Chapter 7: A vault and some connections
Henrietta was seated and looked at the document on her table. Her general, Oliviers de Poiter, and her advisor, Mazarin, looked at the queen quietly
"So it has finally come..." she spoke
"Yes your majesty" the advisor replied "even though you have reason to do things in secret, the kingdom has started to feel unrest thanks to Lishmon's treachery with Reconquista"
"Therefore we wish for you to sign that parchment and declare against Albion your grace" the general proclaimed "we need your permission to fight them"
The queen looked at the paper again "is there no other choice in this matter...?"
"I'm afraid not your majesty" Mazarin replied sadly "I know you wish that for a peaceful solution, but the treachery Lishmon carried by Reconquista caused this kingdom to feel uneased" he looked at Henrietta "if you don't take action on this then Tristain will fall under the enemy that lives in Albion"
"Thankfully we have gained aid with Germania" Oliviers added "our soldiers and theirs are ready to march into Albion" he looked at the queen "we just need your approval in writing"
Henrietta sighed at this, even though she hated war...it costed her lover Wales to see the follies of people. They wish to be free of the crown and are now going forth proving that their way is better to other kingdoms and justify killing lives. She covered her face remembering Reconquista's attack on Tarbes and how lucky her forces are due to Louise, Peter, Kirche, Tabitha and Guiche stopping them
"Your highness?" the general was about to call her again but was halted by Mazarin
"Let her think on this" he said "her highness has had a lot of turmoil thanks to the assassination attempt in the theater..."
The queen removed her hands and reached for the quill pen and wrote her signature on parchment
"Even though war is my last thought, this problem must be stopped" she looked at the two "I, Henrietta de Tristan, hereby declare war against Albion!"
I yawned waking up from my nap and found Kirche, with Flame, on my right. Oh yeah, I remember Kirche requesting my company again and Louise approved since she has to deal with Eleanor on getting hurt
"Wake up Kirche" I nudged the fire mage "nap time is over"
She groaned and opened her eyes to see me "oh darling" and then stretched a bit before rubbing her eyes "
"Come on let's get something to eat now" I chuckled "I'm sure a nice meal would help you stay awake"
"That would be nice" she then turned to her familiar "though Flame wouldn't want to be alone after I arrived here"
"I can help with that" I took out my memory gadget and Gaia memory
Beetle
I threw it in the air and it transformed into an insectiod. Kirche was a bit surprised at seeing that, but she simply shrugged believing it was meant to be my familiar thanks to being awakened through the memory
While the salamander chased my gadget, we walked to the dining hall, sat next to each other as Siesta was serving food the food at this time
"Have a nice meal you two" she said before walking back to the kitchen and deliver other meals later
"Let's eat darling" Kirche giggled as she took her spoon and started eating her meal
While I was enjoying my meal, I can't help but think on Reconquista's new leader and the way that group was able to infiltrate the kingdom's ranks to overthrow queen Henrietta...was the rebellion salvaging it's original objective to remove royal bloodlines or is there a secret plot to see which kingdom can trust and form alliances?
It's really hard to handle politics... it's actually a miracle Henrietta still have trusted council members after Lishmon was revealed to be a traitor fighting against Tristain
After the meal, Kirche decided to be with Tabitha since the wind mage might need her friend nearby and possibly give aid to whatever she is to do on her own time back in her kingdom of Gallia
'I should see Siesta' I hummed 'she could use my company now'
I went to the kitchen to see the maid having her break as she was sitting alone eating her meal alone
"Hi Siesta" I called
"Oh Peter" she blinked "what are you doing here?"
"I decided to look for you" I scratched my head "with you know... what happened back at the Valliere estate"
"Oh" her face turned red at recalling their moment together "is it because I was aggressive?"
"Actually..." I gulped "I told Kirche about our intimate night together"
The maid slammed her hands on the table and stood up "YOU WHAT!?"
The voice so loud that it made anyone nearby jump in. Thankfully I covered my ears to lessen the ringing I have right now...
"I expected that Siesta" I looked at her face fully red at me feeling both angry and embarrassed "but hear me out please" I pleaded "before you fell for me, Kirche got interested in me after beating Guiche after arriving here"
That actually caused Siesta to blink and sat down "go on..."
