Re:Zero The King of Pride

by hollowsong16

Subaru was so sure he was going to be the hero here. Luckily something wants him to be. Something wants him to be just as important as he always dreamed of being. It even wants to give him a throne. When Emilia is about to be disqualified from the royal selection Subaru comes up with a clever plan to keep her in the contest by courting the beautiful half elf.

25. Chapter 25

The next morning, Felt and Reinhard were alone in his room. Garfiel had quickly excused himself. His absence had nothing to do with giving them alone time, the atmosphere in the room was just that uncomfortable.

"Red! Listen to me!" Felt demanded.

Reinhard flinched and looked uncomfortable. "I am listening, Miss Felt. I have listened to every word that you have said."

"You're listening but you don't believe me!" Felt shouted, her hands balling up into fists.

"I… regretfully must admit that I do not, Miss Felt. Your… theory lacks balance and good sense," He said apologetically.

"Reinhard! What if Subaru was just right?!" Felt demanded.

"Miss Felt, need I remind you that this witch tortured you with frost flowers?" Reinhard's voice burning with suppressed rage.

Felt closed her eyes and shuddered violently. She panted for breath for a long time before finally opening her eyes. "Reinhard, believe me, you'll never have to remind me of that. I remember it very clearly."

"If this woman was not a witch, if she was truly the good person that Subaru has been deceived into viewing her as," Reinhard's voice became like iron as he reflected on Felt's torment. "Then why did this unforgivable abomination occur? Why would any good and kind person stoop to such action as pointless torture?"

Felt bit her lip. "Maybe… it really was an accident," Felt said reluctantly. "Maybe she really did lose control of her magic while she was fighting Lye. Remember, she cursed Subaru too! Whether she was erased from our memories or if she's bewitched Subaru, why would she curse her greatest ally?"

Reinhard thought for a moment. "Perhaps for deniability?" He suggested.

Felt rolled her eyes. "Reinhard, who in the world is dumb enough to decide to torture somebody in public and then decide that they need to torture their own ally to convince people it was just an accident. She would have had to hate me an awful lot for this to make any sense."

"Or perhaps she intended for you to die and for Subaru to live, as surely would have happened if not for the spirits' intervention, Miss Felt," Reinhard said, his voice a soft growl. "Subaru trusts you-"

Felt flinched.

"-And she may have decided that she needed to remove you from the situation before you could convince Subaru to listen to reason. Subaru has great respect for your mind and judgment. Given time, I have no doubt that you could have reached him and convinced him to reject the witch. Because she injured Subaru as well, who believes that she loves him, perhaps would have been sufficient to convince him that your death was merely an unfortunate accident."

Felt shook her head. "Red!" She protested.

"Miss Felt," Reinhard said sadly. "I implore you. Please use your remarkable intelligence to consider this matter logically. Do you recall that… err 'Occam's Razor' that you told me about?"

"What about it?"

"Your theory requires that some powerful unknown magic has rewritten the memories of the entire world. Whereas if we assume that the witch is in fact a witch, then we need only require the witch to have manipulated the memories of a small handful of individuals that she has been in close contact with. I ask you, which is more believable?"

Felt choked on that. She scrambled, looking for an answer. "Reinhard. I need you to believe me here! Subaru is in real trouble! Now the entire world is after him and if we don't help him he has no chance at all!"

"I have every intention of helping him, Miss Felt," Reinhard said firmly. "I will see justice done upon this witch for her crimes against Subaru and most especially against you. I will prove to the world that this was all simply a regrettable mistake and redeem the trust of the man that I admire most."

Felt bit her lip and went for broke. "Reinhard, you can't kill the witch!"

"What do you mean?"

"Killing the witch will kill Subaru!"

Reinhard's eyes became huge. "What are you saying?"

"If you kill the witch then Subaru will choose to die!"

"Where did you acquire this information?!"

"Beako told me."

"Miss… Beatrice?" Reinhard said flatly.

"Yes! She said that the only reason the spirits didn't kill the witch themselves was because they could tell that killing the witch would kill Subaru!"

Reinhard gave Felt a steady look. He didn't respond right away. "Then this fact would establish that we are unable to slay the witch…"

"Exactly!"

"Miss Felt," Reinhard said slowly. "Tell me… when did you… well, develop this… recollection?"

"What do you mean?"

"Miss Felt, this is the first time that you've mentioned this vital information to me," He said gently. "Despite having no contact with the spirits for some time."

Felt sighed. "I knew that you were suspicious of Beatrice. I decided to sit on it for a while until you learned to trust Beako again."

Reinhard hesitated. "Miss Felt, how do you know that this… memory wasn't implanted by the witch?"

Felt started at him incredulously. "When?! I haven't seen the witch since I was with you!"

Reinhard looked awkward. "Miss Felt, does it not seem… somewhat… convenient that you suddenly remembered information that prohibits me from hunting down and killing the witch?"

Felt's eyes widened. Oh no. Oh, no no no. He can't be thinking…

Reinhard sighed. "I fear that you've fallen under the witch's influence as well. She must be corrupting your memories as she did our poor friend Subaru. The wicked fiend. Not only did she torture and abuse you but now she twists your mind and memories in order to avoid her just punishment. This is absolutely unforgivable. I vow as a Knight of the Kingdom, Miss Felt, that I shall not rest until I have hunted down this witch and done justice upon her!"

"Reinhard! Why won't you believe me?!" Felt begged with tears in her eyes.

Reinhard hesitated.

"Reinhard?" She whispered.

Reinhard sighed and looked away. "Miss Felt," He murmured in an almost pleading voice. "I am well aware of your extraordinary intelligence. You have always been able to discern the truth of things when I could not. But now you ask me to believe that everyone in this world except for Subaru has had their memories modified by some as yet unexplained power for some completely unexplained reason. You are asking me to take an enormous amount on faith and you lack any evidence for it at all."

Felt's eyes widened.

---

"…So that's what happened," Garfiel finished helplessly, standing with the twins beside their carriage.

Garfiel was explaining to the twins the revelation that Felt had reached last night. The three stood beside their carriage in Mirula waiting for Felt and Reinhard.

Rem had a stricken look on her face as if she was second-guessing everything. "So… we are the ones who were bewitched?" Rem murmured.

Ram was quiet for a moment. "I received a letter from Lord Roswaal this morning. He commands us to return to the manor for a time and attend to business there before continuing our search for Subaru Natsuki. He also bids us to offer sanctuary to 'the old man.'"

Garfiel frowned. "What old man?"

"Hey, fleabag," A deep voice rumbled.

Garfiel turned around and saw a towering figure walking toward him.

"Gramps?!" Garfiel said incredulously. "What the hell are you doing here? How the hell did you get here?"

Rom snorted. "For one thing, I found out that the kingdom was looking for me, hoping to use me to try to get leverage over Felt. It's not easy for me to blend in with the crowd so I got out of town. I paid a merchant to carry me in his wagon, hidden in a giant crate. It wound up costing me a gold coin," Rom made a frustrated face. "Don't tell Felt I said that. I'm going to replace the money I borrowed from her before she notices."

Garfiel chuckled. "Yeah, Felt warned me about how you were."

"Alright!" Felt said, storming out of the inn, her face livid. Her face was fixed in a snarl and her eyes were as hard as agates but tears were streaming down her face. She was rubbing her wrist as if it pained her. "Let's get out of here!"

She was biting off curses with each step and her face was black as a thundercloud. Felt walked completely by Rom without even noticing the giant. Then she blinked and turned around. "Gramps?!"

"Hey, Felt," Rom said calmly.

"What are you doing here?!"

"Checking on you!" Rom snorted. "And avoiding the royal guard…"

"How did you even know where we were?!" Felt demanded.

Rom looked awkward. "I… got a letter…" Rom murmured, clearly uncomfortable.

"From who?!" Felt asked incredulously. "None of us had time to send you a letter!"

Rom hesitated.

Garfield could tell that Rom was uncomfortable talking about this. "Um. So, we aren't waiting for Red before we leave?" Garfiel stepped in before Felt could inquire further.

Felt scowled. "Reinhard fucking Astrea apparently has better things to do!" Felt snapped.

"Like what?" Garfiel said in disbelief.

Felt snorted. "Reinhard is operating on the assumption that the witch is simply getting stronger and that any problems with our memories are because she's regaining her power to twist more people. He refuses to even consider the notion that Subaru might have been right about… Emilia," She ended with a grumble.

Garfiel stared at her for a long moment. "Huh?! That doesn't make a lick of sense!"

Felt shook her head violently. "I told him that! The stubborn idiot never changes his mind!" Felt grated, yanking her own hair in frustration. "Now he's even more determined to find and kill the witch because he's worried that her power is starting to corrupt us!"

"Then I assume that Sir Reinhard will not be accompanying you in your search?" Ram asked mildly.

"Reinhard is going to keep looking for Subaru on his own," Felt grumbled, holding her wrist. "The big dope remains convinced that all he needs to do is kill the witch and Subaru will be fine again."

"But Garf told us that Miss Beatrice said killing the witch would kill Subaru," Rem murmured.

"Yeah, so we better find him before Red does!" Garfiel squinted at Felt. "Hey, shrimp, what happened to your wrist?"

Felt snorted. "I sprained it. On a stubborn head."

Garfiel gaped. "You punched Reinhard?!"

"It felt a lot like pounding on brick," Felt admitted.

"The first lover's quarrel is often the most shocking," Ram said impassively.

"Watch it, Ram!" Felt snarled.

"I… could heal that for you," Rem offered quietly.

Felt stared at Rem for a long moment and then placed her wrist into Rem's hand. Rem began to use her magic to mend the sprain.

"Alright, so…" Garfiel said awkwardly. "Ram just got some instructions from the clown. He says that they need to go back to the manor-"

"That's probably a good idea," Felt said calmly. She looked at the twins and sighed. "Look. Nobody knows that the two of you helped us escape from Fein. You should both get back to the manor before anyone starts to suspect you. I don't want you guys to be made fugitives too."

Felt gave Rem a not-quite-friendly look.

Garfiel looked back and forth between Rem and Felt before continuing. "Then I guess it's just going to be the three of us?" He asked the giant Rom.

Rom shook his head. "I don't think I can go with you, fleabag-"

"Hey, when did that become my official nickname?" Garfiel groaned.

Rom ignored him. "It's pretty hard for me to blend in. I left the capitol to get somewhere under cover. I can hang out here for a while until the dust settles."

Rem looked up at Rom and cleared her throat. "Master Rom," She said diffidently. "Perhaps you could return to Arlem with us? I'm certain that you would be welcome there. I doubt that our carriage would be very comfortable for you but I am sure that you'd fit as long as sister and I rode on top."

Rom frowned thoughtfully.

"It's a good idea, Gramps," Felt added. "The people at Arlem are good folks. Just tell them that you're my grandpa and they'll treat you alright."

Rom nodded. "OK. That makes sense. Here, Felt. I brought you this. I think you're going to need it." He handed her a bag of gold coins.

Felt frowned in confusion.

"There should be about fifty gold coins in there," Rom continued. "Subaru gave us almost forty that night and I've put both our earnings in there since then."

"Gramps!" Felt complained. "I can't take this! You'll need it!"

"Miss Felt," Rem said softly. "We'll take good care of your grandfather. You have my word. Please don't worry about him as long as he is in our keeping."

Felt gave Rem a hard look but finally nodded with a sigh.

Garfiel scratched his chin. "OK. So, I guess it's just the two of us then," Garfiel murmured. "What's the plan, shrimp?"

Felt sighed. "Well, first of all, I think that we had better get far away from here. Reinhard is leaving to do more searching today, despite having no idea where to look and no reason to think that Subaru is even in this country. I have it on good authority that we're both wanted by the kingdom at the moment. We better get over the border as quick as we can."

"And then what?" Garfiel asked. "We get to Gusteko and just start going door to door asking for the Captain and trust to luck?"

"I don't know, fleabag!" Felt said helplessly. "But we need to get out of here because as soon as Reinhard leaves, we're a target!"

"I get that!" Garfiel said. "But… we need a plan! What are we going to do when we get to Gusteko? I mean… maybe if we made enough noise the Captain might contact us…" He mused.

"Maybe he would have at one point," Felt grumbled, casting a hard look at Rem.

Rom looked reluctant. "I think that I might have another suggestion," Rom rumbled. "One of the reasons I came to find you was… I… got a letter from an old… acquaintance. Someone I knew in the war… Felt, they want to talk to you about… that bonehead that you've gotten yourself involved with."

"Gramps!" Felt exploded. "For the last fucking time! Red and I are just friends! …Good friends… Best fri- Look, the point is that there is nothing going on between me and Reinhard so everyone can just stop implying anything different!"

Felt glared up at at her Grandfather, red faced and panting.

Rom stared down at her expressionlessly. "Not him, Felt. The other bonehead that you're involved with. Subaru."

"Oh," Felt flushed bright red.

"Hey, Felt," Garfiel said, fighting not to laugh. "Have you ever heard the phrase 'thou dost protest too much?'"

"Oh, just keep talking, fleabag!" Felt snapped. "You're this close to becoming my new rug!"

"If I could perhaps get this conversation back on track?" Ram asked in a bored voice.

Felt cleared her throat and squinted up at Rom. "So who wants to talk to me?"

Rom had a pained look on his face. "Someone… powerful. Someone very dangerous. Someone who wants to talk about what Subaru has been doing in the world. Someone who claims that they can help you find him…" He sighed.

Felt looked up at him. "What do you mean, Gramps?"

Rom looked awkward. "I have… a certain resource with connections to the Demi-Human Alliance and… to the Witch Cult," He admitted.

Everyone stared at him.

Felt's jaw was on the floor. "Who is this person, Gramps?" Felt asked in astonishment.

Rom sighed. "Someone extremely dangerous. I've never known them to lie so if they say that you'll be safe if you go see them… I believe that they're telling the truth. But they are and remain the most dangerous person I've ever known. You'll need to be very careful if you try to make contact."

Felt frowned.

Garfiel folded his arms across his chest. "Don't worry, Gramps. I got the shrimp's back!" He said firmly.

"Garf!" Felt protested.

Rom chuckled. "Honestly, I feel better knowing that you're keeping an eye on Felt."

"Seriously, Gramps?" Felt said in exasperation. "You too?!"

Garfiel gave Felt a serious look. "Funny, isn't it? That's just what Grams said to me before she went off with that loser. She said that she felt better knowing that you were keeping an eye on me."

Felt scratched her head, looking awkward.

Rom sighed and handed Felt a small letter. "Here's all the information that you'll need," Rom hesitated. "Take care of yourself, Felt."

Felt's face twisted in sadness. "I will, Gramps. You be safe too!" She urged him.

Rom suddenly knelt down and gathered Felt in his arms. The two were crying.

Garfiel glanced away awkwardly. He looked at the twins. Rem looked guilty and Ram looked indifferent.

Finally Rom and Felt separated.

"Master Rom, we should get going now," Rem said deferentially. The giant nodded and started to walk over to the carriage with Ram.

Rem looked at Felt uncomfortably. "Garf, Miss Felt… is there… anyway that I could persuade you to come back to Arlem with us?"

Garf's jaw tightened. "Rem. We need to go help the Captain."

Rem's face was cold. "Subaru would never take on such a risk for either of you!"

"Subaru saved my life the night that we met!" Felt snapped. "Then he gave me every gold coin he had because he wanted to see me and Gramps get out of the slums."

Rem just shook her head. "As I've said before: a fool. A man who assumes that good intentions and kind actions will lead him safely through the darkness. Now that same attitude and poor insight has led him to fall in love with a witch."

"Rem, I just told you!" Garf exclaimed in exasperation. "The elf isn't a witch! Our memories are fucked up! Felt proved it!"

"Garf! Don't you see that it doesn't matter?!" Rem demanded. "Whether she is a witch or not is not the issue! You can not trust Subaru Natsuki with your lives and safety. At the end of the day, he will not protect your lives if doing so puts the elf in danger. He will not protect you!"

"He did a pretty good job protecting us at the Sanctuary, didn't he?" Felt said coldly, folding her arms across her.

Rem looked at them sadly and shook her head. "I see that I will never convince you. You'll learn the truth as I did, slowly and bitterly. Subaru Natsuki has the heart of a chess player. He will sacrifice any piece on the board in order to protect the queen."

Garfiel and Felt just glared at her.

Rem sighed. "Miss Felt. I implore you. Please do your best to look after young Garf. He's strong and brave but also young and impetuous. I'll rest easier knowing that you are there to keep an eye on him."

Garf turned bright red. "Oh, shut up, Rem," He grumbled quietly.

Felt glared at Rem and gave a single nod.

Rem nodded sadly. "Good luck, Garf."

"You too, Rem. Hey, look after your sister for me, OK?" Garfiel replied.

Rem smiled at him. "Always."

Rem walked back toward the carriage where Ram and Rom waited.

"There are a lot of 'R's in that carriage," Garfiel observed as Felt quickly read the letter. "So where are we going?"

Felt sighed and tucked the letter into a pocket. "Abiate," She replied, walking slowly away.

"Never heard of it," Garfiel replied as he followed her.

"It's a good ways off to the southwest," Felt replied.

"Long walk?"

"Too long. We'll need to buy a ride. This isn't going to be a fun trip, fleabag. I've heard stories about Abiate. It's not a good place for demi-humans to be. You'll need to keep your head down."

"You will too," Garfiel reminded her. "Red eyes, remember? Somebody there is likely going to assume that you're a mixed blood even if you're not. And they aren't going to take the time to double check."

"This trip is sounding better and better," She sighed.

They walked in silence through the dusty desert town for a minute.

"So, Red really didn't believe you?" Garfiel asked.

Felt shook her head with a snarl. "No!" She thundered.

"I'm shocked," Garfiel said seriously. "I mean, he knows how much smarter you are than he is. And you know how much he cares about you…" Garfiel trailed off, looking at Felt apprehensively and anticipating another explosion.

Instead, Felt's face became stricken. She wrapped her arms around her thin body and she fell to her knees. "He said… he said that's why he couldn't believe me… He said that couldn't turn a blind eye when someone he… cared so much about… was clearly bewitched," Felt shook her head, her eyes watery. "This is a taste of my own medicine, Garf," She whispered.

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"I told Reinhard what I'd figured out. I told him I was sure that it was us who'd been bewitched. He didn't believe me. He thought… that our thoughts must be being corrupted as well now because the Witch has gotten stronger."

"Not that he has any basis for believing that," Garfiel sighed.

Felt didn't even seem to hear him. "We were talking and arguing and suddenly I realized… I was saying everything to Red that Subaru said to me. It was almost word for word. I begged him to believe me. I reminded him that he knew how much smarter I was and that I could see the webs within the webs that he couldn't. I… I reminded him how much he… he cared about me…" She whispered. "And I asked him to believe me…"

Felt shuddered and looked like she would burst into tears. "He said that he… he cared too much about me to ever forgive what the witch had done to me…"

Garfiel looked at Felt's anguished face and his expression twisted in sympathy. He knelt down beside her and caught her in a great hug.

Felt covered her face. "This is all my fault, Garf! This is me being given a taste of my own fucking medicine!" She shook her head. "The Gods want me to know how Subaru felt when I turned my back on him!"

"Hey!" Garfiel pulled Felt's hands away and looked her straight in the eye, her expression was hopeless. "Hey, come on! That's all behind us! You and me, we got our heads on straight now! We know what's going on here! We're going to find the Captain and work this whole thing out!"

"How, Garf?" Felt moaned. "It's just us trying to help Subaru and now he has Reinhard and the whole kingdom looking for him! Hell, the other kingdoms will probably try to help hunt him down too!"

