

Alan orientated himself and realised that Selena's rooms weren't among those that had been suddenly refurbished.

"Let me see if I can help," Olivia offered, stepping forwards to take the maid's place. She reached out and light began to form around her hands, sweeping over the fallen woman.

"Light magic!" a young woman gasped.

"Is anyone else missing?" Alan asked. "Or injured?" He'd been trained in crisis management, and if Katarina had been hurt, this was the fastest way to find out.

The older maid straightened herself and reflexively adjusted her apron. "Mr Brode is unconscious as well. He's still half-buried, but he's breathing alright."

"Brode?"

"The butler, your highness. Rufus Brode."

The man who should be in charge. Naturally. But there should be someone around here from the ministry, shouldn't there? They would know what's going on. "Kyle, wasn't there someone you're looking for?"

"Uh." The elf looked embarrassed and then pointed at the unconscious woman. "That's her."

"...I still don't think it's Leon's fault, but I'm beginning to see the appeal of having someone to blame," Alan admitted.

"You see!?"

Nicol and Sophia entered, looking around the room. The older boy got right to the point: "What happened?"

"I was about to ask," Alan admitted and then turned to the maid who was now - by default - in charge of the servants. "Is there anyone here besides servants and Lady Selena? A guest, perhaps?"

"Ye- no, er…?" the woman shook her head in bemusement. "I don't…"

"There was someone for dinner," a cook declared. "Because we were told to prepare two portions."

"Then why don't I know anything about it?" one of the footmen exclaimed. "There were no carriages or horses."

"How about guest rooms?" Sophia asked sharply. "Were any rooms prepared for a visitor?"

A bit of discussion among the servants confirmed that yes there had been one guest room made ready and that the unconscious maid had been the one assigned to tend to it.

"Let me guess," Alan declared sardonically. "It was right in the area where an entire wall is now missing, and both this lady and the mysterious Mr Brode were there as well."

A number of eyes refused to meet his.

"Yeah, I thought so. And here's the question you've all been waiting for: what happened to the mansion?"

It was the young maid from before who answered: "A big white knight-armour crashed into it!"

"You saw?" Nicol asked her.

This, unfortunately, was a mistake. The maid looked Nicol full in the face and fainted on the spot.

"Dammit, Nicol. You should wear a mask or something."

If his friend had been capable of looking offended, he probably would have.

"Did anyone else see it?"

"I didn't see it land," the boot-boy called out boldly. "But I got out in time to see it take off again. There was a woman in it."

"Women don't use knight-armour," the footman from before asserted.

"I didn't say she was flyin' it," the boy pointed out. "Just in it. There was two women, one who jumped into the chest place -"

"The cockpit."

"I don't think two cocks could fight in it, my lord."

"Call him 'your highness'," the older maid hissed.

"The place where the pilot sits is called the cockpit," Alan clarified. "So this woman… white and blue dress, long brown hair?"

"Yes sir!"

"So she jumped inside of it. And there was another woman?"

"Yes, I didn't get as good a look, because it had its hand around her."

Alan winced at that. "How tight?"

"Just holdin', sir. Not that tight."

He and Nicol both exhaled slightly. "And do you think that the other woman could have been Lady Selena?"

The boot-boy kicked at the ground, looking abashed. "I ain't hardly never seen Lady Berg, sir. I couldn't rightly say."

"Alan!" Gerald bounded into the hallway, followed a few steps behind by Mary. "I can't find Katarina anywhere. What are you doing here?"

"I think I know what happened," Alan told his twin. "But do you know where there might be a portrait of Selena?"

"Parlour," his brother answered tersely, pointing at a door. "But what happened and where is Katarina!?"

"Bartford crashed into the mansion in his knight-armour, grabbed Lady Berg in one hand and then had Lady Claes jump into the cockpit with him," Kyle declared. "His spare knight-armour is white, mostly."

It was. Alan remembered it vividly.

"Oh no!" Sophia wailed at the top of her voice. "Now he really has eloped with her! Brother, you waited too long!"

Leon was back at his usual table in the dining hall, Violette and Scarlet sat opposite. After the last few days, he wondered if he was going to be accused of seducing them as well.