So I told her about what after that and then the aftermath on facing Alejandro for Kirche's hand before the guy became delusional on keeping Kirche for himself cementing her feelings to me which also gave Maria the approval on me being the intended man for the fire mage and she won't make distractions to other men now
Siesta hummed at this before looking at me "Ms. Zerbst hasn't been with other men after Alejandro and lady maria visited..."
"I know that this isn't comforting to you Siesta" I scratched my head "but I rather tell you the truth now and have you think on this situation without distractions later"
The maid, which I'm somewhat thankful, is quietly thinking on this and contemplating it
"Be glad that I've fallen for you Peter" she finally spoke "or else I'd have struck you for telling Ms. Zerbst about that"
"I feel bad for making you have an outburst Siesta" I went to her "consider this my apology for telling Kirche of our intimacy"
Chu
The maid went stiff when I gave her a peck on the cheek
"I hope that will help you interact with Kirche in the future" I whispered to her ear "because I rather not have you two argue over me"
I left the maid to her thoughts and walked out to the courtyard to get a breather from her sudden outburst
When I arrived to the spot, I saw Montmorency tending to Robin and Belldandy. The water mage smiled at handling the two familiars and was slightly winded due to caring for both of them simultaneously
"I see that you are handling yourself well Montmorency" I said getting her attention
"Oh Peter" she blinked "yes I have, even though caring for two familiars is taxing but I am glad that Belldandy hasn't made any trouble after tackling you that one time"
I looked at the mole and she was still a bit sorry on that action, so I patted her head making the mole mewl at the warm touch
"Do you have plans on my company again?"
"Not this time" the water mage shook her head "it would make me forget Guiche since he is still out there fighting against Albion"
At least she was able to think properly now...her usual reaction was to huff and ignore the guy's attempts to reason his action. Hopefully when he returns, he'll prove to be more faithful...
I walked into Louise's room and saw her fixing herself and saw me
"Oh Peter" she hummed "good, I was just about to find you after doing this"
"Something you need of me?"
"Actually yes" she hummed "after Eleanor reacted badly about my wound Cattleya suggested that we stay apart for a moment since I'm still healing and my eldest sister almost reopened it"
Yeesh...what an exaggerative reaction. But I suppose that despite her misgivings in this, she does show signs of care since the supposed failure of the family was to be ignored instead of cared and taught
"Cattleya wished for me to have yo r company since you've earned my trust during my studies in the academy" she continued "and I can't really be by my lonesome while I'm still feeling the wound"
Well at least Louise was able to see that pride isn't taking over her life...
"Alright Louise" I nodded "let's have a walk through town today, it would take your mind off Eleanor"
We walked in town to see people doing their routine; buying supplies, doing business, spending time with friends or family
But then there was a crowd looking at a wall of posters, we were able to see it and got surprised on what it said
I Henrietta de Tristain, queen of my kingdom, hereby declare war against Albion and their group called Reconquista. Citizens of my home, do not falter for I have gained aid with Germania to fight against them and we now have the power to obtain victory in this vicious fight...!
Voices of the crowd sounded pleased that their ruler is taking action against this kind threat
"Praise the queen!"
"She has proven herself more than a ruler!"
"Praise Tristain...!"
The crowd was really singing praises to Henrietta. I however have a feeling that she had a hard time making that call... but then again, Albion's rebel group killed her lover Wales and made her feel slightly bitter against the kingdom
'I hope that the soldiers you forced to recruit in this war Henrietta' I thought 'you'd rather not have anyone die in this battle, but the world will always try make excuses unless action is made'
Louise tugged my sleeve getting me to look at her
"Are you okay Peter?" she asked "you looked distant just now"
"Sorry" I whispered to her "it's just hard for me to swallow that the queen had to do this" and scratched my head "I mean, more lives are now at risk in this war"
"No argument..." she replied "but it is for the best, with usurpers going about...her highness cannot ignore this anymore and must a stand against it"
Those words hold truth and it isn't any different from how history was back at my home...society refuses to change peacefully and will open their eyes to it when disaster strikes down
We walked around the shops to see business being made and people were happily buying products to possibly celebrate that their home will be protected against the enemy kingdom
However my eyes spotted something familiar. A Japanese sailor uniform...!
I quickly grabbed Louise's good arm and ran to the shop
"Excuse me" I called to the owner "is this one for sale?"