Garfiel snorted. "The Captain against the whole fucking world? I know who I'm betting on!"

Felt actually chuckled.

---

Garfiel and Felt wore the brown hooded robes that Ram had provided for them during their escape. They had paid a greasy merchant who smelled like rancid pig fat to give them a ride to Abiate. The merchant was fairly surprised by their request since few people ever wanted to go to Abiate, but it was a stop on his trip to Garkla so he agreed to transport them.

However, he had charged them the full price for a trip to the much further away Garkla.

The merchant's covered wagon contained a group of people, none of whom seemed to be interested in talking to each other.

Felt and Garfiel sat in the very back, their legs dangling out of the wagon as they watched Mirula slowly recede in the distance across the sands.

"So how long is this trip going to take?" Garfiel muttered, dragging his heel through the soft sand and leaving a line behind the wagon.

Felt thought about. "Probably a few days. This wagon doesn't move too fast."

Garfiel sighed. "Normally, I'd suggest you climb on my back and I'll just run there but the sun beats like a hammer out here."

"Yeah. We don't want to be out in that sun for long," Felt agreed.

"Get your filthy hands away from me!" A woman shouted.

Garfiel and Felt turned around and saw a woman in a brown hooded cloak standing by the driver's seat. The fat merchant with an ugly scar of his face was leering at her.

"Hey, Felt," Garfiel growled. "We're fugitives anyway. What do you say to hijacking this ride? I think smacking that merchant around would put a smile on my face."

"We shouldn't attract attention, fleabag," Felt warned him.

"I'm warning you! Hands off!" The woman shouted.

Garfiel looked at her imploringly.

Felt rolled her eyes. "Fine. Let's go and do our good deed for the decade."

Felt and Garfiel stood up and started to quickly walk up to the driver platform, stepping around other passengers who couldn't be bothered to do anything about the distressed woman.

Garfiel starting moving quickly, trying to protect the woman but before he could close the distance the woman physically picked up the extremely fat merchant and flung him twenty feet away.

The man landed on the sandy ground with a ponderous crash. The earth dragons came to a halt looking at their moaning master in confusion.

"Touch me again and I will remove your reason for wearing a loincloth!" The woman sounded more annoyed than frightened. Her hood had fallen back revealing long blond hair and ruby red eyes.

Felt stared at the woman, open mouthed. "Priscilla?!" She gasped.

---

It was early evening when Subaru and Emilia found themselves in the mayoral palace in Kocytos.

Although this was ostensibly an emergency political summit to discuss averting a war, it had also somehow become an upscale party. Nobles and dignitaries from all over the region were in attendance.

Subaru and Emilia stuck out like sore thumbs. They had no finery to wear, nor had there been any time to locate some for them. Emilia and Subaru simply took off their robes and came to the party in their old clothes, Emilia's white dress and the clothing that Subaru had originally gotten from Reinhard.

Subaru and Emilia made no attempt to mix and mingle and their faces were stony. The locals all stared at Emilia with a mixture of wonder and fear. Subaru realized that not a few identical glances were directed at him. Some looks crossed the line into open hostility and muttered curses but no one dared approach them or say their insults too loud. Subaru and Emilia's reputation as powerful and dangerous figures was too well established for anyone to court that kind of trouble.

"How did this happen, Mili?" Subaru grumbled. "After everything that we've been through, somehow we're right back where we started: at an upscale party, murmuring vacuous pleasantries to ignorant people."

"I know," Emilia murmured. "And what's worse, everyone here is looking at us like we've caused the entire mess."

"Yeah," Subaru muttered. "If I hear the term 'Fire Witch' one more time, I think that I might punch someone."

Emilia looked at him sadly, "Welcome to my life," She murmured, taking his hand. "But at least most of the people here are ignoring us. And we need to remember that this night is important to Anri," Emilia's gaze flickered to the immaculately dressed princess as she held court out on the floor, charming and negotiating with the heads of numerous minor houses.

Anri and Radu's plan was straightforward. Ideally, she wanted to negotiate with and discourage the other great Houses from taking any hostile action against her but if that couldn't be done, she hoped to persuade a number of lesser Houses to take her side in the conflict. Anri was clearly attracting a large amount of favorable attention from various nobles. The lesser Houses viewed Ithil as a rising star in Gusteko since Anri had overthrown House Griest for all intents and purposes. They all listened intently as she proposed a new vision for Gusteko, a more open, inclusive society where trade would raise the standards of living for all.

Subaru could tell that the nobles had misgivings but they were still listening.

This is just like the royal selection announcement, Subaru thought. I know those faces. Those nobles want to believe what Anri is saying but they need some proof. Anri will need to demonstrate that she has the power to carry out her designs before they jump on the bandwagon. You'd think that winning a war against the most powerful House in Gusteko would be enough…

Emilia and I should think of some way that we can help Anri prove her influence and power.

"She seems very good at this," Emilia murmured.

Subaru chuckled. "She's certainly better than us! She's been practicing for this her whole life! We only practiced for about a month before being flung into the deep end of the pool. We had no idea what we were doing!"

Emilia smiled at him fondly. "I wouldn't say that. You did amazing at those parties. Everyone adored you."

Yeah, funny what magic can do, isn't it? All you need is a little witchcraft and you too can wow a nation…

Subaru sighed and stroked his chin. "Maybe we should try to do some networking ourselves before the summit actually starts," He mused. "I might be able to feel out some of the Princes," He glanced at the heads of three of the Great Houses that Radu had pointed out to him earlier. They were standing out on a balcony talking to one another.

"Subaru, don't do anything that would embarrass Anri," Emilia warned. "We don't want to make things worse."

"Worse than an impending declaration of war?" Subaru asked incredulously. "Honestly, I'd be really impressed if we could find a way to make things worse!"

Emilia looked unsettled. "I wouldn't put it past us!" Emilia warned.

Subaru sighed. "Thanks for the confidence booster," He muttered.

Emilia kissed him with a faint smile. "I won't be much help making nice with the Princes. I think I'll go over to Anri and see if I can play her 'tame demi-human' as a visual aid for her inclusive trade speech," Emilia murmured, walking away.

Subaru walked over to the balcony.

Before he got out there, a hulking figure in garish red armor stepped out in front of him. He had long scraggly red hair and a mouth full of misaligned teeth. "You," He growled.

This is Vlad an Voivode, Subaru thought. Radu said that this is the asshole who ordered Arlem village massacred and then tried to manipulate the two kingdoms into war. I can't be nice to him.

Then again, from what I've heard from Radu, Vlad doesn't listen to other people and he doesn't change his mind so trying to negotiate with him is a fucking waste of time anyway. I just need to get by him and focus on the Princes that I might actually reach.

"Yeah, me," Subaru said impatiently. "Got a problem with that?"

"You butchered my men at Arlem," Vlad snarled. "And you burned the better part of my army alive at the Valley of Winds!"

Subaru patted the man's shoulder with a patronizing air. He took delight in the shocked and outraged look that flickered across Vlad's face. "Wow! I've sure killed a lot of people you knew! I'm guessing that this is the part where you threaten that you're going to do something about that. I say 'threaten' because we both know that you aren't actually going to do anything about it. I'm pretty sure that you're a lot easier to kill than a troll or the Acolyte Knights I already fought," Subaru's voice dripped with sarcasm. "So why don't you just get lost before I decide to splatter you all across the room."

Vlad's face was bright red and he was breathing through clenched teeth. Then he walked past Subaru and stormed off.

I'm sure that somebody is going to say that I could have handled that better but I'm not so sure. Vlad looks stupid in any case. The angrier he gets, the worse his thinking will become. He might even become a millstone that his allies have to carry.

Subaru saw the other three princes standing in a row on the balcony, staring at him. As soon as they realized that Subaru was looking they all turned away and stared out over the countryside.

Subaru walked out onto the balcony.

"Evening, gentlemen," Subaru said calmly. "Lovely night, isn't it?"

Patrick turned around just to sniff at him. "I don't speak with witches," He said turning away again.

Don't get angry, Subaru told himself. That's an in, just follow that thought.

"You know," Subaru said in a friendly voice as he walked up to stand beside Donar. The princes glared at him but they didn't walk away. They probably think that leaving right now would look like fleeing. "I've been meaning to ask you guys something. Why did I get the whole 'Fire Witch' title anyway? There was no magic used on that army at all. I told the Siros soldiers to coat the tall grass with sesame seed oil and we started the blaze with fire arrows. That's all."

Argus gave Subaru a withering look. "Do you really expect us to believe that 'sesame seed oil' burns like that?!"

"I was a little surprised by how fast it burned myself," Subaru admitted with a sigh. "I'd read about this strategy in books back home but I'd never actually seen it done. Anyway, I'm telling you the truth. I think Anri even brought the soldiers who set the trap here. They're available to testify, in case you wanted to hear from them directly."

Out of the corner of his eye, Subaru saw Donar frown.

He believes me, Subaru thought. I'd guess that this has more to do with his own soldiers offering him some kind of corroborating testimony rather than my credibility but hey, progress is progress!

Donar gave Subaru a chill look. "Personally, I'm less interested in how our men were slaughtered than in the fact that they were," Donar said flatly. "You killed thousands of good men, Subaru Natsuki."

"This was war, Prince Donar," Subaru said with a pleasant smile but he spoke just as firmly.

Donar whirled on him, flushing with rage. "They were not at war with you! They-"

"They were holding Princess Kairei captive," Subaru cut him off while still speaking pleasantly. "They were holding her and when we rescued her, they pursued with intent to recapture her. Is that not an act of war against the Princess? I don't know the precise relationship between Malcolm an Griest and the armies you provided but they were apparently following his orders to abduct the Princess again and that makes them soldiers in his war. Princess Kairei is a good friend of mine. I killed her enemies."

The princes were silent for a moment.

Subaru saw a flicker in Donar's eyes.

He's wavering. He knows that I'm right but he doesn't want to admit it. I suppose if someone killed hundreds of my soldiers because of a General's bad decision, I wouldn't care too much about right or wrong either.

"What are your intentions in Gusteko, Subaru Natsuki?" Argus asked.

Subaru shrugged. "I'm basically living in exile from Lagunica right now. We met Anri while she was fleeing for her life and she persuaded us to help her save her home. My fiancee and I are only here long enough to get Anri settled and go through the Grand Archives looking for a cure to a specific malady. After that, we'll likely be leaving Gusteko."

"Exile?" Patrick asked sharply.

Subaru carefully hid a smile and nodded. "The authorities in Lagunica are rather upset with my choice of bride," Subaru pointed at Emilia who stood beside Anri in the distance. "I doubt that I'll ever be able to go back there without getting executed. So, I'm currently a man without a country. I no longer have any influence in Lagunica," He said blandly.

The three digested that. "Do you intend to remain in Gusteko?" Donar asked.

"My first priority is to cure my fiancee and rescue my spirit partners who were seized by the kingdom," Subaru replied. "After that, I'm not sure where we'll wind up. Honestly, after all this, I'm pretty sick of politics. Going someplace quiet and just disappearing sounds very attractive to me."

Donar looked thoughtful while Patrick and Argus just looked skeptical.

Donar made a face and turned to the other Princes. "If this is true," He said in a tone that suggested he didn't believe it yet, "Then perhaps there could be room for an accommodation with Subaru Natsuki and Princess Kairei…"

"Donar!" Patrick hissed.

"If Lagunica truly does have territorial ambitions, we'll need to find a way to discourage them," Donar continued calmly. "Perhaps opening negotiations with their expatriate could be fruitful."

The others looked sullen and didn't respond.

"Is this a real summit?" Subaru asked suddenly.

The princes looked at him in confusion.

"Is this meeting a sincere effort to find common ground and establish peace, or if this all for show?" Subaru asked bluntly. "Because, if this summit is a genuine attempt to end the fighting in the north, then we should all be working together to find solutions to our problems and discourage any hostile plans that Lagunica may have."

The princes were silent for a moment. Finally Donar sighed. "I assure you, this summit is not simple window dressing. We are determined to find a way to restore peace and tranquility to Gusteko. If you are willing to work with us to that purpose, then perhaps I could be persuaded to welcome you as an ally…"

"Donar!" Patrick objected again.

Subaru nodded in satisfaction.

I might as well leave it here. I'm not going to get any further persuading them right now. Hopefully I gave Anri a bit of an opening. If Donar argues to take a 'wait and see' posture, he might sway the others.

As he was thinking, he noticed Deann and Duncan walking into the large room.

Subaru smiled at the princes. "It was nice talking to you all, excuse me, please," He said and made a beeline for Duncan and Deann.

The princes watched him depart.

"Donar," Patrick grumbled. "What was the point of any of that?! You know what we need to do and he'll never agree to it!"

Donar shrugged. "He might. He appears to have more intelligence than I gave him credit for. He might be amendable once he understands the necessity. In any case, we lose nothing by making the offer. In a perfect world, we might not need to proceed at all!"

"Donar, you're talking nonsense! Do you really believe him?!" Argus asked incredulously.

Donar made a face. "As little as I like to admit it, he makes a valid point. Our commanders were clearly in the wrong. They demanded that the princess be sent away but when Malcolm refused, they let the matter rest. At a minimum, they should have ordered their soldiers to stay out of pursuing the Princess-"

"Not about that!" Argus said dismissively. "About the fire!"

"He must think us fools to claim that he burned thousands alive with salad dressing!" Patrick sniffed.

"Agreed," Argus replied. "This was witchcraft, pure and simple."

"I'm not so sure. His words align with what a survivor told me," Donar disagreed. "He claims that he saw the fire arrows and he told me that he smelled sesame seeds in the grass although he couldn't understand why at the time."

"What are you saying?" Patrick asked.

"If Subaru Natsuki is telling the truth-" Donar began.

"Even if he is telling the truth about everything he said, Donar, that doesn't solve our problems!" Patrick said sharply. "Lagunica is still threatening to attack but my sources indicate that it has nothing to do with conquest! They're willing to attack Gusteko purely to kill the witches! They consider Subaru Natsuki to be a threat to the entire world and they're willing to go to war to see him dead!"

Donar looked skeptical. "I must admit, Patrick, I have serious doubts about this. Especially in light of what you told us about Vlad's letter!"

The three princes paused a moment to scowl at Vlad an Voivode who sat sulking in a corner of the room.

"I can not believe," Donar continued. "That Lagunica is willing to go to war purely for the purpose of killing two people! Even if they are witches, that's a fantastic amount of effort for small return. To be frank, I wonder if your contact was lying to you. Perhaps this is just a fig leaf covering up Lagunica's imperial ambitions."

Patrick gave him an annoyed look but just shook his head. "I trust the source but rest assured that I received corroboration from three other contacts before proceeding with the assumption that this was true. Lagunica wants Subaru Natsuki and the other witch dead and they're prepared to do what they must to achieve that end."

"Why is Lagunica so furious with him?" Argus asked curiously. "I wasn't aware that he had committed any crimes in Lagunica to come near to competing with the massacre in the Valley of Winds."

Patrick shrugged. "My contacts all agreed that Subaru Natsuki has disrupted the 'natural order' of Lagunica. Reading between the lines, I'd say that he's a threat to the established powers-that-be in the dragon kingdom. Now they need to kill him to dishearten his large number of supporters. They even captured his spirit partners, Beatrice and Puck. Frankly, I have no trouble believing that Lagunica will attack Gusteko in order to see him dead."

"Gusteko or Siros?" Argus said sharply.

"It doesn't matter, Argus," Donar said quickly. "We can't allow Lagunica to invade Siros, even if it would serve Kairei right. If Lagunica annexes Siros it will completely isolate the kingdom. Our only remaining trading partner will once again be Lagunica and we'll have no choice but to reach accommodations with them under duress. We absolutely must retain access to Kararagi!"

"I agree," Patrick murmured. "The contacts I spoke to all suggested that Lagunica wished to go to war with Siros alone and was asking for our 'understanding' on this matter but I don't think that we can trust them when they claim that they have no desire to occupy Siros. Moreover, if they do conquer Siros, about three quarters of the Gusteko armies will have been destroyed over the past few months. Both Griest and Ithil will be exhausted. Lagunica could conquer the rest of Gusteko at a walk! We need to remove Lagunica's motivation for hostilities in the north."

"What if we eliminate the witches and Lagunica still finds an excuse to come north?" Donar asked.

"Personally, I think killing a pair of witches is a worthwhile action to be undertaken on its own merits," Argus snorted.

"If the witches are dead," Patrick replied, "Then we have a scapegoat for the disaster at the Valley of the Winds. That should allow the Great Houses to unify against southern aggression without losing face. We'll be outnumbered but we understand how to use the mountains and terrain to our own advantage. We can hold off Lagunica long enough for it to tire of the matter. And Vollachia will certainly become involved along Lagunica's southern border once the kingdom's attention is distracted. Lagunica's armies will be divided. We'll be able to push them back. With any luck, we can even snatch up the disputed lands and acquire some new territory!"

"Kairei may not be so eager to form an alliance with us if we kill people she considers her friends," Donar warned.

"She's not the ruler yet. Radu is," Argus replied.

"Radu is sensible and even after Kairei is crowned, she'll realize that she has no choice," Patrick continued. "My sources were unanimous. No one in Lagunica is interested in giving aid or comfort to Siros. Siros either joins with us to push back the southerners or it withers and dies alone."

"Kairei is just a girl," Argus mused. "I wonder if she's stubborn enough to stand alone rather than align with us purely out of spite."

Patrick shrugged. "That's the kind of decision that spurs open rebellions. And I can't say that I'd be sorry to see it."

Donar nodded slowly though his mouth twisted as though he had tasted something foul. "You are resolved to proceed then?"

Argus and Patrick both nodded. "They're already here," Patrick told him.

"We need your vote, Donar," Argus reminded him sternly. "This has to be unanimous if it's going to have the right optics."

Donar frowned. "Did you speak to Lady Deann?" He asked.

Argus nodded briefly. "Briefly. She's on-board but Sir Duncan absolutely demanded that Kairei and Gael be kept safe in this mess."

"Duncan has no vote in this matter," Patrick muttered.

Argus made a face. "True but all the same, we should avoid provoking Sir Duncan an Laertes. He is a powerful warrior. And he has vast influence over Lady Deann," He replied.

"Strange, that he should be so determined to protect them," Patrick mused.

"Not so strange," Donar disagreed. "Once upon a time, Gael and Duncan were very close. They worked together on countless adventures as apprentice Acolyte Knights. Duncan was devastated when Gael became ill. I don't doubt for a second that he'd react violently to any threat against Gael or his beloved little sister."

"He might be bluffing. Remember, he didn't stand up to Malcolm when Kairei was captured," Argus commented.

Patrick shook his head. "Donar is right, Argus. Attacking us is a very different thing than betraying the Prince that your own family owes fealty to. Malcolm might get away with murdering Kairei but I doubt that we would…"

The prince's conversation faded as they each stood there, deep in thought.

Meanwhile, Subaru walked quickly over to Duncan and Deann and stepped directly in front of them.

"Hey!" Subaru said in a friendly tone. "Duncan and Deann, right? How have you been?"

Deann's face twisted in hatred. "Get out of my way or I will slice you to ribbons."

Subaru chuckled. "You might find that a little harder than you think," He smiled.

---

"Please! Listen! I-" Anri begged.

"We have heard more than enough," Donar said dismissively.

"There is no place for a House that fosters witches in Gusteko!" Patrick agreed.

Emilia bit her lip and looked at Subaru desperately. Subaru seemed oddly calm.

