Ignoring Kirche's insanity had been a mistake.
"Utsuho help," Louise silently pleaded from Kirche's entrapping embrace. The redhead had been merely chatty to start, but as Count Wardes had become more and more familiar with Kirche's insanity the Germanian woman had upped the ante. Which was why she was buried face first in Kirche's cleavage.
"That stupid amphibian is blocking me!" She heard the raven croaking in frustration.
"Isn't it exciting Louise~!" Kirche said, pressing Louise closer. "Taking a secret voyage on a smuggler ship to a doomed castle. You really do have a flair for romance."
Strong hands carefully slipped her out of Kirche's bust and Louise breathed a sigh of relief. Then she nearly choked on it when she realized she was in Wardes' arms. While her fiance's smile was bright, his voice was calm. "We're past the guards, so you no longer need to make a distraction." It had been no such thing, but Wardes was trying to save face.
Louise found herself gently sat down next to Siesta while Utsuho spat a fireball at Flame then landed on her shoulder. Her head was spinning and she decided to just let it. Thinking was too hard right now.
"Why smugglers though?" Guiche asked as Kirche pouted. "It seems gauche to be traveling in such disreputable company."
Count Wardes' smile twisted slightly. "Perhaps, but who else will take us to a castle under siege? The Reconquista's navy has the castle blockaded. Only privateers and smugglers would dare move through to supply the King and his allies."
Everyone winced. Louise hadn't considered that, but on reflection it had to be true. And better to go with smugglers than pirates. A Duke's daughter would be a target for ransom, even after bribes had been paid.
"Which brings us to another point. I'm afraid I must insist that you travel separately from us, Ms Zerbst," Count Wardes said.
"Eh?" Kirche leaned forwards, revealing her cleavage. "Are you sure you can't find room in your cabin for another girl? After all little Louise will need some coaching~."
Searing heat filled Louise's cheeks and she grabbed her wand. "Shut up Kirche, I-"
"Sylphid," Tabitha interrupted calmly.
"Yes." Count Wardes nodded. "Even if I could bribe the captain to let on two more women, a dragon would be a bit much. If you must follow us it would be better if you did so on your own."
"Oh." Kirche pouted and Louise breathed a sigh of relief. "I suppose that's true. Well we'll sneak in late tomorrow then." She waved. "I'm see you there little Louise. Take care Siesta."
Siesta bowed her head. "Thank you Kirche. You and Tabitha take care as well."
"No goodbye for me?" Guiche asked hand over heart.
"No," Kirche replied, before slipping out the back of the wagon. Tabitha followed after with a wave to everyone else.
Louise almost felt sorry for Guiche, but Utsuho had other thoughts. "Wandering crow, Wandering crow~."
"Another day lad," Wardes said. "For now let's get aboard our ship. We need to reach Newcastle by tomorrow night."
Utsuho sat quietly on Louise's shoulder as the girl looked at the castle they were approaching. The humans were flying in the dark, which was weird but nice. Utsuho's youkai eyes allowed her to see fine in the shadows.
The castle on the other hand had plenty of flames in and around it. So that was the enemy army? Utsuho preened. No challenge really. Unless they had a shrine maiden she could burn the lot of them in two passes.
"Fifty vs fifty thousand," Louise muttered.
Utsuho ruffled her wings. "No problem for a god like me." She was looking forward to showing Louise her true power. Maybe she would start worshipping! Probably not like the kappa, but maybe like Orin.
Louise pursed her lips, but didn't say or think anything. The young mage worried too much. Maybe it was all that math stuff Momiji was teaching her. Math was for simpler things. Like quantum mechanics. Not human politics and fighting.
Soft footsteps on the deck heralded Siesta's arrival. "It would be pretty if it wasn't the prelude to a battle," the other woman said quietly.
"Yeah." Louise leaned against the railing. "I hope we can stop this battle at least."
"I wish I could help." Siesta looked down. "I'm not even sure why I'm here miss Valliere."
"That's ridiculous!" Louise spun so quickly Utsuho had to tighten her grip. "I'm sure you'll help us out somehow! Um, well, if nothing else you've helped me keep Kirche at bay."
Siesta didn't move. "But anyone could do that. You don't need me. I just have a strange magic that can't even compare to nobility."
Utsuho cawed and hopped to Siesta's shoulder. As Siesta steadied herself and looked over, Utsuho thought to Louise. "I'm sure she's got a maid superpower that'll kick in. You tell her that!" All maids had powers.
"Don't think that'll work." Louise instead put her hand on Siesta's other shoulder. "Just because anyone can do something doesn't mean that it isn't important." The young noble winced. "I've had to learn that a lot recently. You've always been important. And I'm sure you'll help this time too."
Siesta smiled faintly. "Thank you Louise. And you as well Utsuho."
Utsuho saw that Wardes person approaching Louise and hopped back to her shoulder. "Your fiance is coming." Utsuho still had no idea why a girl Louise's age was engaged to an older human, but humans were weird.
Louise turned to face the man. "Count Wardes."
"I see your familiar is good at warnings," the Count replied cheerily.
Siesta bowed, though Utsuho doubted the man could see it. "Good evening Count."