"Ah you seem to have a good eye" the owner smiled "this material is high quality and is comforting to touch"
"I'll buy it" I pulled out a bag of gold "is this enough for it?"
"It is" the owner took the money "enjoy that purchase"
"What is that?" Louise blinked at what I just bought
"Believe it or not Louise" I chuckled "this is a school uniform"
She blinked owlishly at my answer trying to process the appearance of it, so I had to hold her hand and walk back to the academy and explain to her about it
"You bought it because it was familiar to you?" the void mage blinked
"That and it would be a nice gift for Siesta" I nodded "it will helps her learn Mashiba's lifestyle since he is her ancestor"
"Is there more to this than helping her understand her relative...?" Louise crossed her arms
"I wanted to thank her for helping me understand a bit of Halkegenia" I added "even though you've shown capability as a mage, you are still bitter since your classmates denied how you can even cast a spell"
She huffed at recalling that moment and felt a little embarrassed on remembering her ritual with Peter. So she just stayed quiet on this not realizing that her face was slightly red
When we passed the gates of the academy, we saw that Agnes was talking to Julio about something
"Are you sure they aren't here?" the musketeer captain said
"Yes" the Romalian student nodded "I asked the Valliere sisters about them and said that they left this place an hour ago"
"Great" she crossed her arms "when I finally have a lead on something"
"I'm surprised you're looking for us Agnes" I said making the captain jump
The musketeer captain quickly turned around and drew her gun ready to shoot at me. Thankfully I was able to move quickly and grabbed her firing arm and moved it away
"Careful where your pointing that!" I shouted "you're not in a battlefield!"
"Apologies" she calmed down and holstered her gun and looked ashamed "my thoughts are still on the betrayal of Lishmon"
"Now that you are calm" Louise raised her arm "what do you need of us?"
"It's better that I explain this in a private room" she looked around the open space "because this is a very important task I have taken upon myself after helping her majesty's plan on Lishmon's betrayal"
'It must be important if this requires privacy...' I thought as we went to a private room provided by Osmond as the musketeer captain was in charge of training the female students while the males were still volunteering to fight against Albion
"The queen gave me access to a secret vault" she said "and she said that it was under Tristain academy" but then sighed "sadly the headmaster won't help because he wasn't permitted to unlock the passageway"
"What does this vault contain?" I raised my arm since Louise was surprised on finding out that her school has a secret
"It is said that the vault contains secret documents of Halkagenia's history" Julio answered "apparently it was built a thousand years ago before this school was founded"
My eyes went back to Agnes "what made you seek this vault anyway?"
"I suppose that after helping the queen earned you knowledge of my mission" she looked at me "I'm looking for a personal foe"
"A foe...?"
The captain explained that D'angleterre was her home village and a group of fire mages burned it down and she was the only survivor
Ouch... that incident has really scarred her. Then again, it now made sense when she drew her sword at the professor...she was defenseless girl and made herself the strong person she is today. Though I fear that her wishes may end up making her stupid when she finds out the culprit's name
"Is there any chance that you could open the lock?"
"My sisters are out of the question" the void mage shook her head "we had an argument today and Eleanor wouldn't want me involved in any danger... while Cattleya has her hands full trying to calm the former"
"What about Matilda?" I suggested "with her reputation as a thief, she can open the lock of that vault"
"Matilda was a thief...?" Julio raised a brow
"Oh right you didn't know yet" I realized "she's Foquet, the Crumbling Dirt"
My answer surprised the Romalian, but he fixed himself since the former thief gave aid on the capturing Michelle after she revealed to be a traitor working for Reconquista
"Very well" Agnes nodded "she can join us for this operation"
"Great, I'll get her" I smiled 'I'm sure she would like something else to do besides helping Jean on his classes'
I walked out of the room humming in thought, how will I convince that woman to help?
But then I bumped into something or rather someone...
"Peter?" I heard Siesta's voice
"Oh Siesta" I waved "good to see you again, have you seen Matilda?"
"She was walking to headmaster Osmond's office" she replied before noticing what I'm holding "what is that you have there?"
"Oh this" I showed her the sailor suit "it's a gift for you" I smiled "it's something your grandfather saw commonly when he was back in Japan"
"Really?" she took the uniform from me "and you want me to wear it?"