Admittedly, he could do far worse. Actually, it would be hard to do much better - a duke's daughters, beautiful, rather nice girls. Short of pitching his cap for Princess Erika (who was absolutely too young), they were as eligible as any girl at the academy.

No wonder most of the boys aiming for high-status women hate me, he thought as he cut into the meat on his plate. The food was as good today as it was most days, but a lot of the student body seemed distracted. Having one of the most prominent students abducted and half a dozen of the student council vanish off on a rescue mission would do that.

"Master, I thought you'd want to know that someone has signalled for the Stein knight-armour," Luxion informed.

Leon picked up his glass. The AI was taking shameless advantage of the fact that Leon had to circumspect in talking to him while Scarlet was around. He sipped and then almost jumped out of his skin when Clarice set her tray down next to him.

"Weren't you expecting me?" she said with a smile.

"I was a little distracted," he admitted and shuffled aside a little to give her room. "Make yourself comfortable. You know Scarlet, of course. And I imagine you've crossed paths with Violette."

"I have." Clarice edged her chair just a little closer to Leon's, making it clear she didn't want or need that extra space. "And may I say you look considerably better, Violette, than you did when you were twelve and still being dressed by your mother."

The girl dropped her fork. "I…"

Scarlet's knife visibly bent in her hand.

"Oh crud," Clarice sighed. "I'm sorry, that came out wrong. Look, you were dashing as all get out. Jilk went around trying to imitate your swagger and pretend that he wasn't doing it. I actually thought it was cute…" The redhead shook her head at the folly of younger-her. "So you looked good then. All I mean is you look better now. Happier."

"Ah." Violette swallowed, then took a napkin and wiped her eyes. "I tend to… make assumptions, when mother is mentioned."

"It was tactless of me," the older girl admitted. "And it probably came across as me taking a jab because you're already friendly with Leon."

Violette picked up her fork from the floor. "So are you…" Her sister plucked the fork from her hand and walked off with that and her bent knife, heading for the cutlery stacked waiting for use. "Are you and Leon together?"

"That's the popular perception," Clarice admitted. "So the question I have is, how do you feel about that, Leon?"

"If you just mean reputation-wise, it's rather flattering," he told her. "But I don't think that that's what you mean." He filled his mouth with food and hoped Luxion could understand his subvocalization while eating. "Will you send it, and was it Katarina?"

"I have, master, and it was. She is flying back towards the academy and has a passenger or captive with her."

That should be interesting, he thought.

Clarice sighed. "I wouldn't have asked you to stay with me, if I just meant that." She was looking at him directly, and so she probably didn't see Violette giving Leon a little thumbs up.

Well, speaking of not being able to do much better, Leon thought to himself. "I don't know how it'll work out," he admitted. "But it occurs to me that not only is that pretty normal for a relationship… I'd actually like to find out."

"From you, that actually sounds enthusiastic," the second year told him, looking both pleased and amused. "Don't worry, I won't go too fast for you, I know you're a fragile man who can't take too much."

"Your consideration is most deeply appreciated," he replied, then lifted his glass. "Although if you'll permit me a moment's preparation, there is something that I think I ought to take care of right at the outset."

"Oh really?"

He sipped from his glass and then wiped his lips meticulously. Finally, Leon took Clarice's hand and lifted it, kissing her gently on the knuckles.

Around the room, there was a rush of gasps and gossip.

Clarice's eyes twinkled. "Oh this could be fun."

"I certainly hope so."

Scarlet returned to her seat, handing Violette a clean fork. "So are the two of you together?"

"I should certainly hope so," Clarice declared. "Jealous?"

"I don't know."

Leon almost choked on the forkful of food he'd just put in his mouth.

"He's rather nice to be around, and then there's the young men who thought he was with me and weren't willing to argue with someone that thrashed Jilk." Scarlet's tone wasn't exactly melancholic, but certainly a little wistful. "Does this mean we can't study together?"

"Something can be negotiated," Clarice declared, preparing to start eating her own meal. "I'm not claiming exclusive ownership of him, just of certain select portions of his life."

Scarlet nodded in acceptance, looking happier.

"Are you interested in finding someone?" Violette asked. "Greg probably wasn't a good, uh, comparison."