"This is not the place! This matter should be brought before the Holy King and the Hierocracy!" Radu reminded them in a grim voice.

"We're not waiting years for Gilecomgain to die and a new Holy King to be elected to resolve this matter," Argus growled. "The witches will be given over to us or your House will be made extinct. No root or seed will escape this cleansing. They'll be no coming back from that!"

"All in favor of declaring war against Siros unless the witches are surrendered to us for immediate execution?" Donar demanded.

"Aye!" The Princes all said in unison.

Anri looked at Subaru and Emilia in horror. Her eyes started darting everywhere like a trapped animal looking for escape.

"Subaru!" Emilia hissed, tugging on his sleeve. "What do we do?!"

Subaru smirked.

"And against?" Donar added carelessly.

"Nay," Deann said firmly.

Donar opened his mouth to continue, the objection was so unexpected that he was badly thrown off step.

The Princes all stared at Deann.

"What?! Have you gone daft, girl?!" Argus demanded.

It was only now that the other Princes actually looked at Deann. Her eyes were wide with horror and her body was trembling. Even Duncan seemed badly shaken.

"For a long list of personal and political reasons," Deann said in an unsteady voice. "I do not wish to set this precedent. Only the Holy King and the Hierocracy have the right to declare someone guilty of witchcraft. I request that this matter be placed before the Hierocracy so that we may follow the proper procedures."

Argus looked astonished then angry. "What is this?! Did you work out some deal to free your father?!" He demanded looking at Anri accusingly.

However, Anri and Radu looked just as shocked as the rest by Deann's unexpected declaration of support.

"That's two votes for acquittal!" Radu said sharply, his face baffled. The regent was looking at everyone, desperately trying to understand what was going on.

"It doesn't matter," Donar said calmly. "Deann has no influence in Sanshi. Those reprobates would never accept a woman on the throne under any circumstances. Since Deann has no claim to the throne then we will simply treat House Griest as not in attendance and therefore abstaining. That means that the matter was passed by acclimation."

Radu looked outraged. "How many more rules do you intend to break to get your way?!" Radu snapped.

Deann's terrified face hardened and she got to her feet, drawing her twin short swords. "Make no mistake, gentlemen. I am here. I have a voice and I will be heard. Anyone who wishes to dismiss me as a 'mere woman' will do so with a yard of steel through his ribs!"

Duncan put his hand on his heavy flanged mace.

"Lady Deann!" Vlad snarled. "Do you know what you're doing?!"

"It's no matter," Argus said dismissively. He whistled.

The doors on both side of the council room opened and soldiers began to pour in. At the lead was a tall, handsome man in a knight's tabard with a long slender sword belted at his waist. The man had long blond hair that looked like he spent a great deal of time combing it and his expression was smugly superior. He was surrounded by ten elderly men in long black robes who seemed reminiscent of priests. Behind them were dozens of soldiers.

"Gilbert de Ray," Anri whispered, her face white as chalk.

"Who's this guy?" Subaru growled.

Emilia summoned her ice sword.

"He… He's the tenth of the Acolyte Knights in Gusteko," Anri said in an unsteady voice. "He leads… the witch hunters…"

Subaru looked at the knight and his face twisted in rage. "Witch hunters?!" He snarled.

Gilbert made a gesture.

The priests beside him bowed their heads and began to chant. A veritable swarm of spirits began to whirl around them, bright as stars.

Emilia gasped and her sword fell from nerveless fingers, shattering against the floor.

Thin purple chains appeared out of nowhere and quickly bound the arms and legs of everyone in the room except for Gilbert and his priests and soldiers. Even the Princes were bound in chains and they looked very angry about that.

"Seal Evil," Gilbert said carelessly. "The ultimate power of the spirit arts. So long as my priests continue to commune with their spirits, all magic within the area is rendered void. Every person within is trapped by mystic chains to be dealt with as I see fit. It even disables the filthy Authority of a witch."

Subaru's face darkened. He briefly stepped in and out of Reason and Judgment. "Buddy, I happen to know for a fact that this isn't true," Subaru snarled.

Gilbert smirked. "We're not like you southern lizard worshipers. We know how to deal with witches in Gusteko. The witch will be burned immediately as will anyone foolish enough to attempt to defend her."

Anri tried to leap to her feet to shield Emilia but the chains held her back.

"Burned?!" Subaru hissed.

"Under my leadership," Gilbert said smugly. "The Hunters have greatly increased the number of witches we've dealt with. Since I took command last year, our unit has personally burned over thirteen Witches! One more will make it a very good day in the cause of protecting Gustekan purity!"

The soldiers murmured their agreement.

Subaru seethed. You have no idea how to deal with Witches! Beatrice told me that there hasn't been a real Witch in four hundred years! And even if there had been, was there ever a Witch so feeble that a group of ordinary soldiers could have captured her?!

Whatever spell you're using to suppress magic, I can tell you right now it doesn't work on Authorities. The fact that you don't know that means that you've never even encountered a real Archbishop, much less a real Witch!

All you've been doing was condemning innocent people that you don't like to the flames!

"You won't be doing that," Subaru said in a deathly whisper.

Subaru triggered Indomitable and shattered the chains that bound him with one quick jerk.

Gilbert actually looked slightly impressed. "You must be the famous Subaru Natsuki, Butcher of Arlem and the Fire Witch."

"Give me another minute and I'm going to add 'Killer of Witch Hunters' to my resume," Subaru hissed.

Gilbert laughed. "I've heard all about your much tauted 'invincibility.' You won't be the first man with an impressive title to fall at my blade," He drew his sword.

Subaru scowled at him. "Do you have any idea how many arrogant bullies have begged for mercy after facing me?"

Gilbert yawned. "Don't try my patience any further, Subaru Natsuki. The number of people in this room who will die goes up with every word that you say."

Emilia was crying. She struggled to get to her feet but the magical chains restrained her. "Alright! If I surrender to you, will you promise-"

"Enough of this foolishness," Subaru said in a chill voice. Subaru had reached a breaking point. The days of short sleep, the stress, the struggle, and doubts, the frustrations with Emilia curse, it all piled up on him.

I can't… I just can't take any more…

The Authority flickered to life deep inside of him.

Subaru grabbed Deann and Duncan's chains. He triggered Indomitable and shattered them, deliberately leaving Emilia, Anri, and Radu still bound in magical chains.

"Deann, take Emilia, Anri, and her Uncle out of here. Go and wait where we discussed," Subaru commanded.

A moment passed and Subaru realized that she wasn't moving. Deann was staring at Subaru, her whole body trembling.

Subaru fixed her with a murderous gaze. "Do not forget yourself, Deann!" Subaru said coldly. "Remember what I told you…" He said in a warning tone.

Deann flinched and jerked into action. Duncan quickly leaped to his lady's aid. Duncan grabbed Emilia and Radu and carried them from the room on his shoulders while Deann picked up Anri and ran for the door.

Gilbert moved to pursue but Subaru held out a protective hand and Gilbert grimaced. "It seems that I'll have to deal with you before I take care of your whore."

"Indeed. That is the way things will be," Subaru agreed quietly.

"Subaru!" Emilia screamed, struggling helplessly in her chains.

The door slammed shut behind her, trapping Subaru in the room with Gilbert, his soldiers and the princes.

The soldiers began creeping closer to him, most of their faces set and grim but a few were grinning. Subaru was a more dangerous foe than the witch hunters usually faced but that just meant more excitement when he was finally dragged screaming to the fires.

"You're really prepared to sacrifice your life for that half-devil witch. You are truly bewitched, aren't you," Gilbert mused. "How sad. If you were better at recognizing witches perhaps you would have escaped this end."

Subaru stared at Gilbert. Then he started to laugh. It was a deep, cold laugh that rang off the rafters and filled the room. The soldiers hesitated, looking at each other uncomfortably. Gilbert's eyes narrowed slightly.

Yes. Let's do it. Let's do it now. Emilia and my paths will finally be joined forever and whatever happens to one happens to both.

"I could say the same to you, Gilbert," Subaru smirked. "If you'd been any better at recognizing witches, you might have avoided your fate. Because Emilia isn't the Witch of Pride."

Gilbert frowned.

Subaru's face filled with savage glee as he shouted out. "I am!"

---

The room was dead silent as everyone stared at Subaru in shock and horror.

Subaru felt nothing but exaltation.

Yes. This is what I really am! Subaru Natsuki, King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Behold my power, you mortal fools, and despair!

Deep inside of Subaru, the Authority of Pride surged, flaring up like a newborn star as it fed on the rapture that felt Subaru having finally declared himself openly. The power grew and grew and this time it swallowed him whole. Subaru didn't even try to resist.

The power flowed through his body and it was glorious. Subaru wouldn't have been surprised if his body was shining like the sun.

Gilbert gave Subaru an incredulous look. "Do you expect us to believe that?" Gilbert grated in contempt. "Don't misunderstand me, if you want to burn with your witch, it can certainly be arranged but this fantasy of yours is ridiculous."

"The truth is often seen as impossible," Subaru replied, feeling nothing but amusement and a distant sort of pity for Gilbert. "Especially by the foolish."

Gilbert's jaw dropped.

One of the junior officers standing near Gilbert drew a light sword. The officer's face turned red and twisted in fury. "Die, you Witch worshiping freak!"

The officer lunged at the seemingly unarmed Subaru. Two of his men charged beside them.

"Stop!" Gilbert roared at the impetuous officer. "Stand your ground!"

The junior officer was too enraged to listen and he closed the distance.

Under the Authority's power, everything around Subaru seemed to be happening in slow motion. He watched with a meditative detachment as the officer and his men charged.

This man is unworthy of my time. His form is truly dreadful. He's overextended, his elbow joint is locked and this leaves him no opportunity to adjust. An amateur mistake.

I feel genuinely slighted by this. The Princes of Gusteko clearly knew that I was present and that I would be their opposition in this matter.

These are my foes? This is the greatest challenge that Gusteko could provide? How dare they send against me anything less than Witches or dragons?

As the officer's sword approached Subaru's face, he tiled his head imperceptibly to the left. A difference of just a few millimeters. A small change but enough to ensure that instead of driving his sword point through Subaru's eyes, the officer hit nothing but air.

The officer's face twisted from blind fury to comical surprise as he completely missed his target.

Subaru reached up with his right hand and caught the officer's forearm in a gentle grip. Before the officer could react, Subaru brought up his left fist and smashed it against the officer's locked elbow joint as hard as he could.

The bone snapped with a sound like a broken cracker.

The slender sword fell from nerveless fingers as the officer slowly opened his mouth to cry out.

Subaru caught the falling sword in his right hand and, in one smooth motion, ran its edge across the officer's throat with a flourish.

In slow motion, Subaru watched as a great fountain of blood leaped from the man's neck and then drifted to the ground.

The officer convulsively reached his hands up to the ruins of his neck as he fell to his knees, unaware that he was already dead.

Subaru eyes the other two soldiers who were still charging at him. Their commander's death had happened too suddenly for their minds to process.

At the very least, these men are wearing armor and full helmets. I approve of men who make their just execution at my hand something slightly more than trivial.

Even had they time to strategize, I doubt not that they would conclude they had little to fear from me. Even now that I am armed, a light sword such as this is no defense against a suit of armor.

Ordinarily.

Their armor doesn't fit very well. These soldiers were given castoff gear.

It is no shame to fall against me in combat. It is completely expected that one should fail in any challenge issued to his clear superior. However, it is only right that two gentlemen warriors should meet in respectful combat to test their mettle ere I slay them.

These men, by their weakness and foolishness, have made it impossible for my august self to respect them and in so doing they have cheated me of any satisfaction in this contest.

They will suffer the weight of my displeasure for this affront.

As the first soldier closed the distance, Subaru gently tossed his sword in the air and caught it backhanded so that the blade now pointed behind him.

The soldier's helmet concealed everything but his eyes. Through the visor, Subaru saw them narrow in confusion.

Subaru raised his sword hilt and smashed it against the soldier's helmeted cheek as hard as he could.

The helmet spun to the left with a loud snapping sound, almost certainly breaking the soldier's nose and blinding him by shifting his visor. The soldier tried to skid to a stop and the other soldier crashed into him from behind. The front soldier's back arched, the impact quite possibly chipping a vertebrae and causing his breastplate to ride up.

With an expression of disdain, Subaru's backhanded sword flicked out and ripped the soldier's belly wide open.

As the two soldiers fell on top of each other, Subaru's blade lanced down into the second soldier's now exposed back and neatly punctured his kidneys.

Subaru spared them a brief glance. The pair were screaming and whimpering. Both men were dead, it was just a question of when. Subaru dismissed them from thought.

The soldiers recoiled in shock.

From their perspective, an unarmed Subaru had effortlessly disarmed and killed three professional soldiers in seconds without even dirtying his clothes or breaking his stride.

The soldiers shrank back in a clump.

The Princes, still wrapped in magical chains, renewed their struggles to break free.

"Could it be true?!"

"Is he really a witch?!"

A few soldiers panicked and made a break for the door but Subaru raised his hand and closed his fist. The heavy door swung ponderously shut. The soldiers beat on the poor but it wouldn't budge.

"Your manners leave much to be desired," Subaru mused. "In my homeland, turning your back on your superior is the height of disrespect."

"Gather your magic!" Gilbert shouted at the priests that surrounded him. "Infuse me with all your strength!" They each extended their hands and the small shining orbs spun around their wrists as the priests and Gilbert called upon the spirits.

"My compliments," Subaru offered. "Victory is unimaginably far from your reach but if you all attacked me at once we might at the very least have a praiseworthy battle."

Gilbert seethed. "I am one of the strongest men in this world! You will learn how foolish it was of you to challenge me! Fell Goa!"

"Pridebreaker," Subaru said negligently.

Gilbert and his priests fell to their knees with a gasp as their spirits shot away to make a shining crown above Subaru's head. Subaru was surrounded by dozens of spirits and he shone like a star.

"What have you done?!" Gilbert screamed as he got to his feet.

Subaru waved his hand wearily. "Will you please at least be judicious with your nonsense? Your men had the audacity to attempt to lay hands on the most exalted existence ever to stride upon this feeble world. Your actions would earn my offense if they were not so inept as to win my amusement." Subaru paused and, being filled with a truly remarkable kind of charity, he attempted to make them understand. "Have any of you ever contemplated the meaninglessness of your transitory lives? You have all grown upon this tiny world like lichens upon the stone, paper-thin in your fragility and lasting little more than a season. Whether men consider you great or small, the stone is left unmarked and incognizant of your mayfly existence.

"Rejoice, one and all, for today your eyes have finally been opened to the truth. You have all beheld my transcendental presence and now understand what it means to encounter an emissary of the very Heavens that lay so far above you. I did not grow upon the stone, I am the stone. I am this world and so much more besides. This world and I are forever one, married under the auspices of heaven, her hand surrendered to my loving custody in the certitude that no man imaginable could tend to her needs with greater wisdom.

"All great men are well suited to their callings, are we not? I am your Redeemer by trade and your Redeemer by nature. It would not be unfit for each of you to offer your most humble gratitude that it is I and no lesser man, possessed of lesser understanding and judgment, who stands before you to lay down justice in this matter," Subaru broadly hinted.

Subaru paused a moment. "I trust that this observation will not reduce nor diminish the earnestness of your abasement and offerings. Obviously, such matters are more properly left unsaid, had any of you the wit to understand the proper conventions and courtesies, but I am a lord among lords and my charity and benevolence know no bounds. Therefore, I shall extend my patience to you knaves who naturally possess no more wit nor understanding than you were born with. In my unspeakable magnificence, I offer you the chance to learn and to grow from my exalted example even if such growth is sadly restricted to your own lamentable natural limitations."

The soldiers looked flabbergasted by Subaru's dense speech, unable to even parse it. Gilbert staggered for a moment and then his face twisted in hatred. "I'll give you a single chance, Subaru Natsuki. Give the witch to me or you'll burn with her. And so will your gutter-born princess! How much are you willing to give up for a half devil?!"

Too fast for the knight to even process, Subaru had darted across the room and seized him by his throat. Subaru lifted the struggling knight high off the floor with one hand. Gilbert convulsively dropped his blade as he desperately tried to pry Subaru's hands off his throat. His soldiers and priests stumbled away from Subaru in terror.

Subaru was angry. Beyond angry. Subaru was enraged and like everything else about him, his rage was as profound and inexorable as the incoming tide. His rage was such that hurricanes and tidal waves would stop instantly to pay heed to it.

"Give her up?" Subaru whispered as if ensuring that he'd heard Gilbert right. "Give her to you?"

Gilbert's face was turning blue as he struggled pointlessly in Subaru's grip. He beat heavy blows on Subaru's wrist that bounced off his skin like raindrops.

Subaru's face was cold. "I confess myself humbled," Subaru said with faint surprise. "My remarkable equanimity has been disrupted! My boundless benefice has been exhausted! Such an act is truly remarkable as your offenses have indeed exceeded my well-reasoned expectations, albeit this is neither laudatory nor forgivable. You and your people, who up until now had been safely adrift in the sheltered harbor of my patience, are now at the mercy of the boundless sea of my wrath, a great tumultuous expanse filled with dangers unforeseeable and mysteries unexplainable."

Gilbert gasped for breath.

Subaru scowled up into Gilbert's face. His rage consumed him. "Understand one thing, fool, and understand it as a surpassing truth from which all other incontrovertible facts and natural laws can be measured," He hissed.

Subaru took a deep breath. "I will never give her up," He whispered through clenched teeth. "Not to anyone! Not a lock of her hair, not a word from her lips, not a single moment of her attention will I ever yield to another!" Subaru ended with a roar. "Emilia is mine, do you hear me?! Mine! And I will never suffer another to have her!"

There was a terrible cracking sound and Gilbert's head fell back, dangling down his shoulders at an unnatural angle.

Subaru scowled down at the lifeless body and dropped it. Subaru took a deep, ragged breath. "I was not finished chastising you. And yet, there you lie, broken. You broke without orders, without leave… This was most ungenerous of you…"

Gilbert was dead but Subaru's anger was unsatisfied. His rage boiled up upside of him and he whirled on the princes and soldiers.

The princes remained chained in their seats, their eyes as big as hen's eggs and the soldiers trembled against the sealed doors.

"You are betrayers," Subaru murmured, "This was never a real peace summit, it was simply a trap. You lured my exalted self and my friends here under false pretenses. Now you will suffer the consequences."

Argus and Donar renewed their struggles against the magic chains as Subaru slowly approached them. Patrick took a deep breath. "You should think carefully before you act if you care anything at all about Beatrice and Puck!"

Subaru froze in his tracks. "What did you just say?" He asked in a deadly whisper.

"Your spirit companions," Patrick said calmly. He gave Subaru a sly smirk. "You didn't really expect me to go up against a witch without some kind of insurance, did you? My men captured your spirits a few days ago. If the four of us don't escape this place intact, my men know exactly what to do to your spirits…"

Subaru was silent for a long moment. "You're lying," He hissed. "You're trying to buy time. Trying to make a fool of me…"

Subaru clenched his fist around the sword that he held and the princes watched in shock as the hilt crumpled in his hand. He dropped the sword a moment later and what was left of the metal hilt looked like aluminum foil.

"I assure you, it's all true," Patrick said smugly.

Subaru took a deep breath and then let it out very slowly. "Very well," He said calmly but his rages blazes, "Since you're feeling so creative, I'll indulge your story. How did you locate them?"

"I have many connections with the Lagunica government. Getting them to turn the spirits over to my custody wasn't all that challenging. And with those Evil Sealing Stone bracelets on their arms, they were helpless," Patrick said with a smile.