"If you're ready" I hummed "you did just find out Takeo was from a different world, you must still be nervous on knowing that"
"Well..." she couldn't form words since my words carry truth
I placed my hand on her shoulder "It's okay Siesta" I smiled "I'm not forcing you to become somebody else, I just want to show you things your great grandfather has back in his homeland"
I left the maid to her thoughts and went to Osmond's office and saw the two finishing conversation
"Oh Peter" the headmaster blinked "what are you doing here?"
"Matilda" I spoke making the former thief blink "I'd like a quick talk with the headmaster, please wait outside because I will like a talk with you after this"
When Matilda left, the two in the room looking at each other
"So Peter" Osmond spoke "what is it that you wish to speak with me?"
"Agnes" was the only word that left his mouth
"So that girl persists on entering the secret vault?" the old man sighed "is there nothing that could sway her away from it...?"
"I'm sorry headmaster, she's insistent to finding what she's looking for there" Peter shook his head "also I came to retrieve the royal rings that I gave you the other day"
"I see" the headmaster went to the vault and presented the royal items "I assume that you have need of them again"
"After seeing the notice of the queen's declaration to the war thanks to Albion's assassination attempt" Peter pocketed the rings "she would like to meet a familiar face to calm down from the the necessary action"
"I wish you luck Peter" Osmond called "the queen will need good help on this situation"
I know Osmond, I know... I took the rings and wore them on my right ring and pinkie fingers before going out the door to have a talk with Matilda about the secret vault under this academy
Meanwhile Siesta was looking at herself in a mirror, she was surprised the clothes given to her by Peter
"I can't believe this type of clothing was what great grandfather seen in his home" she then twirled feeling the comfort of the uniform "I wonder if Peter will like seeing me in this?" she giggled before deciding to find him
We walked in the hallways of Tristain academy with Agnes leading since she was the one who knows where the entrance of that secret vault. The captain opened the door to reveal a storage room and then she went to the wall pushing it to open a secret passageway. We went down using lantern and saw that the door that lead to the secret vault
Matilda inspected the locks and hummed
"Is it unlockable?" the musketeer captain questioned
"It is" the former thief nodded "it requires a simple combination for it to unlock" she pulled out her wand and used it on the lock opening the path
"Thank you for unlocking it" Agnes spoke "this is where I said don't follow me, but after going this far...you'd want to see it for yourself"
"With what you said about this place" I hummed "no would want to turn back now"
"Peter is right" Julio nodded "it will be interesting to see that place"
"I am still working to redeem myself" Matilda said "it wouldn't do me any good if you lot were to go in danger"
The musketeer captain sighed in defeat "let's go then"
"To where...?" a new voice spoke making all of us jump
Louise and I turned to the voice and were surprised to see the one who spoke
"Professor Colbert?" the void mage blinked
Agnes glared at the man and the man looked disappointed
"Agnes, didn't the headmaster said that you are forbidden to enter this passage...?"
"I don't listen to cowards!" the musketeer captain shouted before going through the unlocked door
"Agnes!" Jean shouted in disbelief
"I'm sorry professor!" Louise apologized before running after the captain with Julio and Matilda following behind
"We better follow them professor" I called "Agnes won't change her mind on this decision"
"Yes" he sighed "I should at least listen to her words since mine couldn't sway her"
The two of us reached the group with Agnes still ahead due to her insistence to find out the
"So Agnes wants to find the criminals who burned her village down?"
"Yes" I nodded "apparently, she'd like to do this quickly due to the war against Albion"
"After the queen made her declaration, she intends to go into battle with her soldiers" the captain informed "as her trusted soldier, I wish to take care of this case quickly"
So Henrietta intends to show her bravery again? She's at least showing how her kingdom is important...but my eyes drifted to Louise and the void mage looked to the side indicating her worry
"Her majesty is going into battle?" Matilda blinked in surprise
"Yes, her highness believed that staying in a safe place away from the war would make morale troubling to the soldiers"
That's Henrietta alright, fighting with the people instead of hiding...
"Who is your foe Agnes?" Jean asked
The musketeer captain was about to answer but she stopped forcing us to halt as well
"Quiet" she raised her arm "I hear someone approaching us"
I reached for Derflinger as footsteps are getting louder. But to my surprise, I heard a familiar voice
"Peter!"