"It has to be someone that'll stand up to father," the younger of the two Ades twins pointed out. "That makes it difficult. But I'm not sure what else I want in someone."

"Well, there's time to think about it," Leon offered. He then looked over at Clarice. "Speaking of exclusivity."

"I sent the servants home," she confirmed, picking up on the hint. "It was… educational, having them. But I slept better last night with you than I did anytime that they were there. I think that's a sign of something."

"The rest to be figured out."

"Exactly." She twirled her fork. "Oh, and here comes trouble."

Looking up, Leon saw that Prince Julius was crossing the dining hall towards them. Well, at least it wasn't one of the more hair-triggered members of that group. Like… almost anyone except Chris really. And only Julius and Brad had no particular feud with the four of them.

"Good evening," the prince greeted them. "I… uh, gather from the absence of Gerald and the others that Lady Claes is being rescued?"

"Lady Claes has made a daring escape and we can expect her to return under her own power," Leon told him. "Although exactly when may depend on her grasp of geography."

"She's escaped?" Violette asked. "Is she alright?"

"How do you know that?" Clarice asked suspiciously.

"My familiar is very shy, but I persuaded them to go to the Berg mansion," Leon informed them cheerfully. "Perhaps inspired by their fondness for Lady Claes, they did so and proudly reported that she has managed to get herself away without needing her fiance's help."

"I am not fond of the Claes woman," Luxion protested. "Although her generally low level of magic and resourcefulness in escaping without it does make her preferable for reproductive purposes to your current partner. If the social dynamics shift to allow you to win her over, I recommend doing so."

I'll keep that in mind should I ever want Clarice to rip my balls off, right before Gerald flambes me and Mary goes evil marchioness on my family, Leon thought.

"...good for her, I suppose," Julius decided. "I suppose anyone who can beat Chris isn't going to be too badly distressed by some kidnappers."

"Anything else you want to know?"

The prince frowned at Leon, but asked: "What's going to be done with Marie's servant?"

Clarice chuckled. "Well, your lovely little miss Lafan has a choice: she can either be seen as too dumb to realise her servant was spying on her for Marquis Mason, or she can choose to be judged complicit in his crimes. I don't envy David Fou Mason his fate once the Claes and Stuarts are through with him, but he's a Marquis. Even after this he'll have some bargaining power - if only so they don't have to go to war and conquer his domain."

Leon spread a map of the kingdom in front of him mentally. Marquis Mason's domain was strategically placed to control several key routes through the south of Holfort's territory, but by the same token all of those routes were ways that hostile fleets could close in on him. If the marquis fled to his home he'd likely find no less than three ducal fleets closing in on him. To all practical purposes, his only hope of salvaging anything would be to convince the crown to let him surrender on negotiated terms.

He'd bet big… and lost disastrously.

"Viscount Lafan doesn't have that degree of security," Clarice continued cheerfully. "Any of the three involved Dukes could squash them like a bug. So I'd suggest that your lady - and yourselves, since you all bought Nanaka for her - play dumb." She smiled very broadly. "That ought to be easy enough."

Julius' face was like a thundercloud. "Are you threatening Marie, Lady Atlee?"

Leon sighed. "That was a warning, your highness. Advice on how you and your circle of friends can avoid getting into a great deal of trouble. If I was threatening you, I'd be suggesting that Scarlet and Violette reconcile with their aunt by deeming you all conspirators and marching you off to the tender mercies of Duchess Miranda Rafa Claes." He paused. "Such mercy as she may elect to show… which isn't going to be very much."

"I'm not afraid of you, Bartford."

"I'm not the one you should be afraid of, your highness." Leon gestured lightly towards Scarlet, who had put her cutlery down and was putting on her gloves, looking hopeful.

"...I take your point, Lord Bartford." Julius was sweating heavily. Perhaps it was too warm for him, or perhaps he was coming down with a fever. "Please remain seated, Lady Ades. I will not give you an excuse."

"He can be taught," Scarlet pouted as she watched the prince retreat, tail firmly between his legs.

It only took two tries for Katarina to find the Academy.

It wasn't her fault! The capital was encircled by large mansions for various noble families, each surrounded by gardens and guest houses and other things. And they looked a lot like the academy with its classrooms and function buildings and dorms being surrounded by gardens.