"You're lying," Subaru said in a cold voice. "You did not know that I was the witch before you entered this chamber. Your story is laughable."

"You're right!" Patrick said quickly. "I didn't know originally! I was trying to get leverage over you to keep you out of the fight while we killed the elf girl-"

Subaru's eyes blazed and he scowled at Patrick, seemingly ready to rip him apart with his teeth.

"-But then the spirits told me! They told me who the real witch was!" Patrick hurried to add.

Subaru glowered at him. "Another pathetic lie," Subaru grated, "They would never have betrayed me. Never. They would have never told you that…"

"I have proof! Look in my shirt pocket!" Patrick said.

Subaru scowled for a long moment. Then he marched over to Patrick and felt around in his breast pocket until he pulled out a small pink ribbon, such as a girl might use for her hair.

"I'm always prepared for contingencies," Patrick smirked. "That's why I've lived so long."

Subaru stood there, gasping for breath as he struggled to control his overwhelming fury. He cradled the ribbon gently in his hands but his face was contorted with savage rage.

"I took that from her. It was a little insurance, just in case you didn't believe me," Patrick explained.

"You took this from her?" Subaru whispered.

Patrick nodded.

"Then you've seen them."

"Naturally."

"What do they look like?" Subaru grated.

Patrick smiled. "A small gray cat and a beautiful young girl in an elaborate, red and pink dress." He paused. "They miss you, you know," He added.

"They said that?" Subaru whispered, his face beet red with suppressed rage.

Patrick nodded.

"What else did they say?" Subaru asked.

"Not much, honestly. I got the impression that they don't really like me very much," Patrick shrugged.

Subaru's eyes narrowed. "You spoke to her then. What did she say? Repeat her exact words."

Patrick thought for a moment. "All I could get her to say was 'Puck and I miss Subaru.'"

Subaru stared at him.

Patrick fought not to blink.

Subaru's eyes glittering. "'I,'" He whispered with dangerous calm. "'Puck' and 'I', miss Subaru?" He asked, as if just seeking confirmation.

"That's what she said," Patrick replied. "If you harm any of us, I promise you that you'll never see them again. Set us free, and perhaps we can negotiate for their freedom."

Subaru stared at Patrick for a long moment.

Patrick held his breath.

Finally, Subaru began to laugh. It was a high cold laugh that echoed off the rafters and chilled the hearts of his listeners.

Subaru smirked at the princes. "I confess, I was truly frightened for a moment," Subaru said conversationally. "But when I stop to think about it logically, your story didn't hold up from the start."

Subaru's looked at the ribbon with disdain and he dropped it on the ground.

"Wait! I-" Patrick began.

Subaru's face twisted in fury. "You, scum! All of you!" Subaru roared at the princes. The men recoiled as if the words had been a blow. Subaru had truly lost control now. His eyes were wild and his fists were clenched tight enough to draw blood from his own palms. "You lied to me! Luring my Emilia here and intending to do her harm! To take her away from me! And then… you taunt me. With false words from a sweet girl you never met! Telling me fables about my precious Beatrice! An insult to the bond we share! Your filthy mouths dirty her name when you speak it! I'll kill you!" He roared in a voice that shook the building.

Subaru's world went dark.

---

When Subaru regained consciousness, he found himself lying flat on the council room floor. His head was spinning and the Authority had returned to dormancy.

He managed to get to his feet and looked around in shock.

The meeting room looked like the site of an inferno. Bodies lay everywhere, charred to the bone. Skulls gaped all around Subaru in soundless screams. Even the bones themselves were blackened in some cases and the soldiers' metal armor was distorted as if it had briefly liquefied due to great heat.

There were huge dents in the stone walls. It looked as though bodies had been flung against the walls with enough force to break the hard stone.

Subaru looked around with wide eyes. "What the fuck did I do?!" He whispered in astonishment. "How did I do this?!"

---

It appeared that Subaru hadn't been unconscious for very long.

Subaru left the mayoral palace without much effort. Because he had killed everyone involved, no one in town knew that a massacre had even taken place.

Subaru had walked to the edge of town before the alarm was sounded. Subaru heard the horns and bells echoing through the dark city but he kept walking calmly to the grove by the pond just outside of town where he'd already told Deann and Duncan to await him if something unexpected had happened during the summit.

Subaru entered the glade with a sheepish look on his face. Duncan and Deann were standing there, struggling to break the chains around Anri without success. Radu and Emilia sat chained nearby.

"Deann! Why are you helping me?!" Anri demanded, sounding as if she'd asked this question many times before.

Deann ground her teeth. "Look! I have my reasons!" Deann snapped.

"Anri, perhaps we shouldn't be focusing on that right now," Radu murmured.

Emilia's eyes brightened. "Subaru!"

Deann and Duncan jumped and spun around. They stared at Subaru with huge eyes and both laid their hands on their weapons.

"How in the world did you get out of there alive?!" Radu asked in disbelief.

Subaru sighed as he grabbed all their chains and triggered Indomitable. "Well, I… apparently killed… pretty much everybody there so there wasn't really anyone left to stop me from leaving," He murmured, breaking their chains.

"Are you alright?!" Emilia demanded, throwing her arms around him.

Subaru sighed. "Well, I've had better days," He admitted.

Emilia led his head to her shoulder and held him tight.

"What do you mean, you killed 'everyone?'" Radu asked intently as he threw off his chains.

"Um. Well I killed the Witch Hunters, the soldiers, that knight, and those annoying princes," Subaru said awkwardly.

"You killed the princes?!" Anri gasped.

"Yeah," He muttered. "That should at least given you guys a break for a bit. I doubt that their Houses will want to get involved again. They've seen the penalty for trying to attack you."

Anri shook her head violently, staring at Subaru in disbelief.

"Subaru Natsuki," Radu whispered. "Do you realize what you've done?!"

Subaru and Emilia frowned at him in confusion.

"You killed the heads of four houses!" Radu shouted incredulously. "Their families will now feel like they have no choice but to take revenge against House Ithil!"

Subaru blinked.

"Oh Gods," Anri whispered in horror. "How could this have happened?! Subaru, how could you have been so stupid?! How did we go from being finally at peace yesterday to being on the verge of going to war with everybody today!"

"Hang on!" Subaru said desperately. "There's no… evidence that you were involved in that! You have witnesses saying that you weren't there!"

"Do you really think anyone will believe that?!" Radu asked scathingly.

Subaru's face twisted in dismay as he thought about it.

Emilia looked at the frantic Anri and sighed. "Then just blame us," Emilia said simply. "Tell everyone that the Witch Hunters freed you from our spell and that we killed everyone in the room in retaliation."

Anri stared at Emilia in shock. "Emilia! I can't-"

"She's right," Subaru sighed. He suddenly felt terribly tired. "This mess is all our fault. The best thing that you can do is to give us all the blame."

Anri gave Subaru a hard look but she didn't say anything.

"Gods," Radu whispered urgently to no one. "What are we going to do?! Siros doesn't have the strength to oppose Hilde, Brokvar, Craite, and Voivode all at the same time!"

Subaru gave Deann an imperious look and she blanched.

"Griest will stand with you," Deann said quickly. "We're eager to establish a solid alliance with House Ithil and to stand with you against all foes," She promised. "Between us we control the strongest armies in Gusteko. The other Houses would be foolish to attack!"

Anri looked at her incredulously.

Deann sighed, suddenly looking exhausted. "Although, I would like to see my father freed, once the alliance is solidified," She added.

Radu looked puzzled but he nodded slowly. "I won't turn down any help in this mess. Gusteko is about to experience a real civil war. We'll need to make alliances with all the uncommitted houses."

There was a stirring in the bushes. Deann drew her swords but it was only a boy leading four riding dragons into the glade.

Duncan took the reins from the boy and he vanished back into the forest. "I sent word that we would need mounts," Duncan explained. "We need to get out of here. It won't take long until they come out looking for us."

Subaru nodded. "Yeah, Anri. You better go."

Anri bit her lip. "But what about you two?"

"We need to sneak back into town," Subaru said. "Patrasche is still in that stable and we need to rescue her. Anyway, that will probably provide a good diversion for you."

"And after that?" Anri asked with a small catch in her voice.

"Anri," Radu said firmly. "After all this, you cannot be thinking of granting them sanctuary! Not only have they embroiled our people in another war, one that we may not win, but your only chance of courting the neutral houses is to denounce them and pin all the blame on these wretches immediately!"

Anri flinched.

Subaru sighed. "He's right, Anri. Just give us all the blame. We're used to it. Hell, in this case I totally deserve it and we won't be in Gusteko to suffer for it anyway."

"Where are you going? Are you going back to-" Anri glanced at Radu's hard face and clammed up.

Emilia and Subaru looked at each other helplessly. "I don't know," Subaru said. "I don't know where we're going to go or where we'll end up. But we'll be OK! As long as we're together, we can do anything."

Emilia nodded, hugging Anri. "We'll try to send you a letter when we're somewhere safe," She whispered, holding the girl tightly in her arms.

Subaru hugged her next. "Be careful, Anri. Take care of yourself. We'll be back to help you out of this mess… just as soon as we figure out how…" He added lamely.

"Don't you think you've done enough at this point?!" Radu asked sharply.

Subaru flinched.

Subaru thought for a long moment. "Anri," Subaru muttered, "Come here for a second."

Anri walked over as Radu, Duncan, and Deann discussed their escape. Anri looked at Subaru as if she was no longer certain how to feel about him.

"Here, Anri. You'll need this," Subaru whispered, handing her the Gospel.

Anri jumped. "But you'll need it!"

Subaru shook his head. "I haven't found it too useful. Maybe we just don't have the talent for reading it. You need it more than we will."

Emilia nodded fervently.

Anri slowly opened the book and then flinched and slammed it shut. "I can't read it!" She whispered. "I must have lost the witch's blessing somehow!"

"Oh, fuck," Subaru sighed and grabbed the Gospel. "OK… 'Book.' Listen," He hissed, feeling unbelievably silly. "You're my Gospel and I am giving you to Anri. I… need Siros to be strong and prosperous and at peace for my… 'goals' to be fulfilled so you are going to guide Anri to make all that happen. Understood?"

The Book shuddered in his hand for a moment and Subaru gave it back to Anri.

She opened it doubtfully and her eyes brightened. "I can read it again! It says 'The King of Pride will be visited by three witches. Each will offer him his destiny. One once pretended to love him. One was made to love him. And one knows he can offer her love. One will deceive him, one will use him, and one will consume him. The deceiver will never lie to him, the manipulator will never tell him the truth, and the one who would take all from him, will give him everything.'"

The three looked at each other in confusion.

Subaru shook his head. "You need to get going, Anri," Subaru muttered.

Anri bit her lip. "Subaru, Emilia," She began. "I-"

"There's no time, Anri," Emilia said sadly. "You need to get out of here."

Subaru nodded. "Save it for the next time we see you."

Anri nodded seriously and threw her arms around both of them. "We'll be together again," She said firmly. "I promise!"

"Promises are important," Emilia said.

"And I must keep my promises," Subaru finished.

Anri pulled away and mounted her dragon.

Subaru wiped a tear from his eye. "Alright! You all get out of here! We'll distract the locals!"

Anri, Duncan, and Deann nodded while Radu just glared down at them with a stony expression. They kicked their dragons into a sprint. Anri stared back longingly until they vanished into the darkness.

"We need to get going too, Mili," Subaru said.

Emilia nodded.

---

Although the city was in an uproar, the pair had little trouble sneaking back into town. The city guards were busy turning the place upside down, looking for enemies and ensuring that nobody left. They were broadly indifferent to anyone foolish enough to enter.

Subaru and Emilia entered the stable and Patrasche's head quickly poked over the stall door with a delighted cluck.

"Hey, girl," Subaru said, stroking her head. "Did you miss us?"

Patrasche closed her eyes with a contented expression.

"Subaru," Emilia whispered. "Now that we found Patrasche, how are we going to get out of the city?"

Subaru shrugged as he opened the pen door. "Honestly, I'm leaning toward brute force."

"What?"

Subaru chuckled. "There's nobody in the city guard who could be a threat to us and we promised Anri that we'd give her a diversion. If we just break through the perimeter, all the guards will come chasing after us instead of looking for Anri."

Emilia frowned. "Subaru, those guards are innocent people. It's not OK to just kill them unless we have literally no other choice!" She said firmly.

"Who said anything about killing them?" Subaru replied as they led Patrasche out of the stable. "After all, dead men don't sound alarms or tell everybody which way we went. We don't need to kill anybody, just scare them. Then they'll come after us and leave Anri alone."

Emilia thought about it. "OK, that makes sense. I'll freeze them to the ground then. It won't hurt them much but it will let us ride past them and they'll sound an alarm."

"Great plan!" Subaru approved, climbing onto Patrasche.

---

It was well after midnight when Subaru and Emilia rode Patrasche back to the Elior forest. The dragon, who had slept most of the afternoon and evening, was still doing fine but her riders were exhausted.

"Subaru, they're still following us!" Emilia whispered wearily, her head slumped against Subaru's shoulder. The shouts of pursuing soldiers on riding dragons could be heard close by.

"This is all good news," Subaru said to Emilia.

"It is?" She said in surprise.

"Yeah. If they're this fixated on us, that means that Anri got away clean!"

Emilia thought a moment then nodded. "That is good news. But now we have to get away!"

"Shouldn't be an issue," Subaru replied as they finally rode under the forest trees. "They'll turn back pretty soon."

"I see them!" A voice shouted.

Subaru and Emilia spun around and saw a man mounted on a riding dragon, waving his torch overhead to signal the others.

Patrasche kept running but there was the rumbling sound of dozens of dragons converging.

"Subaru!" Emilia shouted. "They found us!"

To her astonishment, Subaru laughed. "This is perfect timing!"

"What-"

"Just hang on, Mili!" Subaru said with barely contained laughter.

Emilia stared at Subaru incredulously.

Emilia looked behind them and saw at least forty riders coming fast through the forest. They were clearly visible under their burning torches and they were closing in.

As Emilia watched, a black silhouette against the torch light knocked the lead dragon over. The dragon and its rider foundered in the snow. There was a terrible roar.

More silhouettes began to pounce on the other dragons. The dragons screamed in terror and began to bolt out of the forest. Emilia watched as the foundered dragons quickly regained their feet and followed, slowly pursued by the torch bearing men who'd fallen off. Packs of Guiltylowe and wolgarm pursued them.

Emilia realized that Patrasche had stopped running and that Subaru was roaring with laughter.

Emilia looked with deep frustration at the love of her life. "Subaru," She growled in annoyance.

Subaru slowly got control of his laughter. "I gathered the mabeasts to this area when we got close to the forest. I figured this would be enough to school them against coming into the forest until they could gather a really large force. We'll be safe for a day or two now."

"Why didn't you tell me about that plan?!" Emilia demanded.

Subaru smirked. "Well, for one thing, you look awfully cute when you're surprised."

Emilia glowered at him then sighed and let it go. She thought for a moment. "Subaru… what if they search the forest and find the village?"

Subaru sighed and then rode Patrasche forward at a walk. "They won't, Mili," He said, trying to sound confident. "It would take a whole army weeks to search this forest. Nobody is going to order their whole army to search the Elior Forest for weeks on end unless they think that they'll get something out of it." He sighed. "For good and for bad, Gusteko has much bigger problems on its hands right now than… a couple of fugitive witches."

Emilia listened to the terrified screams of the men receding in the distance.

"The mabeasts seem to be having some trouble catching them," Emilia murmured.

Subaru shook his head. "I ordered the mabeasts to chase them but not to kill them unless they tried to stand and fight. And no, I have absolutely no idea how I was able to convey that message but it seems like they listened."

Emilia nodded. "It's good that you didn't kill them, Subaru."

Subaru sighed. "I figure that I owe them that much, considering how many innocent Gusteko soldiers I have killed in the past week. Not to mention the very real possibility that I've set their entire country on a collision course for a civil war…"

"Subaru, that wasn't your fault," Emilia murmured.

"Really?" Subaru asked incredulously. "How the hell can you justify that?"

Emilia didn't answer.

Subaru sighed. "Yeah. That's what I thought."

---

Subaru and Emilia rode less than another mile before stopping for the night. They weren't going to get anywhere near the village for hours and they were too tired to go that far.

They found a likely camp spot and gave Patrasche food. Emilia used her magic to melt the snow for some water. Patrasche fell asleep almost as soon as she'd finished eating.

Subaru pulled their new tent out of the saddlebag. "OK, let's see if we can set this thing up."

It took an exhausted Subaru and Emilia close to an hour to figure out how to set up the tent but they finally got it together and sat down inside.

"Wow," Emilia said in wonder. "This really is comfortable!"

Subaru was probably even more amazed. Emilia could use her mana to stay warm but Subaru had to rely on shivering and Emilia's body heat. Inside the tent it felt like a warm summer morning. Subaru curiously stuck his hand out of the still open tent door, feeling his fingers freeze in the chilly night air while the rest of his arm was warm and balmy. Even the tent floor was comfortable. It felt more as if they were sitting on a soft mattress than a thin layer of cloth against the hard, snow-packed ground.

Subaru grabbed some of the last vegetables that they'd packed in the saddlebag and shared them with Emilia. Neither one had the energy to cook so they ate them raw.

"Subaru, what's that?" Emilia asked, pointed at a small metal cylinder a little bigger than a waste basket that sat outside the tent. Upper cylinder had a door in the side.

"Oh, shit. I always hate it when I put something together and I have parts left over," Subaru muttered. He squinted at it. "I think that's the kiln. It lets us make a fire inside the tent," Subaru answered.

"Want to try it?" Emilia asked.

Subaru shrugged. He stepped outside to grab the kiln and brought it in the tent. He opened it and inside he found a small bag of polished blue balls a little smaller than marbles. The bag was labeled 'Fire Stones.'

"Mili, do you have any idea what these are?" Subaru asked, inspecting the balls.

Emilia nodded. "They're Fire Stones. Low quality pyroxene crystals that people burn for fuel rather than use wood."

Emilia took a stone from the bag and tossed it into the kiln. She flicked a tiny tongue of flame off her finger and threw it at the stone. The kiln burst into a bright, warm fire.

Subaru looked at the burning stone and then at Emilia in confusion.

"They used to burn these in the fireplaces at Roswaal's manor," Emilia explained. "They're more expensive than wood but easier to store and work with. And they don't make so much mess."

"Huh. You learn something new every day," Subaru mused. Subaru and Emilia sat side by side, staring into the dancing flames.

"Subaru, what… do you think we should do next?" Emilia asked, her hand slipping into his.

Subaru sighed. "I… I don't know, Mili. I mean… if we really are going to… give up on lifting your curse, at least for right now, then we should be focused on rescuing the spirits."

"Of course, we still don't know where they are either," Emilia muttered, pulling her knees to her chest and resting her cheek on them.

"Yeah," Subaru shook his head. "I'm glad that we were able to help Anri… always assuming that I didn't just leave her in a worse situation than she was in before she met me…" Subaru said in a despairing voice.

"Subaru," Emilia wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. "When I met Anri, she was about to freeze to death or be eaten by mabeasts. She would have died that night if not for us. She would have been hunted down and killed by Elsa and Lye if not for us. She would have been killed by Malcolm an Griest if not for us. We absolutely helped her!" Emilia said firmly.

"And now I've put her in a bigger war than the one she started in," He sighed.

Emilia forced Subaru to look her in the eye. "Subaru," She said, her expression hard. "Do you really think everything would have been fine if you hadn't killed those Princes?"