I felt arms wrapped around me as she finally made herself known
"Siesta?" I blinked at the maid before I noticed her new look "so you decided to wear the sailor suit?"
"Yes!" she nodded before twirling "this uniform is so comfy!"
"I'm glad you like it" I smiled "since your with this group, I suggest you stay close to me thanks to the uniform I gave you"
We continued to walk to that secret vault and I noticed that Matilda and Julio took glances at Siesta's new clothes, heck even Jean took a peek at the uniform too
"So Peter" the Romalian spoke "does your kind send young girls to war also?"
"What makes you say that?" I returned
"You did say that Siesta's new set of clothes was a sailor suit" the former thief
"Oh no" I shook my head "It's called that because the design was inspired from the actual version of the uniform, it's really a school uniform"
"I'd like to see your home Peter" Jean smiled "it must be nice for children to stay away from war"
"Don't get your hopes up professor" I retorted "my home has it's share of conflicts, it has more communication options now so war won't happen quickly"
"So your home still has problems?" Matilda asked
"Yes but it's stable, my fellows learned to reason and negotiate first before resorting to violence"
"I see" the professor sighed a bit "I just can't stand that lives were to be sacrificed"
Agnes suddenly stopped and turned to Jean "is it not a teacher's job to educate the young ones to survive?" she retorted "people need to have necessary skills to survive against the harshness that is war"
"Don't be ridiculous!" he argued "you speak so casually about it because it hasn't happened to you!"
And there it is... the argument between peace and war, both sides can make a point; one side prefers to stay away from the conflict and live peacefully, but the other said to fight in it so the conflict can be stopped
But this shouldn't delay us...because Agnes said it, the war against Reconquista was declared publicly to the kingdom
"Okay that's enough" I spoke getting their attention "I can see that you both have good arguments, but we don't have time to stall here" and pointed forward "we need to move ahead and get back to the war or Tristain will become a wasteland!"
The captain and professor looked at me with wide eyes at what I said before sighing and walked again
"I'm surprised that you did that Peter" Louise spoke to me
"You were able to stop a heated argument so quickly" Siesta followed
"If you weren't Louise's familiar, I'd believe you to be a negotiator" Matilda hummed
"How'd you even talk like that partner?" Derflinger spoke
"My family said that I was good at handling talks" I chuckled "if it weren't for me giving advice to them, they would still have trouble in work" but then I turned to Jean "by the way professor, you spoke as if you were in war before"
"I'm not" he shook his head "but I have seen what war is like and it shouldn't be seen by others"
"I have" Agnes spoke "my village was burned by a group of fire mages when I was little girl" she turned to us "Lishmon said it was to stop an uprising, but in truth he lied about it and forwarded that massacre to show his might as a council member to not question him and his position"
"Then that means..." Jean realized
"That man died by my hand" she confessed "I might have stopped the man who forwarded the massacre, but the group that caused it is still alive" and looked at her free hand "I won't feel relief until all of them have been dealt with..."
Okay...that turned gloomy fast and I saw a bright light at the end of this tunnel and all of us saw a narrow stone bridge and a building at the other side
"Is that it?" Julio blinked
"I believe so" Matilda was surprised to something like it under the academy
"Hmm..." I kicked a pebble to the pit below us
Plop
"That's a deep pit" I blinked at how for that pebble fell
Siesta quickly got scared at this and instantly hugged me tight
"Easy Siesta" I rubbed her back "just don't look down"
"We are close" Agnes looked to me "Peter, you stay behind the group"
"Yes ma'am" I nodded getting out of the maid's tight hold on me
We walked the bridge quietly focusing on the secret vault ahead of us
"Agnes" Jean suddenly spoke "what do you plan to do after finding the name of your foe?"
"The answer is obvious" she replied
"Then what will you do afterward?" he continued
"I will serve the queen and protect her until I die" she answered
The professor sighed sadly "even though you survived that disaster, you' would waste it on vengeance and war?"
"What I do is none of your business" she glared at him "besides after what happened to me that day...fighting became my only purpose, nothing else"
Wow...she really is rooted to violence, but I have to remember she suffered heavy losses form that incident. However that doesn't mean that violence should be her only option
"Come now Agnes" I called "you shouldn't be narrow with your life, fighting can't be your only way to live. There has to be something else for you to live for" I hummed "have you ever been in love?"