Finally, she'd spotted the Claes mansion and just followed the road from there to the academy. From the air, because after the first time she landed on the street she didn't want to damage it. That one bit was an accident! She'd pay for it! Somehow!

(She wasn't sure how many treats she'd not be able to afford by paying out of her allowance for repairs, but it was better than being lectured by her mother if the Duchess found out about it.)

But now she was over the academy and could see students pointing up at her. The hangar doors at the arena were closed, so she took off again and looked for somewhere else she could land. Katarina spotted her vegetable garden, and finally settled on some unused land near it - that would mean that nothing valuable got damaged.

"Whew!" the girl gasped once the knight-armour - Big Stein! - was on the ground. She must have been flying for an hour, that really took it out of her. And she'd built up a sweat - there was a reason for the piloting suit, it was a shame she didn't have one with her.

Opening the cockpit, Katarina saw Selena still clutching the Big Stein's hand. Fortunately the other lady had fairly short hair so it wasn't too mussed up. "We're here!" she declared proudly. "Are you alright, Selena?"

"We, uh… can you get me down please?" her companion asked weakly.

"Sure!" Katarina climbed down onto the knight-armour's knee, and then helped the light-haired girl to descend from the hand. Selena obviously wasn't used to climbing, and she was wearing shoes rather than practical boots. No sooner than she was standing on the knee but she slipped.

Katarina tried to save her, but only got pulled off balance herself. The two of them tumbled the rest of the way to the grass. But that was pretty soft.

"Please don't let me have killed someone with my butt," Katarina wailed, before realising that she hadn't landed on Selena. Yes! Good job, her!

"Killed someone with your what?" Selena asked, sitting up.

"Nothing, nothing!" The brunette helped her up. "Now, let's go see the others and…"

"Katarina!" someone called.

Looking around, she saw Leon walking briskly up to them. Clarice was on his arm, looking much better than she had last time Katarina had seen her, while Scarlet and Violette Rafa Ades were arm-in-arm behind them. "Hi! I'm back!" she called.

The boy shook his head as he approached. "Katarina, I'm sorry," he offered. "I have terrible news."

"What?!"

"You've missed dinner."

"NOOOOOOO!" Katarina exclaimed, dropping to her knees. "Not dinner! Not two days in a row!"

Selena patted her awkwardly. "Um, it'll be alright?"

"I'm sure we can work something out," Leon offered sympathetically. "But really, you need to time your dramatic escapes better."

"I escaped just fine, it's really hard to find this place from the air!"

"Of course, of course." Leon helped her up. "So I see you brought Lady Berg back with you. Welcome to the Academy."

"Thank you." Selena had perfect manners, of course, and curtseyed. "Lady Atlee, Lady Ades… Ladies Ades, rather."

Violette and Clarice both also curtseyed, but Scarlet put her hands on her hips. "Is she a prisoner?" she asked, nodding at Selena.

"What? No! I just brought her here to get everything sorted out," Katarina explained. "There's been some sort of misunderstanding."

Violette looked perturbed. "So she didn't have someone lure you away from the academy, then have you taken to her mansion? Or sent a ransom note to Prince Gerald saying he should renounce the throne to get you back?"

"No, I did all those things," Selena confessed, looking shame-faced.

"Because that makes you seem about one 'whahahahaha'," (Violette did a really good villainess laugh, covering her mouth with a fan and everything! Katarina was impressed) "From being the evil marchioness in a play."

"Why were you even doing that?" Leon asked in a reasonable voice. "I mean, it's not as if you dislike Katarina or Gerald, right? So this wasn't personal."

Selena explained again, more or less as she had in the guest room that Katarina had been staying in. The other four students listened carefully, while Katarina wondered how she was going to get something to eat before breakfast tomorrow. Maybe she could sneak into the academy kitchens before letting Anne know she was back?

"That's just stupid!" Clarice said flatly.

Katarina nodded. Anne would know she was back by now, she was probably already preparing fresh clothes and a lecture for her. ...wait, no. Clarice was talking about Selena.

Selena looked pale. "I'm sorry," she said softly.