Subaru frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I think that, if we had escaped, they would have simply shifted gears to blaming Anri for just associating with us! Even if we had offered them our lives, I think they would have still tried to go after Anri one way or the other!"

Subaru sighed. "Well, maybe," He admitted. "But we're still up shit's creek right now. I mean, I'm glad that we were able to help Anri, at least a little, but… it doesn't look like we got much out of it. We're in the exact same situation that we were in when we first got into the forest."

"That's not true, Subaru," Emilia said firmly. "We have a comfortable tent, good food, and a riding dragon. We know where we are and we can easily get to other places when we decide where to go."

Subaru didn't respond.

They both stared at the fire for a minute.

Emilia sighed. "Subaru, we… we can't stay in the forest, can we?"

Subaru shook his head. "No. We can stay in the village for a few days but then we'll have to leave. Radu knows that we're hiding in the forest because Anri mentioned it during our talk the other night. I have no expectation that Radu wouldn't sell us out in a heartbeat if he thought that it would make the other Houses back off. That means that it's only a matter of time before all of Gusteko knows where we are. I doubt the Houses will search for us personally but sooner or later Reinhard will hear about the forest. Reinhard could probably search the entire wood and find the village in an afternoon!" Subaru said bitterly.

"Then… where are we going?" Emilia whispered, slipping her hand into his.

Subaru took a deep breath. "Nowhere right now. We'll be safe in the village for a few days at the very least. That means that we can have a few days to reset and rest and try to figure things out. Patrasche needs to rest too. Then we'll decide… what our new plan is," He said helplessly.

They sat in silence, staring into the fire.

---

Subaru sat up watching the fire burn in the kiln. That little stone had been burning for hours with no sign of going out. An added bonus to using the kiln was that the fire was almost invisible to anyone outside the tent. Someone could be walking close by and they'd never see their campsite.

After they'd talked, Emilia had fallen asleep almost immediately. She'd laid down on a sleeping roll, stretched and passed out between words.

Subaru was tired as well but he couldn't bring himself to sleep yet. He had too much on his mind.

After a few hours, his legs went to sleep so Subaru quietly slipped out of the tent to stretch his legs.

He looked around the dark forest, his spirit somber and heavy.

Where the hell are we even going to go? After this mess, we won't be welcome in Gusteko anymore! And Lagunica sure as hell doesn't want us back. So… what?! We head for Kararagi after all?

I'm almost tempted to ask 'what's the point?' What the hell will we do after we inevitably manage to cause some kind of chaotic upheaval in Kararagi? We only have four nations to choose from and we're rapidly running out!

Beyond that, we still have absolutely no idea how to break Emilia's curse or where the spirits are being held.

Subaru looked around and his heart stopped.

He saw a light blazing not too far off in the distance.

Is that a camp fire? It can't be a forest fire. I doubt that anything would be burning naturally in this cold and wet forest.

Could the soldiers have come back? No way! Nobody is going to camp out in a mabeast infested forest at night after nearly being a mabeast chew toy!

All the same, I better find out who else is in the forest. If it's a casual traveler maybe it won't be too bad. But what if it's more smugglers? Or one of the Archbishops?

…Either way I need to know. We were planning to leave the forest in a day or two anyway but if Emilia and I aren't safe here then we need to get out fast.

I need to investigate.

Subaru knelt down beside Emilia sleeping body. "Mili! Wake up!" He whispered.

She didn't respond.

"Come on, Mili!" Subaru shook her. "We're not alone here! We need to do something!"

Emilia gave a soft murmur, then turned over and continued to sleep.

Subaru considered trying to keep waking Emilia then decided to let her sleep until he had a better idea what was going on.

Subaru fought his way through the deep snow, approaching the light.

---

Subaru found himself on the top of a small cliff. It looked like a hill that had been split apart during some earthquake long ago, and now there was a great cleft in the earth where a group could stay sheltered from the wind on three sides.

Subaru peered down the cliff. Below him, he saw a large fire burning, easily big enough to warm a crowd of people. Around the fire were several benches made of shaved logs. A single individual sat on one of them, wearing a hooded robe. They had their back to him as he looked down from above. They were poking at the fire with a long stick.

At the worst possible time, Subaru sneezed.

He struggled to do it silently and almost succeeded.

He looked back over the cliff side and peered down at the hooded stranger. There was no sign that they had heard.

"You must be cold up there," The figure said without moving. They sounded female and their voice was whisper soft. "Come and warm yourself by the fire. There is plenty of room."

Subaru's heart stopped.

What do I do? Do I run?

Subaru sighed. 'Run?' In this snow? I might as well see what they want. Maybe I can learn something. I doubt that they'll recognize me. If they do decide to start trouble, I'm really no worse off sitting down there than I would be if I tried to run and they started chasing me right now.

Subaru laboriously walked down the slope of the shattered hill and took a seat on a bench not far from the hooded stranger. The figure had no skin visible. Their sleeves completely engulfed their hands and their face was hidden in their hood. Subaru couldn't make out any more details about them. Despite being close to the fire, shadows gathered unnaturally thickly around them.

The figure didn't say anything.

Subaru bit his lip wondering what he should say. "I didn't know that anyone else was in the forest," Subaru began.

That seems like a safe enough comment. I can pretend to be just an itinerant traveler and maybe I can find out if they're a lost traveler or if they came into the forest on purpose.

"Normally, you would be correct. The Great Forest of Elior is cursed. It does not welcome travelers. However, an unusual number of people have come here as of late," The figure replied in a near whisper.

"Oh really? So what brought you in?" Subaru asked.

"Many things. First and foremost I was checking on something."

"Something?"

"Yes," The figure replied. "I needed to be sure that it was still intact. I'll be departing soon. How came you to be in the forest?"

"Total accident, honestly," Subaru said. "My friend and I got lost in a blizzard and we just wound up here."

Aside from neglecting to mention the part about being tossed into a portal by a loli Great Spirit, that's actually pretty close to being truthful. I mean, disregarding our little side trip with Anri.

"Hm," The figure replied. Subaru wasn't sure if she was agreeing or expressing doubt. "I will be departing soon but first I need to recover my strength. My recent battle has greatly sapped my endurance."

"Battle?" Subaru echoed. "Did you run into mabeasts?" He asked.

The figure paused a moment. "It's funny that you should ask. I've seen several witchbeasts within this forest but I think there might be something wrong with them."

"Wrong?" Subaru said carefully.

"They seemed… repressed. As if they were being controlled in some way."

Subaru bit his lip. "What makes you think that they were being controlled?"

"They chose not to attack me," She shrugged. "Normally, witchbeasts will always attack when they have the advantage of numbers but these seemed… restrained in some way."

"Maybe they think that you're stronger than you appear," Subaru ventured. I have a similar feeling to be honest. "Besides, I wasn't aware that it was even possible to tame mabeasts."

"It is a very rare skill. Some scant Divine Blessings do allow the wielder to control witchbeasts as does one of the Divine Authorities."

Wait 'Divine Authorities?' That's a new term. Usually people spit when they mention the Authorities. What does this person know about the Authorities?

Subaru chuckled dismissively. "Let me guess, Pride," Subaru grumbled.

The figure cocked their head. "No. It is Gluttony, actually. Why would you think that it was Pride?"

Subaru hesitated. "Well, pride is the first sin so I just assumed…"

The figure nodded. "I know that you've had a great deal of experience with pride, Subaru Natsuki."

Subaru jumped. "Excuse me?"

Subaru couldn't see anything of the figure's face but he sensed that they smiled. "Were you under the impression that I didn't know who you were?" The hooded figure asked in amusement.

Subaru scowled. "And you are?"

"Someone who desires to be your friend."

"Most of my closer friendships have begun with exchanging names," Subaru grated.

"I have had many names. The one I favor at the moment is Korë."

A very polite way of saying 'I don't feel like telling you who I am so here's a fake name.'

"Fine," Subaru grumbled. "Anything else you do feel like telling me?"

"Only that I have followed your career most carefully. I've been watching you closely, both you and Emilia."

Subaru stared at her. "What did you just say?" He gasped.

Korë cocked her head.

Subaru leapt to his feet and grabbed Korë by both shoulders. "Korë, what did you just say?!"

"Subaru Natsuki, you are being most forward," She chided. "Then again, it has been a very long time since my last carnal encounter so I suppose I could be amenable…"

"No! You know who Emilia is?!" Subaru demanded.

Korë sat there silently for a moment. "I know that she grew up in this forest and cursed it with a spell of endless winter. I know that she was attempting to become the King of Lagunica in order to obtain the sacred dragon blood so that she might restore her people from her own curse."

Subaru slowly let go of Korë and stepped back, sitting down on his log bench a short distance away.

I couldn't see anything inside of her hood. I was standing close enough to kiss her and there's plenty of firelight but Korë's face was just a black void. And there's something strange about her voice. She must be using magic to disguise who she is. Do I know her? I mean, what would be the point in disguising yourself to someone who doesn't know who you are anyway? Or is she worried that I might meet her later in a different capacity?

Still, maybe I can get something out of this…

Subaru cleared his throat. "Korë, something terrible has happened to Emilia."

"Oh?"

"She's been cursed. Everyone has forgotten who Emilia is. Her friends and family claim that she never existed and everything that she ever did is being attributed to someone else."

"How simply awful," Korë replied.

Why do I not believe that you mean that…

Subaru shook off his irritation. "You're the first person I've met that knows who she is! Do you have any idea why that would be?"

Korë sat there patiently until Subaru had finished speaking. "First of all, your woman has not been cursed. Her name has been stolen."

Subaru blinked. "What?"

"The Sin Archbishops of Gluttony, among certain others, have the power to devour the name of anyone they touch. If they do so, the world forgets that this person ever existed."

Subaru remembered Roy lunging at Emilia near the tomb.

Roy must have touched Emilia. I thought that he missed but I guess…

Perfect. So basically if Garfiel and I had been one second faster getting Roy away from Emilia, we wouldn't even have to deal with this mess. Just my luck.

Then why did Lye say that the Archbishops weren't involved? Was he lying to me?

Or was he just honestly confused by my calling it a curse?

"If that's true," Subaru said slowly, "Why do I remember her? Or why do you, for that matter?"

"Because we are what we are," Korë said calmly.

What the hell does that mean? …Actually, I have the very unsettling feeling that I know what that means…

Let's just move on, I have more important questions to ask and that question would certainly derail this whole conversation. It might even lead to a fight…

"Lady Korë," Subaru continued, "Do you have any idea how we could… reverse this process?"

Korë cocked her head thoughtfully. "My first thought would be to hunt down and kill this Gluttony. Perhaps that would reverse it."

Subaru sighed. "I killed Roy just a few minutes after he 'ate' Emilia's name and that didn't happen."

"Did you? Most impressive. Also, most unfortunate that her name did not return."

"Yeah. Do you have any other ideas?"

Korë sat there for a long moment. "I might."

Subaru waited but Korë did not continue.

"Would you consider sharing them with me?" Subaru asked with an edge in his voice.

"Possibly," Korë mused. "Tell me, Subaru Natsuki, why do you think that I have not been affected by Gluttony's power?"

Oh boy. This conversation isn't going anywhere that I like. In fact, it's going directly someplace that I specifically wanted to avoid but I have no choice. Assuming that Korë knows what she's talking about, I've gotten more information about Emilia's condition in the past minute than I have in the past week.

Subaru sighed. "You're a member of the Witch Cult, aren't you? You're a Sin Archbishop."

"No. Try again."

Subaru blinked. He thought about the matter for a moment and then his eyes widened. "You're a witch?!"

Korë sounded annoyed. "A most unfortunate term for something which is in truth, a transcendent state of being but you are essentially correct."

"But… I thought that all of the witches were dead except for Envy. The stories claim that she devoured all of them."

"Such stories are in error but that is neither here nor there. Suffice to say that Envy had very little to do with most of the witches' passings. Beyond that: no, not all the witches are dead. Most still live and, even were that not the case, I can assure you that it is always possible to be deader."

"Uh, what does that mean?"

Korë thought for a moment. "Witches wield the power of the Divine Authorities. Death means… something different to us. A witch can be long dead and yet still influence the world around her."

Subaru digested that. "Is there some reason that you won't even tell me your real name?"

Korë seemed to consider her answer. "I am aware that you have… some cause to be unhappy with me. Due to no deliberate malice on my part, I have caused you and your woman some… distress. I understand that you might resent me at the moment. I choose to withhold my identity until you have equal reason to feel gratitude toward me."

What the hell does that mean?

Subaru shook his head. "OK, well that is really interesting but could we get back to talking about how I could help Emilia?"

Korë sat there a moment. "Subaru Natsuki, why do you think that I came here?"

Subaru sighed. "Well you told me you came here to check on something. It may be self-centered of me but I think you probably came here to check on me."

"Among other things, yes."

"So you feel like telling me why you did that?" Subaru asked.

This is probably what everything has been leading up to. Korë wants something. We might as well get down to cases and see what she wants in exchange for telling me how to cure Emilia so that we can start haggling.

Korë thought for a long moment. "I… awoke when you and the others freed the Sanctuary."

"Huh?"

"I was in a form of… slumber, let's call it. I slept the years away since the Great Calamity and only regained my awareness periodically when something of import caught my attention. Such as when your woman entered the Sanctuary."

"If you were asleep then how did you know what was happening?"

"Witches can slip a bit of their spirit into other beings, using them as eyes and ears. In extreme cases it's said that it's even possible to put enough of your spirit into someone else's body that you can control them directly," Korë mused.

Well, that sounds in no way creepy!

"When the barrier broke," Korë continued, "I woke up and began to explore the world again. As did an ancient enemy of mine, also roused by the shattering of the Sanctuary's barrier. I came here to see who had accomplished this feat. I came to measure their capabilities."

Should I tell her that I didn't break the barrier? Because if that means she goes looking for Emilia, I think that might be bad.

"And? What do you think?" Subaru asked impatiently.

Korë lifted a hand, completely concealed by her sleeve, to where her mouth would be. "I'm not yet certain. You have more potential than anyone I've ever met but… I am unsure if you are the right candidate to assist me in my grand design. I can not afford to be wrong."

"And your grand design is what exactly?"

"At the moment, you do not need to know that. Suffice to say, I seek to protect the world from itself. To create a better world."

Subaru sighed, trying to master his irritation. "Can we please just focus on how I can help Emilia?"

"I am unwilling to commit to you just yet."

"Commit to me?! It's just answering a question! What kind of commitment is that?"

"More than you know. The Witches, the Archbishops, the Order of the Divine Exousia, and even the dragons are all tied together in an intricate web. No move can be made carelessly and each action sends countless threads vibrating. I have some allies and many enemies. If it were to be known that I had made alliance with you, some of my enemies might feel emboldened by a new target with which to sabotage me and some of my allies might cry betrayal and turn on me. I am currently engaged in a complex alliance with several others. Some might approve of our new alliance, some might be indifferent, and some might consider me a traitor or even attack me. I have dedicated my entire life to the fulfillment of my grand design. I can do nothing to risk it. Before I could form an alliance with you, I would require some assurance."

Subaru frowned. "Like what? You need me to promise that I'll protect you from your enemies and help you with this plan of yours?"

"Yes but your promise would not be sufficient."

Subaru held his breath. "You're talking about a magical contract, aren't you?"

"Yes. An unbreakable bond enforced by magic," Korë explained.

Oh shit! That sounds just like what Roswaal was thinking! I definitely want Emilia's name restored but I won't trade my soul away for it!

"I'm no one's slave!" Subaru said flatly.

Korë cocked her head. "You misunderstand me, Subaru Natsuki. I was speaking of a mutually beneficial partnership."

Subaru's eyes narrowed. "Alright… What terms were you thinking of?"

"In essence, we become each other's facilitator. I place myself and my considerable knowledge and talents at your disposal to use as you please. You dedicate yourself to helping me achieve my design."

Subaru frowned. "And what is this grand design? I'm not going to promise you that I'll do whatever I have to in order to fulfill your dream without some idea what that means."

"I wouldn't have expected you to," Korë replied. "However, you do not need to know that right now."

"I just said-"

"I am not offering you such a contract at this time. I merely said that I was considering it. Before I do so, I must be convinced that you are the man I've been searching for since before the paths were severed."

Subaru scowled. I don't know what that means and right now I don't care. "So you want to test me?" He said with an edge in his voice.

Korë nodded.

"Alright, what is this test?" He demanded pugnaciously. "I'm assuming that you'll only tell me how to heal Emilia if I pass."

"No. I shall tell you now," Korë replied.

"Huh?!"

"You will take my test in the process of saving your woman, Subaru Natsuki," She said quietly. "Your test is to restore her name."

Subaru's jaw dropped. "What? Why are you asking me to do that?"

"I think that it's entirely reasonable. Wouldn't you have done that anyway?"

Subaru shook his head in disbelief. "Well… Yeah," Subaru admitted.

"Then this is the perfect test."

Subaru squinted at her. "Korë, what's the point of this test? What are you even testing? How does this establish any kind of level of ability for me?"

"Oh. You are confused, Subaru Natsuki," Korë replied. "It is not your abilities that are in question, it is your determination."

Subaru shook his head. "I still don't get it."

"Emilia is the person that you love most in all the world, is she not?"

Subaru swallowed. I don't know how she knows that but it makes me very uncomfortable that she does. "Yes."

"You understand that your woman is in mortal danger so long as the world's memory of her is lost and all fear her to be the released Witch of Envy?"

Subaru sighed. "Yes."

"Your situation is dire and verging into crisis. This world goes into a wild panic when rumors that the Witch of Envy is free begin to circulate. If you do not restore your woman's name soon, it will be too late. Everyone will simply assume that their restored memories are fake and that the false ones are true."

Subaru frowned. "I also need to rescue the spirits."

"Your spirits are in no immediate danger, for the moment anyway. Danger may threaten them later but right now they are safe."

Subaru stared at her. "Assuming that I believe you."

"Yes. Assuming that you believe me," Korë said with equanimity. She paused. "Your family is in critical danger, Subaru Natsuki. What will you do?"

Subaru barely restrained himself from triggering Indomitable and punching his fist right through Korë's hood. "Whatever I have to do!"

Korë nodded again. "Then you will pass my test."

"What does that even mean?"

"The people you love are in great danger. If you do not save them you will lose them forever. If you will do whatever must be done to protect them, then I can trust in the strength of your determination. You will be able to assist me in my great work. If you find a line that you cannot cross in spite of the potential loss of those dearest to you, then you are not the one that I have waited for."

Subaru sighed. "Would you just tell me how to restore Emilia's name already?!" He asked plaintively.

"I would but to my own nature I must be true. My knowledge of the Old Ways was gained from long study and is the single greatest asset that I possess. We are both seekers of miracles right now. The next time we cross paths, one of us may find the other in a time of need. If I were to share my knowledge with you, I dare say that you would owe me… a favor," Korë said quietly.

Subaru took a deep breath.

She's not wrong but I don't like the way she said that. Still…

"Yes," Subaru agreed, "If you told me how to fix everyone's memories of Emilia, I would definitely owe you a favor," He emphasized.

A favor is not the same thing as agreeing to do whatever you want. You're not tying me up in the same trap that Roswaal tried to!

Korë stared into the fire for a moment. "The Book of Wisdom," She replied.

"What's that?" Subaru asked.

"It was… the Witch of Greed's greatest treasure in life. It is a repository for all the knowledge in the world. It was fueled by her greed and also fed it," Korë explained. "The world may forget, Subaru Natsuki, but the Book does not."