"What?" the musketeer captain blinked
"Love" I reiterated "you're only a few years older but still fairly young, so there has to be someone you might be interested in"
"Ridiculous!" she shouted in denial "I have no time to think about that!"
That reaction really got most of the group surprised but I was sad that she was this adamant on being a soldier...no doubt that Jean felt sad also
We finally reached the vault and saw there was writing on the archway
"Alteration, destruction or removal of documents and use of magic shall be forbidden" Julio read aloud
"We can't use magic?" Louise blinked
"Considering that this place holds information" I hummed "it is probable that the people who built this vault preferred non-magical actions" before looking to the void mage "so please don't make it hard for us"
"Fail to abide will cause a catastrophe" Matilda finished "not surprising, this vault contains possibly the history of Tristain and the secrets it held..."
Upon opening the door we saw that place held a lot of bookshelves inside
"Look at all of that" I blinked at the rows of books inside
"Its on par with Romalia's religious libraries" Julio whistled
"And apparently there is a lot to read" Louise groaned before turning to Agnes "are there any specifics on what you are looking for?"
"It happened twenty years ago, it must be a recent file" she looked around the area
"We better start looking" Matilda took a book from a nearby shelf "who knows where that is"
And so all us started getting books ourselves and opened them to check the contents
Half an hour passed and all of us piled up a few books in the vault and some of them groaned at not finding the intended document Agnes was looking for
I was on my fourth book and my search was still finding that document
"Hey partner" Derflinger spoke
"Oh Derf" I turned to my sword "did you need something?"
"Somewhat" it replied "I was still thinking about your home"
"Ah" I closed the book "I'll tell you more after this, Agnes wouldn't want to lose her last possible lead"
I pulled out another book and read the title aloud
"D'angleterre case"
"That's it...!"
I jumped when Agnes shouted behind me. Knowing what I held was her only answer to that incident, I gave her the book and she started reading the contents
"Now that she has we are looking for" Julio spoke "what now?"
"Clean up the mess" I saw that I wasn't the only one that left a pile of books upon searching for that document
"We should get started" Matilda started placing some books back into the shelves
"I'll help!" Siesta followed as she carried a stack of books before tripping on a loose floorboard creating a dust cloud
"Careful" Jean coughed "this place hasn't been visited for years!"
"I'm sorry!" the maid coughed back from the mess she made waving her arms to move the dust away
"Let's hurry with the mess" Julio went for the fallen books "I don't think we should stay here any longer"
"Agreed" Louise coughed as she helped with the mess
While the two helped Siesta, I remembered the royal rings I have with me. I pulled them out and slid them on my right ring and pinkie fingers before going back to returning the books
After fixing the books into the shelves again. I went to Agnes and saw her still skimming through the book
"Still looking for the name?"
"I'm almost done..." she turned the page "here it is! The special force that dealt the village was-!"
Sadly when she got to the part the page was torn off
"What!?" she stood up "the part where the names written here is gone...! part of the page is torn out!"
"That doesn't make sense!" I took the book and saw the page was indeed partly torn "who else would find out about this vault!?"
"I've come so far now! The name has to be here somewhere...!" the captain was about to go deeper inside to find it but I grabbed her in a lock to prevent her
"Agnes stop!" I called keeping her in place as she moved wildly "you're acting irrational!"
"The name...!" she shouted trying to get out of my grip "where is that name?!"
Julio came into the scene and tried to help me restrain her but she has proven herself desperate as the Romalian had trouble keeping her in place
"Agnes calm yourself!" he shouted
Louise and Siesta cannot fathom the musketeer captain acting like this and thankfully they didn't notice Jean Colbert's look of slight guilt right now
"Enough!" Matilda pulled out her wand and casted a spell to make the captain's cloak move and bound her body to fall on the floor
"Thanks Matilda" Julio smiled "I don't think Agnes was in her right mind"
"Um Ms. Matilda..." Siesta spoke nervously "you just used magic"
Uh oh...
Rumble...
"The place is starting to collapse!" Jean shouted "everyone leave now...!"