"What's the point of sacrificing yourself for some idiot who doesn't love you?" the redhead continued. "I can understand not wanting to marry him, but don't try some grand gesture that won't get you anything. Keep that for someone whose opinion of you might change."

There was a slight twitch in the older girl's jaw and suddenly Katarina saw Selena as more Lady Berg and less as a girl out of her depth. "I disagree, Lady Atlee. I don't need Ian to love me, in order to love him."

At that moment, a brilliant white figure swept into view and Katarina found her breath snatched away.

Ian Rafa Stuart was wearing white, as usual, and his short blond hair was in slight disorder. He was riding a white horse, and his face was pale as he galloped towards them.

The little group scattered out of the way as the prince reined his horse in, the steed rearing magnificently in the evening sun. Only Selena didn't move of her own accord. Leon had to backtrack a half-step to drag her after Clarice.

Ian leapt down from the panting horse's back. "Lord Bartford," he declared flatly. "You appear to have your hands on my fiancee. Correct this. Now."

Katarina realised that she was - for the first time in her admittedly limited acquaintance with Gerald's older brother - seeing him absolutely livid. It was terrifying.

"Just making sure you didn't trample her," Leon told the prince, releasing Selena.

Ian strode forwards, swept Selena in his arms and then placed her protectively behind him. "You took your knight-armour, crashed into her mansion and then carried her off across half the capital. I require a much better explanation from you than that."

"Er…" Katarina raised her hand slightly. Those grim blue eyes flickered to her and she winced. "Um. That was… kind of… me?"

Her words cracked the prince's icy demeanour. "I… what do you mean that you attacked Selena, Lady Claes?"

"No, Ian, it's not like that," Selena protested. "This is all my fault."

Katarina pulled the summoning device from her pocket. "Leon gave me this last term, so I could summon Big Stein into the arena for my duel. I called it to me and used it to bring Selena here." She shuffled her boots slightly. "I think I might have done more damage than I meant, Selena."

"Why were you even there? I understood you to have been kidnapped somehow…"

Selena swallowed a sob. "I'm sorry, Ian. I wanted to help you and I've just made everything worse."

Ian coughed and rather obviously avoided looking back at the woman behind him. "No, you've nothing to apologise for, Selena."

"I kidnapped Lady Claes!"

"...what?" He finally couldn't resist the temptation and turned away from Katarina (much to her relief). "Selena, you needn't cry."

Leon pinched the brow of his nose. "To spare Lady Berg recounting this for what would be, what? The third time today, I think. She's been tricked into some cockamamie scheme to smooth your path to the throne and end your engagement, because she believes that you don't love her and that this is the only thing she could do to help you."

"Selena, no!" Ian's voice was strangled.

Selena sniffled and looked away.

"No, Selena no!" Ian dropped to one knee before her. "Please, look at me."

"B-but you never look at me. I'm so ashamed. I know I'm not good enough for you."

"Just kiss her, you idiot," Clarice muttered, but Katarina doubted that either of the two heard the redhead.

"Selena," the prince's voice was broken. "I… I love you so much. I just… I have too much of my uncle in me. Every time I look at you, it's so hard to resist acting the way he does. To bring shame on you with my affections. So I… even now, I can't help but want to hold you in my arms and…" He swallowed. "It is I who has never been worthy of you, but I thank god every day that somehow you are mine anyway."

The young woman looked up shyly, disbelieving. "You… you mean… you don't hate me."

"NEVER!" Ian cried out.

Tremulously, Selena reached out to him. Ian's own hand extended.

"So lewd!" Katarina cried, and grabbed her cousins, turning them around before they saw too much. "Look away!"

"Katarina," Violette told her, turning her head. "They're only holding hands."

"In public! So embarrassing!" Her cheeks were crimson. "Now look away." At least Scarlet was being responsible and fixing her gaze away.

Leon's voice was strained, and Clarice was leaning on him, face red and apparently holding her own embarrassment, by the way her hands were clasped over her mouth. "I think a little lechery… in moderation… might be allowed between an engaged couple…"

Then he fell over and Clarice went down, landing on top of him. Honestly, if Katarina didn't know better she would have thought they were laughing.

"Ian!"

"Selena!"

Oh gosh, how embarrassing! They could at least get a room! Her poor vegetables, they were too innocent for this!