Subaru frowned, "So… you're saying that if Emilia and I found that book, we could show it to people and prove that Emilia is who she claims she is?"

"No," Korë shook her head, "The Book of Wisdom taps directly into the world's memory for its knowledge. No normal mind could read it without being obliterated by the sheer amount of information flowing into their brain."

Subaru sighed, "So in other words, you're saying that the Book could prove that Emilia is Emilia if only we could use it. Unfortunately, reading it would make our friends' heads explode."

"It is not your friends that are the problem, Subaru Natsuki, but rather the world. It is the world that has forgotten your woman," Korë clarified. "However, the Book separates the remembered from the true. If you could bring the Book to the seat of the Od Laguna, the soul of this world, then the world would remember your woman and thus, so would everyone else."

Subaru thought about it, "Where can we find this Book? Does the Witch Cult have it?"

"No," Korë shook her head, "Before the Witch of Greed died, she lived on a floating island set adrift in the sky. That is where she left the Book."

"An island in the sky?!" Subaru repeated incredulously, "How the hell are we supposed to get up there?!"

"I'm afraid that some things you'll just have to figure out on your own," Korë replied.

Subaru gave her a dirty look. "OK, so assuming we do get the book, how do we find this Od Laguna thing?" Subaru asked.

"I can guide you to the seat of power," Korë said calmly.

Perfect. She's holding back details so that I'll still need her later.

Still, this would certainly be progress. Maybe we could find the location of the Od Laguna in the Grand Archives.

If we can ever go back there…

I still don't get why didn't she force me to make a deal with her before telling me anything…

Subaru thought about it, "Sounds like it could be manageable," He ventured, "Korë, do you know where this island is right now?"

"No," She answered. "The island drifts along the currents in the sky. It could be in any number of places after four hundred years."

Subaru sighed, "Well, that's not too helpful. Then again, it might not be that hard to find. I expect people would talk about a floating island."

"You should have no trouble locating it, Subaru Natsuki. Despite your casting away your copy of the Gospel."

Subaru jumped. "Wait. How did you know I did that?"

Korë ignored the question. "The Gospel is merely a lesser, imperfect copy of the Book of Wisdom. Discarding it was a most wise decision on your part, by the way."

Subaru felt a chill. "Why? Is the Gospel dangerous? Did I put Anri in danger by giving it back to her?" Subaru demanded.

"The Princess was already in danger," Korë answered in a silky voice. "All those who wield power are in danger from birth until death. And the Gospel is naturally dangerous. All witchcraft is. But it will obey you and serve the girl for as long as you wish it. It will never betray its master or defy his orders. You need have no fear about that. I meant that you were wise to cast the Gospel aside because it serves as a beacon. No one of consequence would care about the Princess or that she possesses the Gospel. However, if you held the Gospel, it could allow others to find you…"

What does that mean? Fuck it. It probably doesn't matter right now as long as Anri isn't in danger. I need to focus on learning more about the Book.

Subaru sighed. "I need to get Emilia's name back as fast as I can. That's the only way I can protect her from the rest of the world."

"It will not be so simple, but restoring her name is a very necessary first step," Korë replied.

Subaru stared at Korë suspiciously. "What I don't get is: Why do you think I would want to work with you after I've already restored Emilia's name?"

Subaru thought that Korë might have been smiling. "In other words, why do I not simply keep the secret of restoring your woman's name as the price for you to do as I say?"

"Well, yeah. That's pretty much what I was thinking."

"Slaves make terrible allies, Subaru Natsuki," Korë commented. "I need someone who desires the success of my work with the same intensity as I do. The resolution of my design will benefit you greatly, perhaps even more than it will benefit myself. I have no doubts that I can persuade you to assist me."

Subaru frowned. "Well, I probably shouldn't say this but maybe you should doubt it. Once I have my family back together again, Emilia and I plan to-"

"Disappear?" Korë asked.

"That's the plan. We find someplace quiet, settle down as a family, and just let the world forget about us."

Kore's hand went to her hood. It was impossible to be sure but Korë seemed to be covering her mouth. Subaru could hear her chuckling.

"Something funny?" Subaru asked with an edge in his voice.

"Something familiar," Korë shrugged. "Most witches consider this approach at one time or another in their lives. It never works."

"Why not?"

"Because witches wield great power, Subaru Natsuki. That power makes us a lodestone for other people who desire to use that power in some way. Our power shapes the world as we walk it."

Subaru shrugged. "I'm not interested in power. I don't want to reshape the world, not even into something better. I tried it. It's too hard."

"Unfortunately, Subaru Natsuki, you have no choice. To wield an Authority is to claim one of the most powerful forces in the world. You represent power, Subaru Natsuki. You embody power to everyone around you and they are at your mercy, whether either of you likes it or not. The world around you cannot help but be shaped by your power, any more than a whale in the sea can avoid dragging smaller creatures along in its wake."

Subaru shook his head. "I'm just going to find a quiet forest somewhere and disappear. I'm not going to bother anyway."

"No? If you were to see, for example, a peasant girl being whipped by a nobleman because she refused to let him have his way with her, would you look the other way?"

Subaru scowled at her.

Korë continued matter-of-fact, "You either permit this to continue or you take action to change it. If you stop the noble then all of his fellows will recognize that you have the power to restrain them when you so choose. They will refuse to attempt similar crimes unless they are prepared to face you. If you decline to use your power to stop that noble, then you are affirming by your non-action that the noble is a lawful authority and within his rights to do such a thing. As more nobles get away with giving into their worst impulses without being punished, more and more will follow this path. By your actions and inactions, you will create the world around you."

"That's really philosophical, Korë," Subaru muttered.

"Moreover, consider the danger that your woman will be in," Korë continued.

Subaru shrugged. "That's why I want to restore her name."

"I hate to be the bearer of bad tiding, Subaru Natsuki, but while restoring her name will prevent people from hunting her because they don't know who she is, it will do nothing to protect her from the people who would hunt her down and slay her because they do."

"What is that supposed to mean?!"

"You and your woman have become champions to a nation. You have convinced the poor and downtrodden that you hear their voice and that you will take up their cause. Demi-humans and peasants across the continent look at you as a hero."

Subaru rolled his eyes. "Well, that's a serious mistake on their part," Subaru scoffed.

"Perhaps," Korë replied. "But have you considered the ramifications of this? You have dropped a large stone into a pond and the ripples travel."

"Meaning what exactly?"

"Your candidacy and the candidacy of your woman started out with absolutely no chance for success. Then you slew the Whale. And then you rescued two communities from the Witch Cult and killed a Sin Archbishop with your own hands. Your coronation has officially gone from impossible to inevitable. The power brokers in the capitol consider the matter to be virtually settled. This is making them very unhappy."

"They don't want me to be King?" Subaru asked in an indifferent tone.

"They do not. They are afraid that you will once again inspire the demi-humans to rise up and demand equality. They fear that the peasants might demand better conditions for themselves. They fear a new civil war. The status quo always works for the powerful because they are powerful in the status quo. The powerful shape the status quo to their liking. Change is threatening to the mighty because once one is at the top, there is only on direction to go and that is down. As soon as Emilia's name is restored and they remember that she has been chosen as your queen, they will plot to murder her."

Subaru gaped. "What?! Why?"

"Because the notion of a mixed family on the throne is more than they can stomach. It would do remarkable things to inspire demi-humans across the continent. If the kingdom's power brokers can not stop you from obtaining the throne, they will at least not permit your heir to be of mixed blood. They will remove your woman before she can cause trouble."

Subaru bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. "Fuck it! With the dragon blood gone, Emilia and I no longer have any incentive to pursue the throne anyway! Like I said, we'll just drop out of the selection and disappear."

"Oh," Korë said sadly. "I fear that would be most unwise."

"What are you talking about?"

"To men who worship power, the notion that anyone is not seduced by power is folly. No man walks away from power that he has won, save in a clever gambit to obtain more. The story of a man who refuses a throne in order to keep his demi-human lover safe; it is quite romantic, don't you think? It will inspire the demi-humans greatly."

"So what?" Subaru grumbled. "We'll just go into hiding. If the demi-humans want a war then they can fight it themselves."

"If you simply disappear, Subaru Natsuki, there will be many eager to speak in your name. You will need to decide whether to permit this or to try to control the dialog. If you ignore it, people will seek you out, seeking to silence you for another's words. If you become involved and attempt to control what is said in your name, you will only be drawn deeper into the quagmire of politics."

Subaru scowled at Korë. "Korë, why are you telling me all this?"

"You asked me why I was so certain that you would form an alliance with me. What I have described will be your life. However, I can help you. With my assistance, you and your family will have a perfectly safe and happy life. I will offer you all of my knowledge and talents to make it so."

"Very pretty words," Subaru grumbled.

Korë shook her head. "We will make it so. I will sign my heart into the contract. I will stake my life that you will have no complaints about your situation once I am permitted to guide you. I shall lead you to your ideal future without fail. Your power and my knowledge make anything possible and I will guide you in mastering your great power."

Subaru thought about it for a moment. "What happens when you sign a contract that requires you to do the impossible?" Subaru asked.

"You die," Korë answered. "The magic drives you to keep trying to fulfill your pledge until you simply die from exhaustion. This is the promise that I will make for you."

Subaru nodded slowly. "OK… Let's just say that I was interested… What would you want in exchange?"

"We have not reached that point yet."

"Come on! How about some good faith here? Give me a hint at least!"

Korë sat there, still as a statue. "Subaru Natsuki, have you ever heard the Legend of the Empyrean King? The King of Pride?"

Subaru frowned and searched his memory. He shook his head. "No. I don't think so."

"I'm not surprised. This story is only known to the most dedicated students of history. Or to those who have watched history unfold. However, that is your only hint for now. First you must pass my test and save your woman."

The cold wind began to pick up and fresh powdery snow blew everywhere. The intense cold burned at Subaru's lungs. Korë looked around. "I believe that is where our palaver ends this night. My endurance has reached its limit and I must rest. I will find you when you have completed your test."

Subaru heard the sound of something running across the snow. He turned and saw Patrasche racing down to the fire. She stopped at Subaru's side, looming over him protectively.

"Hey, girl," Subaru said, rubbing her face.

"Also, would you be so kind as to give your woman a message for me?"

Subaru stiffened. "What's that?" He asked suspiciously.

"Tell her that her third vision is not a nightmare. It is a prophecy."

"What the hell does that mean?" Subaru demanded.

Korë ignored him. "One more thing," Korë continued. "Just a few days ago, the Shade of a great enemy of mine came into this forest. She is a witch of terrible power and we were both seeking the same… prize. We did battle and your dragon was wounded in the process," Korë said. "The fight was inconclusive and we were separated. I was unable to find her after this. I am uncertain if she has left the forest or if she still lurks here seeking to cause further mischief."

"Another witch?!" Subaru asked incredulously.

Korë stared at him for a moment. "As I said, not all the witches are what you would consider to be dead. Moreover, because of your actions in the Sanctuary, the seals are beginning to weaken."

"What seals? What are you talking about?"

"The dragon Volcanica, for reasons best known to himself, decided to tie every seal in this world together, whether he made that seal or not. That makes each seal much stronger than any would have been individually. However it also means that a single fractured seal, such as the Sanctuary, compromises all of them. My foe has been imprisoned since the time of the Great Calamity. Now, all the prisons are weakening and her restless Shade is free to roam the world as she pleases. At least her Shade only possesses a small fraction of her terrible power."

Subaru noticed that the dragon refused to take her eyes off of Korë. The riding dragon seemed nervous or even afraid of the shrouded figure. Subaru was so fixated on this that it took him a moment to process Korë's words.

"Wait a minute!" Subaru blinked. "Are you saying-"

"You have had a greater impact on this world than you know, Subaru Natsuki. The seals are weakening and powers that have lain dormant for centuries are beginning to stir. I warn you. My foe also seeks to draw you out. If you should cross paths with her: Flee her! Shun her! Speak no words to her! She is deadly and she will seek to entrap you in her web for her own purposes. With any luck, she has lost your trail but I assure you, she will find it again."

Korë stood up without another word and walked away.

Subaru looked up at his riding dragon. Wait. Patrasche was wounded during Korë's fight with the witch? How did she get in the middle of that fight in the first place?

Garfiel's words during their flight from the Sanctuary suddenly came back to him: "I thought that I saw an extra Ryuzu… I think that she was riding your earth dragon out of there."

"Wait a second!" Subaru gasped after the departing figure, "Who the hell are you?!"

Korë didn't pause nor turn around and quickly disappeared into the storm.

---

Subaru and Patrasche returned to the tent. The storm ended abruptly as soon as Subaru and the dragon got back. Subaru had a few suspicions about that convenient timing.

Patrasche yawned and quickly returned to sleep in the snow, the cold not bothering her at all.

Subaru sneaked into the tent trying his best not to wake Emilia but sleep did not come easily to him that night.

---

Emilia woke early the next morning.

"Good morning," Emilia said stretching. "How did you sleep?"

Subaru made a face. "Not well, honestly. Something happened last night."

Emilia frowned. "What was it?"

Subaru sighed. "Patrasche and I… met a witch," He said helplessly.

"What?!" Emilia gasped.

Subaru sighed. "After you went to sleep last night, I saw a campfire in the distance and went to investigate," He explained.

Emilia stared at him. Then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Subaru," She grated. "Are you telling me, that after everything we just went through, all of the arguments we had, you still decided to go off into danger without me or even waking me up to tell me about it?!"

"Hey!" Subaru put up his hands defensively. "That was not my fault! I tried to wake you up!"

"Really?" Emilia asked skeptically, folding her arms across her chest.

"Yes! I called your name, I shook you, I did everything I could think of to wake you up! You were out!" Subaru emphasized.

Emilia started. "…Just like Anri's guards when she met the witch," Emilia whispered.

Subaru's eyes widened. "Wow," He whispered. "I can't believe that I didn't put that together…" Subaru scowled. "The witch put a spell on you just so that we could have a nice private chat!" He hissed.

Emilia shook her head. "Later, Subaru. Just finish the story!"

Subaru sighed. "Alright, so I found a bonfire pit with a woman sitting there. Hey, just out of curiosity, did your people build anything this far away from the village?"

Emilia shook her head. "No, we didn't wander very much."

"Yeah, that's what I figured," Subaru muttered. "She probably made it with magic. Anyway, the woman introduced herself as Korë. She told me that she was a witch and that she was… um, interested in working with me."

"On what?"

He shook his head. "She wouldn't say. She said that she wanted to test me first and then she just… walked away."

Emilia frowned. "What did she look like?"

Subaru shrugged. "Dunno. She was using magic to disguise herself. I couldn't see any part of her face and even her voice and body shape seemed oddly… distorted if that makes any sense. All I could see was that she wore a hooded robe," He replied.

"What else did Korë say to you?"

"Well, she had a message for you, strangely enough."

"For me?"

"I didn't understand it. She told me to tell you that the 'third vision is not a nightmare. It is a prophecy.' I have no idea what that means. Does that mean… anything to you, Mili?" He said, frowning in sudden concern. Emilia was staring off into the distance, her expression a caricature of absolute shock.

"Mili? What's wrong?!" Subaru urged.

Emilia started. "Oh! Nothing. I was just… thinking about something…"

Subaru frowned. I don't buy that for an instant. "So… does Korë's message mean anything to you?"

"Well," Emilia hedged. "I'm guessing it's about my third trial from the Sanctuary."

"A prophecy?" Subaru asked in concern. "What was the third vision about?"

"I'm not sure."

"What?"

"I'm really not sure. I… It was like a dream. Just… concepts and images but with no real context. I… couldn't put it into words," She replied.

Subaru stared at Emilia. I don't know… I don't think Emilia is lying to me exactly but… I think she could probably tell me more if she wanted to.

Why is she trying to hide this from me? What is she trying to hide?

"Subaru, did Korë say anything else?"

Subaru looked at Emilia for a long time, waiting to see if she would say anything else. Finally, he gave up. "She told me that an old enemy of hers was in the forest and that they had a fight. She says that's how Patrasche got her injury," He said, pointing at the sleeping dragon.

"Another witch in the forest?! Do you believe her?"

Subaru rocked his hand back and forth then shrugged. "I mean… I'm not sure what the point of lying about that would be. And it would explain how the grove with that weird door in it got destroyed. I'm guessing that a dispute between witches does a lot more collateral damage than just breaking a few windows."

Emilia frowned and thought about it. "So Korë and her foe could both still be in the forest?" Emilia said in a worried tone.

Subaru nodded. "Yeah. I'm afraid so. Korë said she didn't know if her enemy had left the forest or not and I have no idea if Korë is still hanging around here." He paused. "So basically, we're all alone in the woods… except maybe we're not alone and we could be being watched by any number of people whose motives we don't understand. That's a happy thought."

Emilia thought for a moment. "Subaru, do you think Korë was the one who gave Anri the Gospel?!" Emilia asked.

Subaru thought for a moment, then sighed. "I have no idea. And I'm a fucking idiot because I didn't even think to ask that quetsion! But I'm pretty sure that what happened the night that the grove was destroyed has everything to do with the Gospel… somehow."

"What do you mean?"

"The note that got changed was written on a page from the Gospel. I know that that's important to understanding what's really going on!"

"Um. How?"

Subaru chuckled. "I have absolutely no idea!"

Emilia shook her head. "Some detective you are," She grumbled but her lips curved in a fond smile.

He shrugged. "Hey, I'm doing my best. Oh, also some good news: Korë says that you're not cursed. She claims that the reason that nobody can remember you is because Roy ate your name."

"What?!"

Subaru shrugged. "Apparently, if you believe Korë, the Archbishops of Gluttony have the power to devour a person's name by touching them and that makes everyone forget who they are."

Emilia frowned, processing the strange concept. Then she shook her head. "Did she give you any ideas on how to reverse it?"

Subaru sighed. "Korë said that there's an ancient relic called the Book of Wisdom. She claims that if we were to find it and bring it to the soul of this world, the spell would be broken."

Emilia's face grew pensive. "OK… Did she tell you where the book was?"

Subaru nodded. "She claims it's located on an island in the sky."

Emilia stared at him. "How could we possibly get up there? Wyverns are very rare and we can't go back to Siros right now. I doubt that anyone else would lend us one."

"Especially since our names are mud in two kingdoms right now," Subaru agreed. He paused. "I actually have an idea for a machine that might be able to lift us up there but I'm not sure if we could build it without the spirits' help."

"Subaru, please tell me that this machine is not called a 'catapult,' Emilia said in a worried tone.

Subaru burst out laughing. "Don't worry, Mili. I'm not that crazy."

Emilia looked at Subaru in annoyance and then started to sheepishly laugh along.

The laughter felt freeing after all the stress they'd been through lately.

Emilia finally quieted. "Did Korë tell you where this island was?"

Subaru shook his head. "She said that she didn't know."

Emilia sighed. "It's too bad we didn't know to ask about it while we were in the Grand Archives."

"Yeah. But I think I know were we can start looking," Subaru added. "I remember a passage from the Gospel that we didn't understand before: 'The Quest for the Book begins with the Silk Merchant of Picoutatte.'"

Emilia frowned. "Picoutatte? Why there?"

"I have no idea," Subaru admitted.

Emilia thought about it. "Korë said that the Book was on a flying island, right?"

Subaru nodded. "Have you ever heard of one?"

Emilia shook her head. "Only in fairy tales. But I doubt that it's in Picoutatte. If a flying island was anywhere inside the kingdom, wouldn't we have heard about it? And what does a silk merchant have to do with anything?"