I went to Agnes as she started to move again but sadly a book fell from the upper floor and struck her ankle, spraining it, making her shout in pain
"Agnes!" I grabbed her cape and pulled her back
Thankfully the professor was still here and he helped me carry the captain outside. But when we reached out the other were already on the other side of the bridge and said oath was starting to crack!
"Looks we'll have to run!" I turned to Jean "can you carry Agnes on your back professor?"
"I can" he nodded
"Leave me" she groaned "save yourselves..."
"But that would mean you'll be leaving the queen and your musketeer squad to fend against Reconquista" I pointed out "you said that you will serve her highness to the end" and placed her on the professor's back "now let's go!"
We ran fast as the bridge started to break apart, the others shouted us to move faster as the worry they had started to get heavy
"Professor!" I looked at the man "do you have any spells that could make us fly?"
"I only have levitation" he replied "sadly it only works on one target" and looked at me "our only option is to run!"
We were now close to the other side and was about to reach saftey!
Crack
But the bridge broke before we go to the end, we started to fall seeing the horrified looks of the group. In a burst of adrenaline I grabbed Jean's clothes and threw him to safety and heard a grunt as I saw the rest looking surprised
"Peter!" Louise was about to jump in after him but was stopped by Julio grabbing her arm
"You can't go Louise!" he shouted
"He...he..." Siesta fell to her knees in shock unable to finish her sentence
"You fool..." Matilda shivered feeling her eyes tear up
Agnes blinked at how this transpired... she saw Jean panting a bit before looking at the broken bridge where Peter just fell into
Whoosh!
The group suddenly felt wind against them, they turned and were surprised to see... Peter himself!
I groaned before sitting up from my sudden flight back to safety. Only to be tackled back down by someone
"You're okay!" Siesta hiccupped as tears leaked from her eyes "you...okay...!"
"There, there Siesta" I rubbed her back slowly "I was certain that fall was going to be my death"
"You've certainly gave us a scare Peter" Julio helped Louise on her feet since she was struck speechless at seeing me alive
"That does make a question" Jean helped Agnes stay proper on his back "how are you able to get back here when you fell from the bridge?"
"I think it was thanks to this..." I showed the group the royal rings on my right hand "they somehow gave me the ability to use magic"
"But that's-!" Matilda gasped
"The rings of Albion and Tristain!?" Louise pointed at me "I can understand prince Wales' ring in your possession, but how did you get your hands on her majesty's ring!?"
Oh right I didn't tell Louise about my second visit to Henrietta... better make a believable lie
"After what happened to Lishmon, the queen decided to give me her ring as a sign of complete trust" I answered "with how eager you were to serve her highness, she thought of me being by your side would help ease her worries"
The void mage huffed at my answer while Agnes was surprised at hearing this
"Her highness must really see you trustworthy Peter"
"Since Louise is her best friend" I retorted "the queen couldn't help but worry after she lost Wales thanks to Cromwell"
The mage huffed again that I gained the queen's trust without her consent
All of us walked out of the tunnel passageway with Matilda and I leading the group
"You sure surprised me Peter" the former thief said in thought "I never believed that two royal families would give their rings to you"
"I suppose that being an outsider has it's benefits" I looked at the two rings "with people creating usurpers in their homes, it's actually hard to find proper help if the council tries to hide the land's problems..."
"With the destruction of the bridge back there" Julio recalled "I doubt anyone will visit this place"
"I wouldn't be so sure Julio" I snorted "this vault was created a thousand years ago, it may fix itself since historical documents are placed there"
After getting out of that place, most separated do their own activities
Julio will escort Louise as the latter decided to meet her sisters again
Jean Colbert will carry Agnes to the nursing ward thanks to her sprained ankle
Siesta will return to her maid duties since she went to find me about the sailor suit I gifted her
Leaving me alone with Matilda Longueville
"Hey partner" Derflinger called "now that work is done, how about telling me of your world now?"
"World?" the former thief raised her brow at me
"Oh right you were still in the dungeons before Henrietta sent you here to be redeemed" I grabbed her hand surprising the woman "come, I can talk about it while we eat"
To be continued...
Author's Notes:
This chapter is filler so I can flesh out some character interactions since Sheffield and Daido are controlling Reconquista to fight against Tristain...and apparently there is something about the royal rings of Halkagenia, that even the ruling families don't know off, carry (I checked that these were made by Brimir himself)