Subaru thought about it. "I'm not sure if the island is there. The Gospel just said that our quest starts there. Picoutatte might be a good place to gather information. Maybe silk is a reference to the triangle trade."

"The what?"

"It's something that I read about in Roswaal's library. Apparently, the silk trade takes merchants to three different nations so it's very important for international commerce. Silk worms only live in Kararagi, efforts to introduce them anywhere else have failed. So merchants go to Kararagi to buy silk. Then they bring it to Lagunica which has a huge textile industry to spin it into cloth and make clothes. Then the clothing is sold in Gusteko or Vollachia. Silk is a great insulator so it's awesome where the weather is really hot or really cold. Then the merchant goes back to Kararagi to buy more silk with his profits and the cycle starts all over again. It's actually not a bad idea to talk to a silk merchant. They travel all over the world so they might have seen a flying island."

"But, Subaru, there must be dozens of silk merchants in Picoutatte. Maybe hundreds! How will we find the one the Gospel is talking about?"

Subaru shrugged. "Beats me but at least we have an idea of what to do now. We can head to Picoutatte and start asking questions. That's more of a plan than we had before. Even if the Gospel is just blowing smoke, we'd at least be somewhere that nobody expects us to be and we could gather some information."

Subaru paused. "Korë also told us that the spirits are OK for right now. She suggested that we start by looking for the Book and… I hate to admit it but I think she might have a point. If we rescue the spirits right now, we're just putting them in more danger. The whole world will be after them again as soon as they're with us."

He hesitated. "And besides, until they remember who you are or at least learn to accept you… being with the spirits just puts you in danger," Subaru sighed in a guilty voice.

Emilia bit her lip and nodded. "But if we can fix everyone's memories then there's no issue. We can just walk into the capitol and take them back."

"Yeah," Subaru sighed. "It's the best plan I can come up with but I don't feel very good about it. I feel like I'm abandoning them…"

"Subaru," Emilia said firmly. "Nobody thinks that you would ever abandon your family. Beatrice and Puck know that most of all. They're not worried that you've forgotten about them. They'll know that the only reason you haven't come for them yet is because you're hard at work trying to fix this mess! They have faith in you, Subaru. They know that you'll rescue them."

Subaru nodded sadly. "I sure hope so… But we need to decide what to do. We either go try to save the spirits or we go looking for this Book…"

Emilia glanced away and bit her lip. A dozen emotions flickered over her face. She looked back at Subaru, her face conflicted. "What do you think?"

Subaru sighed. "I think if we have any avenues to pursue to making everyone remember you, we need to take it. Restoring your memory would solve almost all of our problems right now."

Emilia took a deep breath. "Then let's find the Book and get our family back," She said with determination.

---

Subaru and Emilia returned to the village that afternoon. There was really nothing to do but lay around and try to rest up. They had thrown nearly all the vegetables that they had left into their lunchtime stew. They knew they couldn't take any of the vegetables with them on their journey, they would spoil in no time.

Emilia was tending to the fire while Subaru sat on the bed, doodling in a notebook.

"Subaru, what are you doing?" Emilia said, coming over and sitting beside him to look.

Subaru learned over to let her see. "Just a design I was thinking of."

Emilia frowned and then her eyes widened. "Subaru, is that the village?!"

"Yup."

"I had no idea that you could draw so well!"

Subaru looked awkward. "Well… I cheated…"

"What does that mean?"

Subaru hesitated and then shook his head. "Don't worry about it. Anyway, I was thinking when we come back to the village, I'd have this little project to keep me busy."

Emilia frowned at the picture. "What are those vines running through the trees and around the houses."

"They're not vines they're wires. And they're all strung with tiny little lights, like the ones we saw in Ganaks."

Emilia stared at him. "Subaru. Do you have any idea how expensive those lights are?!"

"I think I know a way to make cheap ones," Subaru shrugged. "It'll give me and the spirits something to do once we break the curse on the village." He smiled at her. "Wouldn't the village look great all lit up like this? I had a friend whose family used to decorate their homes and trees with lights every winter. I always thought it looked nice."

Emilia smiled and shook her head. "Subaru, I can't believe how you always act like breaking the curse was as easy as crossing a road."

Subaru shrugged. "Hey. Confidence is important, right?"

Emilia just laughed fondly.

They sat there for a moment.

"How many days do you think it will take us to get to Picoutatte?" She asked.

Subaru sighed. "Honestly, we're crossing the entire kingdom diagonally. I think that it will take us close to a week, even on Patrasche."

Emilia thought about it. "But still, nobody knows where to look for us on that journey. This should be much less stressful than our flight from the Sanctuary."

"Yeah, that's true," Subaru agreed. "Then again, it would be hard for a journey to be more stressful than that one."

Emilia glared at him. "Subaru. Please. Don't tempt fate."

Subaru snickered. "Yeah. Good point."

They were both quiet for a moment. Emilia looked moody.

"What's wrong? Are you worried that Picoutatte will be a dead end?" Subaru asked.

Emilia shook her head. "No. Even if it is, we'll keep looking. We know what to look for now and we'll find it."

Subaru nodded. "That's my Mili," He said fondly.

---

Malcolm an Griest sat in his cell that night, fuming. His cell was isolated, a single cage in a small room, surrounded by a dozen guards. His spirit companions had been returned to him but this cell was specifically designed to hold people with unusual powers and he had no chance of breaking out.

"Malcolm an Griest," A guard said in a bored voice. "You have a visitor."

Malcolm started. Who would visit me here? Don't they usually send prisoners to the interrogator rather than the other way around?

To his shock, Deann walked into the room, her face as hard as stone.

"Daughter?!" Malcolm gasped, what are you doing here.

Deann looked at the guards. "Leave us," She ordered.

"Hey!" One of the guards protested. "Wait just a second, Lady! We're not going to-"

Deann handed him a piece of parchment which the guard read incredulously. He handed it back to her with an expression of disbelief on his face. "Alright, boys," He said in a sullen voice. "We're waiting outside. They need to have a private conversation."

Deann sat down on a chair in front of Malcolm's cell as the soldiers quickly filed outside the room and shut the door.

"Daughter, what is going on here?!"

Deann's face was grim. "I have simply wonderful news," She said in a mocking voice. "House Ithil and House Griest have formed a solid alliance."

"What?!" Malcolm demanded. "Why on earth would you do that?!"

"Because Subaru Natsuki ordered me to," She said in the same flat voice.

"What are you talking about?!"

"I met with Subaru Natsuki at the summit. He…"

---

"Hey!" Subaru said in a friendly tone. "Duncan and Deann, right? How you been?"

Deann's face twisted in hatred. "Get out of my way or I will slice you to ribbons."

Subaru chuckled. "You might find that a little harder than you think."

Deann tried to step around him but Subaru sidestepped and didn't let her.

"Get out of my way!" She growled between clenched teeth.

"We need to talk," Subaru said quietly.

"We have nothing to talk about!" Deann said.

She tried to push past him but Subaru grabbed her arm.

Before Deann could reach for her swords, Subaru whispered in a hard voice, "I have some very important information to relay to you. Either we go someplace where I can tell you about this privately, or I'll share it with the entire fucking room," He said with a friendly smile on his face.

Deann hesitated. She had no idea what Subaru was talking about but something in his voice convinced her to listen. She jerked her head and led Subaru and Duncan into an empty room nearby.

Subaru closed the door behind them.

"Very well," Deann said impatiently. "What is it?!"

Subaru had a friendly smile on his face. "I need you two to help protect Anri and her House and I'm absolutely certain that you'll want to do it," Subaru said gaily.

Deann and Duncan stared at each other incredulously. "What are you even talking about?!" Deann demanded.

"What do you think of this?" Subaru asked, pulling a small piece of parchment out of his satchel and holding it up for them to read.

Duncan and Deann read it. Then they gasped in unison and Deann made a wild grab for the paper.

"Oh no, no, no," Subaru said in the same cheerful tones, pulling the paper back.

"Where did you get that?!" Deann gasped.

"That's not really important," Subaru replied, putting it back in his satchel. "The question that you should be asking is, what will I do with it?"

Deann just stared at him in horror.

"So what are the other princes planning?" Subaru asked intently.

Deann hesitated for less than a second. "The last I heard, the princes were planning to murder you and your elf."

"Why?"

"Are you serious? How can you even ask that?!" Deann asked in shock.

Subaru's face darkened.

"I mean," Deann stumbled over her words. "They blame you for the destruction of their troops. Apparently Lagunica is also threatening war just to kill you and your elf! The princes hope that by killing you they can convince Lagunica to back down."

"What about Anri?" Subaru muttered.

Deann shook her head. "They plan to threaten war unless she hands you over to them."

"Aren't they worried about fighting us?" Subaru asked incredulously.

Deann shook her head. "They claim they have special forces standing by that can handle a witch."

"What forces?" He grated.

"I don't know. I swear that I don't. The princes aren't really talking to me at the moment. They blame my father for starting this whole mess."

Subaru thought for a moment. "Then I'm going to need you to help me protect Anri," Subaru said, once again in his friendly tone.

Deann stared at him incredulously. "What?!" Deann asked in disbelief.

"Hey, Duncan," Subaru mused. "I'm not really all that well versed with Gusteko custom and law. What do you think would happen if the Hierocracy in Pardochel was given a signed confession that Malcolm an Griest conspired with assassins and even a Sin Archbishop in an effort to kill his rivals' for the throne?"

Duncan stared at Subaru. "Prince Malcolm couldn't possibly have known that she was a Sin Archbishop!" Duncan protested weakly.

Subaru smiled indulgently. "I stand corrected. So he only consorted with assassins to kill innocent people, most of whom were children by the way," Subaru said mockingly. "Anyway, what do you think the Hierocracy would do?"

Duncan's voice was numb with shock. "There's no question of what the Holy King and Hierocracy would do. They would-"

"Lord Subaru," Deann broke in desperately. "Do you understand what would happen if the Hierocracy ever saw that paper?! Our House would be stripped from the rolls of Gusteko! This wouldn't just punish my father or his family, this would doom tens of thousands of people who look to my House for protection! They would no longer be people in the eyes of the law! They would be stripped of all legal rights, they could be hunted like animals or killed for sport. The other Houses would wage war against us to pick the meat off our bones. This disgrace would be all encompassing and would last for centuries. You would be dooming entire generations to live and die in hopeless misery!" Deann took a ragged breath. "Now do you understand why you must not show anyone that paper?"

"Do you now understand what I'm going to do if anything happens to Anri?" Subaru asked intently.

Deann panted for breath, her eyes huge. "All those lives… Innocent people for countless generations whose lives would be ruined before they're even born… You won't do it. Even you can't be that heartless!"

"Deann," Subaru said calmly. "Do you remember about two days ago when I burned thousands of innocent people alive simply for being in my way?"

Deann gathered her hands to her mouth and stared at Subaru in horror for a long moment. Finally she nodded. "I understand," She whispered. "We will take good care of Princess Kairei. She will be as my own little sister from now on. I will stake my life upon it."

"Yes," Subaru said firmly. "You have."

---

Malcolm stared at Deann, looking as if the world was spinning around him.

Deann shook her head. "And that was that," Deann said in a flat voice. "The Fire Witch had me and he knew it. If he'd asked me for my life or my body, I'd have had no choice but to acquiesce."

"How did this happen?!" Malcolm demanded. "How could Subaru Natsuki have gotten that contract?!"

"It hardly matters now, does it?" Deann spat. "The only thing that matters, Father, is that you have sold myself, Canmore, and everyone else in House Griest into perpetual slavery under Subaru Natsuki."

"What's happening in Sanshi?" Malcolm asked.

Deann sighed. "Uncle Robert has taken control of the city in your absence. He's looking after Canmore. I've already sent Duncan back to explain the situation to him in private. Uncle Robert will understand the predicament we're in and endorse the alliance. I'm also asking Duncan to bring Canmore back here. He and Kairei were friendly once. Perhaps they could me more than that. I'm hoping that I can tempt her into a permanent alliance with our family."

Malcolm stared at her. "Are you mad?! Are you trying to merge our Houses?"

"Yes," Deann said flatly. "If House Ithil unites with House Griest, then it would be also answerable for all of our crimes. Subaru Natsuki might be more reluctant to destroy our House if he knows that he would pull down Princess Kairei's House at the same time.

"We don't need to do anything desperate yet! We'll figure this out!" Malcolm said firmly. "There's a way out of this mess.

Deann gave him a long, cold stare. "When I saw that parchment, I just couldn't believe it. You ordered these people to be murdered," Deann whispered in disbelief. "These were not rivals or warriors, they were children. You paid assassins and Witch Cultists to murder children…"

Malcolm scowled. "I was trying to put Canmore-"

"Into that stupid chair in Pardochel?!" Deann demanded in a withering voice. "How could that possibly be worth all this?!"

Malcolm took a deep breath. "Daughter, that throne is our birthright! I will see us returned to it. I did what I had to do!"

Deann stared at him for a long moment and then shook her head. "I've always admired your certainty, Malcolm."

Malcolm's eyes widened at this mode of address.

"I've never had your certainty," Deann admitted. "My conscience won't let me say that I have to turn my back on you. But I'm going to do it anyway."

Deann stood up and walked away.

"Daughter!" Malcolm shouted. "Wait!"

Deann paused but she didn't turn around.

Malcolm reached into a pocket. "Here, take this," He murmured, holding something out to her.

Deann sighed and walked back to the cage, her eyes hard and cold. "What is this?" She asked, taking the small black book.

"A gift to our House. It is the Gospel of a Witch," He said intently.

Deann jumped and nearly dropped the book. "What?!" She gasped.

"It was given to me by the Mother of the Assassin's Guild when we signed the contract. She wished to develop closer ties with the future Kings of Gusteko," Malcolm whispered.

Deann scowled at him. "Did you even question if she had an ulterior motive?!"

"Of course she did," Malcolm said bluntly. "Everyone does. People try to use you and you try to use them in turn. That is life for the powerful. All the same, her offering permitted me to push Siros straight to the brink of annihilation with small loss."

"And then the book was done with you and it led you to ruin!" Deann said scathingly.

Malcolm shook his head. "No. The Gospel guided me true," he admitted. "I misunderstood its warning. In the Valley of the Winds, it told me that the army seeking to protect the princess would be destroyed at dawn. I thought that it was warning me of an impending battle between our forces and the forces of Lagunica and Siros but instead, it was a warning that the Fire Witch would singlehandedly destroy our entire army…"

Deann shook her head in disgust. "I want nothing to do with this accursed thing!" She said. "Your schemes and ambition have already ruined all our lives!"

"You are my heir, Deann," He said simply.

"A wretched legacy I would be happy to deny!" She hissed.

Malcolm flinched. He took a deep breath and continued. "You need to think about your brother," Malcolm said calmly.

Deann hesitated.

"He needs your guidance. He needs everything that you can offer him. That book will help you. It can't walk the path for you but it will guide you along the way."

"Until the witch decides to betray me," Deann said flatly.

"Yes," Malcolm nodded. "Few of your allies will not threaten betrayal when they can get away with it. That Book is no different. But you need every advantage you can get right now. Perhaps the Book can even guide you out of Subaru Natsuki's trap."

Deann hesitated for a long moment. Finally, she tucked the book into her pocket and left the cell without another word.

The soldiers slowly shuffled back in and Malcolm sank back down on his cot, burying his face in his hands.

---

Subaru and Emilia were in bed. Subaru had wrapped himself around Emilia with his face buried in her silver hair but sleep was not coming easily to them tonight.

"Subaru," Emilia murmured. "Are you awake?"

"I'm awake," Subaru murmured. "Are you?"

"Yes, I'm- Subaru!" She protested, realizing what he'd just asked her.

Subaru laughed.

Emilia shook her head gently. "Subaru. You are always such a child."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"Hm. I wouldn't go quite that far," Emilia replied and Subaru heard the smile in her voice.

Emilia appeared to be looking at her own hand. Subaru reached around her and entwined their fingers together as they snuggled closer.

"What are you thinking about?" Subaru murmured.

Emilia sighed. "A lot of things. You know… I always dreamed that we'd come back here together. Ever since I realized that I loved you, I thought… that maybe when everything was finished and the forest was saved, this would be our place. Our home. Now we're getting ready to leave it and… there's fair odds that we may never come back."

Subaru took a deep breath. "I think that we'll be back, Mili, but this place isn't home."

"Hm?"

"Anyplace that our family can be together and safe and flourish. That's home. Anywhere would be home as long as we're all together."

"I know that, Subaru," She whispered. "But I'm still sad about leaving this place behind."

"I know."

They were silent for a moment.

"Emilia, when did you know?"

"Know what?"

"That you loved me. When… did you realize that?" Subaru asked.

Emilia was quiet. "I think… I think it was that night we first talked about what happened at the forest. Or maybe… maybe I already knew that I loved you and that's why we talked about it."

"What do you mean?"

Emilia took a deep breath. "I was terrified, Subaru. I was so sure that you'd hate me after I told you what I did to the forest and my own family. That you wouldn't want me anymore. I… think maybe I told you the truth that night because I realized that the longer this went on… the more it would hurt when you finally left me. So I decided to get it over with."

Subaru hugged her tight. "But I did want you after I knew. I wanted to be with you more after I knew."

"I know," Emilia whispered and Subaru could tell she was smiling. "I remember that I couldn't stop crying. I feel like I cried for hours but… that was one of the happiest moments of my life. You really weren't going to leave me."

"Never."

They were quiet for a bit.

"Subaru, when did you know?"

"Me? I guess it was… the evening that we had the picnic. The night we had our first fight."

"I remember," She whispered.

"I thought… I thought you'd only be able to love… 'Subaru the Invincible,' not some loser who had no idea what he was doing. My greatest fear was that some day… you'd see me the same way that I see myself and then you'd realize I wasn't worth your time. I knew that you'd leave me then…"

"I guess I was a little mean to you that night," Emilia admitted. "I forced you to talk about your old life. I didn't realize how much those memories hurt."

Subaru shook his head. "I'm grateful. You made me face my fears. I never would have been brave enough to do it if you hadn't been standing there with me. You knew… what I was but you didn't leave. You got angry with me but you still stayed with me."

"Hm. It's funny. I never realized that our fears were so similar," Emilia mused.

"I can never wrap my mind around it," Subaru admitted. "How could you be worried that I'd ever leave you? You're the most wonderful person in two worlds."

"That's the way that I feel about you. And I think that it's ludicrous that you feel that way about me," Emilia murmured.

"Yup, same here," Subaru chuckled.

They were quiet.

"Subaru. I do love you, you know," Emilia whispered.

He kissed the back of her neck. "Those are always my favorite words to hear, Mili. But I bet I love you more."

"Not possible," Emilia murmured, rolling over in bed. Their lips met.

---

Capella sat in her cell growling to herself and fantasizing about all the horrible torments that she would inflict on her enemies the second that she got out of here.

To make matters even more humiliating for the Sin Archbishop, after one of her interrogators had made the drastic mistake of underestimating how dangerous the slender girl could really be, a hard, metal restraint had been locked over Capella's face that stopped her from closing her mouth all the way. This was intended to prevent her from biting herself or anyone else.

"Oh. This is just too funny!" A voice tittered.

Capella's head snapped up to stare at the lanky, dirty, and painfully-thin young man standing outside her cell. He grinned at her with a mouth full of sharp teeth.

"You fuckwit," Capella grumbled. "It took you fucking long enough! What in the hell were you doing? Jacking off to a pastry?"

"Parodchel had a famous visiting chief tonight at a prominent supper club," Lye replied. "I wasn't about to miss that. They were serving Gigot ou Epaule de Pre-Sale, Farci!" Lye said in an excited voice.

"Eat shit and die, faggot," Capella spat. "Now hurry the fuck up and get me out of here!"

Lye tittered as he grabbed her cell door and effortlessly ripped it off its hinges.

Capella scowled as she walked out of her cell. "First thing I'm going to do is find that guy who tried to extort me and peal off every inch of his skin! Then I'm going to grab that slutty princess and I'm going to shove my hand up her ass until I can wear her body like a bracelet! Then I'm-"

Lye grabbed Capella's metal mouth-guard and tore it apart.

Capella spat the metal parts out of her mouth with disgust. "What are you doing, jerk-off?! You trying to rip my head apart?!"

Lye chuckled.

Capella snarled. "I'm going to crush your fucking balls as soon as I get out of here. Now get this stupid bracelet off of me!" Capella demanded.

"Nope!" Lye said with a broad smile.

Capella's eyes glittered. "Lye. Are you really not going to take this bracelet off my arm?" She asked in a dangerously quiet voice.

"Nope," Lye repeated with a titter. He leaned in to whisper in her ear. "She's going to take it off," He said.

Capella's face went slack, her eyes became huge and her expression twisted in horror.

Lye looked at Capella's despairing face and burst out laughing. "Oh Gods! If you could only see your face! Yup! She's back! She sent me here to get you. She wants to have a nice, long talk with you about how you managed to fuck things up this badly! You knew that what's in the Vault wasn't for you and on top of it, you managed to antagonize Subaru Natsuki when he was desperate enough to consider joining us!"

Capella swallowed hard. "Lye, buddy, err… come on! Let's… let's just go and find Subaru Natsuki! We can grab him together and take him back with us, all tied up in a bow!"

Lye burst out laughing. "Oh yeah, right! Like I'm going to risk pissing her off just to yank your fat out of the fire!"

"Come on!" She said desperately. "Help a sister in the Order out!"

Lye's face grew sly. "Sure. So, Capella, where does your Gospel tell us to look for him?"

Capella hesitated.

"By the Gods!" Lye gasped, his face fixed in an expression of exalted joy. "You really did it! You gave your Gospel away!"

"It's a temporary thing!" Capella protested. "I can take it back any time that I want! I just gave it to him so that he could push Siros right up to the wall and force that tit-less wonder to open the Vault!"

"Heh. She was wondering why you weren't properly attending to her when she called for you. Guess that explains that," Lye mused.

Capella's face went ashen.

Lye smirked. "You know, I had a nice long talk with Subaru, Capella. We're actually on pretty good terms. He was starting to consider working with us. Nice job blowing that!"

Capella gaped. "That's bullshit! This is all in your flaccid imagination, you greasy fuck! He never would have worked with us, you shit weasel!"

"Hm. She thinks that he might have," Lye said serenely.

Capella clapped her hands over her mouth, her expression horrified.

"Anyway," Lye said cheerfully, "She sent me out here to bring you back to her, quietly or kicking and screaming." Lye leaned over to her. "Please pick kicking and screaming!" Lye begged in a whisper.

Capella's face was white as a ghost and her gaze was fixed off in the distance as she followed Lye away from the cell and down the prison hall. The hall floor was littered with the corpses of guards.

"It'll take us a few days to get back to the Cathedral," Lye said, his voice a song of joy. "We'll have lots of time to chat!"

A young guard suddenly came down the stairs and looked at Lye and Capella in horror. He drew his sword. "Stop! You're both under-"

Without breaking stride, Lye threw one of his daggers at the soldier. It pierced his neck to the hilt, pinning his body to the wall behind him. The soldier thrashed weakly as his body grew still.

"We're going to have so much fun on this trip," Lye cheered, plucking the dagger from the soldier's neck and letting his lifeless body fall to the ground.

Lye was giggling madly as he left the jail, followed by the nearly catatonic Capella.

---

It was late at night when Anri went to Gael's playroom. Her brother was still sitting up, having a tea party with his doll. Gael didn't keep particularly regular hours. He slept at whatever time of day or night that he felt like it.

She walked into the room with a small piece of parchment.

"Hello, Gael," She said in a somber voice, sliding down the wall and sitting near her brother. "How are you tonight?"

"Anri and I are great!" Gael cheered lifting his doll high over his head. "We've had a great day!"

Anri sighed. "I just finished what must be the most difficult proclamation I've ever had to write in my life."

"Difficult things are the things most worth doing," Gael said casually.

"I don't know about that," Anri muttered. "Do you want to hear it?" Anri asked, looking at the parchment.

"Sure. Anri likes it when people read to her," Gael replied.

Anri sighed and started to read aloud, "'I, Princess Kairei vas Sirosse an Ithil, hereby put pen to paper to let all men of Gusteko and the realms beyond know of a terrible threat to our safety, our homes, and our very way of life. It is with a heavy heart… that I must admit that I fell under the spell of not one but two… terrible witches…'"

Anri bit her lip and then forced herself to continue. "'These nefarious individuals, Subaru Natsuki the Fire Witch and Emilia Half-Devil the Witch of Frost, bound me in an enchantment and made me the unwitting slave to their will. They sought to destroy our kingdom and would likely have succeeded if not for the unspeakable heroism… of the Witch Hunters under Gilbert de Ray and the august Princes of the Great Houses of Gusteko. After recognizing the savagery and the unspeakable malice of Subaru Natsuki who gleefully lured innocent men into an inferno to burn them alive, these brave men who should be recognized as heroes to our nation and even lands beyond, risked everything to free me from my bewitchment. They laid down their lives in the process. Lady Deann an Griest and Sir Duncan an Laertes saved my life by carrying my helpless body away from the carnage. I express my undying gratitude to each of them.

"'The witches were enraged when their terrible enchantment was broken and they attempted to destroy everything around them including the entire city of Kocytos. They were forced to flee by the heroism of all present in the mayoral palace that day and the good men and women of Gusteko can take comfort in knowing that despite the grievous cost in lives by which this victory was bought, the witches are now fugitives from all nations. Their perfidy and their terrible malice laid bare to all.

"'I urge all Houses of Gusteko and our friends and neighbors in the kingdoms beyond to unite in brotherhood in the face of this unimaginable danger. In this new age, when witches once again walk the land, we are only as strong as we are united and as weak as we are divided. To this end, I join my voice with the Lagunica sages' council and denounce Subaru Natsuki and Emilia Half-Devil as enemies of all humanity. They are not people but monsters and they must meet the fate reserved for any monster. My own violated spirit and the blood of the dead each cry out for justice. Let my words be heard across the land: The Witches… must die…'" She trailed off, her face haunted.

"I like it!" Gael said matter-of-fact, his attention still riveted on his doll. "It's very exciting. It needs a happier ending though."

Anri's face crumpled. She buried her face in her hands and wept.

---

Subaru and Emilia lay in their bed that night. Subaru slept but Emilia was wide awake.

I can't stop thinking about what the witch told Subaru about the Sanctuary trials.

The Third Trial is a blur in my mind but I remember how it ended…

It was a nightmare. It was…

I think the fact that I thought it was just my worst fear brought to life is the only reason that I didn't go completely insane. If I'd known that it would happen… or even that it could happen, I think I might have broken into pieces on the spot…

Emilia closed her eyes and tried to sleep but rest eluded her. The Third Trial of the Sanctuary was a vague collection of images to her. She couldn't remember any of the context but she remembered how she felt at the end: the burning certainty, the taste of bile in her mouth, and the nauseating mix of absolute despair and seething hatred she had felt. She had spoken the words and she knew that from the bottom of her heard that she had meant every one:

"'How could you do this? I trusted you! We all trusted you! You knew how I felt and you didn't care! I was wrong about you. You were never a hero. You were always a selfish, hateful little monster who only ever cared about what he wanted. You've taken everything away from me! Everything I worked for, everything I ever… ! You've ruined my life! …I will never forgive you for this! I wish that we had never met! I hate you, Subaru!'"

---

Well, that's where we stop for now. Our friends are all separated and in a very bad situation. We also have a whole lot of new questions. What is "Korë's" game and why is she so interested in Subaru? What was Emilia's third trial warning her about and is it really inescapable? Where will Subaru's quest lead him and Emilia? Can the Book really restore her name or could Korë be lying? Why is the Witch Cult suddenly acting so friendly toward Subaru? For that matter, what is in that Vault that Capella wanted so badly?

Felt and Garfiel are about to go and make contact with a figure out of Rom's dark and violent past which could drag them into a brand new world that they barely understand. Beatrice and Puck (and Mimi) are done sitting around and are about to fight their way free, even without their magic. Crusch and Anastasia have been trapped by their former allies as they suddenly realize that there are whole levels to Lagunican politics that they never suspected.

Anri, I'm sad to say, is in serious danger. Her greatest enemy is much closer than she thinks although they're stymied at the moment thanks to Deann and Duncan. Subaru was very clever to tie Deann and Duncan to Anri but a treacherous weapon is ever dangerous to the hand. If Deann finds some way out of this trap, then Anri will suffer for it. Now they each have Gospels and neither knows that the other has one. This sounds like the beginning of one of those tragic plays that Anri likes so much.

As you can probably guess, this isn't the end of Anri's story. We'll be back to Gusteko at some point. Subaru has left his friend with a huge mess to deal with and you know that he's going to feel obligated to come back and fix it. She's in a bad situation right now.

I doubt that anyone is worried about Capella but it's fair to say that the Archbishop is in big trouble and she knows it. She has a lot of explaining to do to the person that she fears above all others and her punishment may be dire in the extreme. Although given what we know about her, it would be very hard to say that she doesn't deserve it.

I hope people weren't too disappointed in this arc. I worked really hard on it for a full nine months. I feel like there were fewer payoffs here than in the first three arcs because this marks a turning point in Subaru and Emilia's story. This arc was intended to set things up that will be paid off over the next several arcs. Honestly, I feel like the pacing in this arc was pretty bad as I was trying to manage things happening in multiple places and sometimes worried that I was just making time, waiting for the pieces to be where I needed them for the next scene.

I'm sure that people were expecting 'Dark Subaru' to show up again in a bigger way but Subaru hasn't been pushed that far into a corner this arc. Although, I think that now we're all starting to get the impression that maybe his love for Emilia and his family could be corrupted into something darker if he isn't careful. He's also only discovered the barest hint of what Pridebreaker is really capable of. I can tell you in confidence that he's using the power almost completely sideways of how it was intended to be used.

We never actually found out what happened in the forest this arc, did we? Don't worry. The battle between witches and that strange door will be revisited in due time. As Korë warned us, the seals are weakening and the witches are preparing for their long awaited return. Subaru will begin to learn why he's so fascinating to them.

I wish that I could have gone into more detail about Capella's plan, how simplistic and rudimentary it was and how quickly it all went sideways but there was really no place to insert it in the text. If I had Capella reminisce about her failures, her narcissism would obscure all the completely idiotic decisions that she had actually made.

Capella's plan was pretty basic: Scare Anri enough and she would eventually decide that she had no choice but to open the Vault. At first, it went pretty well. Capella met Anri in Pardochel, pretending to be a Shadow using the Gospel to mislead people, and started sneaking Anri out at night and taking her fun places. Basically, playing 'cool big sis' to Anri since her other guards were so much older. Anri took to her right away and trusted her much more quickly than she should have. Then Malcolm hired the Assassin's Guild to kill his rivals including Anri. As long as Capella had the Gospel she was playing Anri and her guards like a fiddle.

Capella saw a golden opportunity to tighten the screws on Anri. Capella is probably the smartest of the Archbishops but that's not saying very much. She made the mistake of confusing the Gospel's insight and planning for her own. She lent her Gospel to Malcolm thinking that she'd be fine without it and knowing that Malcolm would use it to push Siros right up to the wall. This is where Capella first discovered that she was way out of her depth. She's a sociopath and her utilitarian view of other people alienated Anri very quickly once she no longer had the Gospel to guide her. Also, a more clever infiltrator would have been prepared with assistants to help her maintain her cover, but Capella doesn't value other people so she didn't think of that. This meant that Capella had to actually go off and do errands for Anri like sending her letters out or finding a dragon to pull the wagon to prevent Anri from becoming suspicious, despite Capella having much preferred to have given the job to one of her Assassins while she followed Anri in secret.

I would have liked to have gone into detail about just how stupid Capella's entire plan was and how it was a minor miracle that it all didn't unravel as soon as she gave away the Gospel but it just didn't fit in the story.

Also, I have a question: Sooner or later I intend to end this story. That doesn't mean that there might not be more stories about Subaru and Emilia's journey to tell but this particular journey will have a definitive end at some point. I've written nothing but Subaru and Emilia for close to twelve months this year and I really need to devote some time to some other projects of mine. I'm just curious, if I published a non fanfiction web novel, would anyone be interested in reading it? I'm not sure what the best sites are to publish original works but I just wondered how many people would be interested in giving some of my own works a chance. I do love having an audience but it's hard to take pride in a story that piggybacks off someone else's work.

Wow, you mean people actually made it to the end of this? What an amazing thing.

So, everyone has been so encouraging and patient the whole time that they've been waiting for this arc that I felt I owed everyone an explanation for what happened here. I can't honestly say that I think this is my best work (although it is certainly my longest. It's longer than most of the books in Harry Potter actually. I think I need professional help) but I'm hoping that writing this book might have taught me a few lessons and made me a better writer.

Anyway so, the reason this arc took so long to get out is because everything went sideways when I was getting ready to publish arc 3 and decided that there was a serious problem with it. In my original plan, arc 3 was a 5 chapter arc and about 100k words. The spirits would have been taken by Reinhard at the end of chapter 3, Emilia would have tried to send Subaru away while they were in the Elior Forest, then he would meet Korë, who was actually a different character at the time, both in chapter four. Then Emilia and Subaru would sneak into the capitol in chapter 5 and rescue the spirits with help from Ram, who simply doesn't care if Subaru was brainwashed or not. Roswaal told her to serve him so that's what she's going to do. Subaru and Emilia would have used bombs as a distraction to sneak into the Astrea manor and rescue the spirits. This would earn Puck and Beatrice's trust for Emilia. Felt would begin to have second thoughts about her memories being accurate as well.

I mulled it over and decided that it just didn't work. There was simply no point in taking the spirits away only to give them back two chapters later. Felt had the same problem. I couldn't have her turn around on her doubts of Emilia that quickly without the brief break in their friendship feeling like a waste of everybody's time. If the separation was going to have any meaning at all, I need to get them apart for a really serious chunk of time. So I decided to end the arc with Reinhard capturing them and I devoted more time in arc 3 to Subaru and Emilia's wandering the plains with the spirits.

The problem was, this left me with the tail end of an arc that didn't really fit anywhere. Obviously, some things needed to be given to our heroes and some things needed to be explained to our characters so that we could begin the quest for the Book of Wisdom in the next arc. Most importantly, Emilia needed to develop further. She absolutely had to discover her own power and step up as being truly Subaru's partner. But the pieces that I had left in the arc didn't naturally have a climax or a three arc structure.

This left me in the rather tricky position of having to add, not a subplot to my established storyline but needing to add a main plot whose primary goal was simply to keep things happening while we waited for all the pieces to be put in the right locations to begin arc 5.

This, of course, was very hard. A reader can almost always tell if the plot is artificial or just making time. I tried a bunch of different angles. At one point, Subaru became an underworld kingpin and you can see the relics of that plot in his dealings with the smugglers. I really loved that plot and I fought like hell to keep it in but ultimately I had to accept that it just didn't work in this story and take it out. Lady Koi and Senko were fun characters to write with and I hope you get to meet them someday.

A second plot I tried to write had Subaru and Emilia breaking into a jail to rescue the spirits while Julius was guarding them.

In another plot, Subaru managed to blackmail Elsa and Meili into betraying Capella and working for him as his personal secret hit squad (without Emilia knowing) and later he went on to use mabeasts to defend Arlem village against Montefort's soldiers.

Another draft had Emilia, Subaru, and Julius trapped inside Ganaks while Malcolm an Griest put it under siege. The three had to work together to repel the invaders and they ended up becoming friends.

The character who ultimately became Korë was hard. I considered almost ten different characters when I was trying to decide who Subaru would meet to play exposition fairy. Ultimately, I decided that her identity wouldn't be initially known to the reader but I still needed to know who she was. I'm sure that you can guess a few of the characters I considered but I think that some of them would surprise you.

My personal favorite was when I briefly considered letting Capella fulfill Korë's role, forced to help out Subaru because the Gospel told her to. This was the first time that Capella was even considered as a character for this story. It was my favorite draft of this scene because both of these characters broke the fourth wall in that scene and chewed the writer out for trying to force them to do things that they would never do, just to move the plot in the desired direction.

After this happened, I decided that I really needed to get some sleep…

A lot of these plots were actually really fun but I needed to drop them because they involved Subaru going just too far into the darkside. I don't think Subaru has been pushed far enough over the edge to take that plunge. At least not yet.

Anri was a late addition and she went through a lot of variations. Initially, she was a grandmother and a former Witch Cultist who was in hiding to protect her family from the Cult's vengeance. She slowly transformed into a Princess in hiding as Gusteko became more important to the draft. Victoire also went through a lot of revisions, starting out as two different characters, and although she was always a character in disguise who was trying to manipulate our heroes, who she actually was and what she was after changed from draft to draft. Capella wasn't even introduced as a character until a draft that started in mid October. That's how much flux this story went through.

I spent almost the entire nine months focusing on Emilia's character arc. I knew that somehow her journey would lead her from telling Subaru to leave her 'for his own good' to demanding that Subaru acknowledge her as his equal and partner. However, the journey was very difficult to write.

A personal pet peeve of mind is damsels in distress. Your main characters should never be damseled. Ever. If you need a damsel, invent a side character like Anri to do the job. If you decide to make a main character helpless and leave them waiting for rescue, you're making it very hard for the reader to take that character seriously as anything other than 'the love interest.' Don't even get me started on canon Regulus and Emilia encounter in the web novel which made me face palm repeatedly.

Avoiding 'damseling' sounds simple in principle but it can be very tricky to do in practice. If you want to give one character a big moment of badass, then you have to move the other characters off stage to give them space for it, and sometimes that's hard to do without feeling contrived.

I spent months polishing Subaru and Emilia's big fight at the cottage and I think it came out more or less alright. I view this situation as when Emilia starts to learn that she can't force things on Subaru that he doesn't want. Loving someone is not a license to patronize them or make decisions on their behalf. Subaru in turn learns the same lesson when they have their second big fight before rescuing Anri. This one I'm worried didn't come out so well. I spent months writing her speech but I was never satisfied with it. I think it's OK, I guess. I hope that it's OK but that scene is really supposed to Emilia's crowning moment of awesome for this arc (and the next few actually. She'll still get character development in the future but this was definitely 'the Emilia arc.') and I'm worried that it just didn't hit as hard as I wanted it to.

Like I said, relationship drama isn't my strong suit. I spent the better part of a year working on Emilia's arc and I still wasn't really satisfied but I finally realized that there was a limit. If I'd worked on it for another eighteen months, could I have made this story better?

Well maybe. Probably in fact. But would I have ever been satisfied with it?

Anyway, I can't stand here and say this was my best work but I did work really hard on it and I hope you all enjoyed it, at least a little.

You'll be waiting a while for arc 5 obviously, but I might have a smaller treat for you before that. Here's hoping!

Once again, thank you all so much for all the wonderful feedback you've written this year. I reread those reviews more often than I'd really be comfortable admitting.