"Good evening to you Miss Siesta." The count folded his hands. "I hate to interrupt you two, but I fear I must consult privately with Louise about the mission ahead. All of the missions rather."
Louise stiffened. "Including the sealed orders?" she asked quietly. Utsuho shifted and peered at the man. Wasn't he supposed to not open those until Louise told him to?
"Indeed." The count shrugged. "While I understand the need for sealed orders in many cases, in this case not knowing what might occur in advance would be too dangerous. I fear I had to investigate matters early."
Utsuho felt Louise stiffen, but she didn't get an instruction to do anything so she waited. Louise instead said, "Siesta is aware of those details. It would be best for her to stay."
Count Wardes paused. "I see. Very well." He turned to lean on the railing, concealing his expression from Utsuho. "Specifically there's two issues I feel I must bring up. Most importantly I'm wondering how you think you can accomplish this assassination. I hope you take no offense, but your magic does not seem well designed for such tasks."
"It's not me. It's Utsuho." Louise stroked her beak and Utsuho puffed out her chest.
"Your raven?" Utsuho was a little annoyed the man didn't believe in her, but at least he didn't sound dismissive.
Siesta wrung her hands before speaking up. "Utsuho is very powerful."
"Powerful enough to get past a square class mage trained to guard rulers?" Wardes asked. "I'm sure your familiar is no slouch Louise. But assassinations are difficult for a reason."
Louise smirked. "Let me prove it." Utsuho heard her master's thoughts. "Do you think you can show off? Maybe target one of the distant ships."
"Sure!" Utsuho started charging, her third eye glowing.
"Wait wait wait!" Louise coughed. "Don't let them see where it comes from!"
"Oh. Hrm." Utsuho flapped her wings and set her eyes on the airships manning the blockade. Which one to pick? After a bit she decided on the biggest one. It was hardest to miss.
After that it was just handling the simple calculations to position the ship in the five dimensional planes, and construct the mini wormhole delivery devices that would trigger the antimatter reaction and start a bit of fusion. The mini sun would only last ten seconds or so but it should handle matters.
As she started her work she noticed there was something like a magical gravity well that drew in her void powers. It was weird, but she wouldn't complain about something that made her life easier. With a few beats of her wings it was done.
At first it was just a flicker in the windows. Then the tiny sun burst free of the ship, brightening the sky. The ship started to fall like a sparrow stunned by a hawk, loose items and people lingering in the sky for a second before following the doomed vessel. Flame poured through the parts that hadn't just been vaporized by plasma.
Then there was a flash as the ship blew up, burning fragments flying through the sky.
"Founder preserve us," Count Wardes said in awe. Utsuho drank deep of his fear. Even Louise and Siesta seemed impressed. It was a fine meal for a god.
The sailors on deck were less polite. "The fuck was that?" "Some ass must have fucked around with the magazine." "Whatever it was it took out the air stone keeping her afloat."
The captain quickly took order. "Well the bastards will have seen us from the flash, but it's too late to catch up if we run. Make full speed for the castle! No soft landings for us." He turned to look at them. "Passengers below and brace. Damned I'll let if you fall off the boat when we set down."
Louise began walking towards the hold. "Um, I think we might have overdid that. Sorry."
"It wasn't even a big boom," Utsuho complained. She'd been told to take out the ship. She'd taken out the ship.
A smile flitted over Siesta's face. "Well at least you understand our plan now, Count."
Count Wardes looked at them incredulously then laughed shortly. "I suppose so. It's hard to argue that you don't have the means." He led them to an empty storage cabin near the stairs. "But I have a second concern."
"Let's talk about it with Prince Wales," Louise said as she grabbed onto a rope. "He'll have to agree to anything we try as well."
Wardes looked disappointed but nodded. "Fair enough."
As the ship started dropping Utsuho hopped off and clung to a beam. Louise's cloak wasn't thick enough to protect the girl from the grip this landing would require.
Prince Wales moved to where the ship had crash landed. It was a blockade runner so it probably didn't contain an invasion force. But he couldn't be sure. Which meant he needed to greet their new guests personally. Swordwand in hand.
"Your majesty," Sir L'Estrange called out, moving to aid, but Wales waved him off.
"See to the walls. We must keep an eye on the rebel army," Wales ordered. L'Estrange grimaced but nodded and rushed the other way. It was foolishness to confront a possible enemy solo, but with a mere fifty men to hold the castle, Wales could spare no one else. He'd have to hope his triangle mage skills would be enough.
As he dashed into the courtyard he saw the ship putting down a gangplank. That was something of a good sign. Invaders weren't likely to do that.
They were also not likely to have a small pink haired girl with a raven familiar be their vanguard. Especially not one in a school uniform. Wales let himself slow to greet the passengers.
His eyes flashed across the four nobles moving to disembark. To his surprise the pink haired girl was followed by a man he knew. Count Wardes, leader of the Griffon knights. If he was here then this must be a semi official meeting. But why?
Ah of course. Wales felt his heart sink. His dear Henrietta must have sent them to acquire certain documents. He couldn't fault her. In fact on some level he was relieved. Perhaps he wouldn't keep her chained to a doomed romance.
Still those thoughts were just a distraction. He forced himself to view the next two envoys. A woman who acted like a servant, for all her noble cloak, and a young man who'd probably never been threatened by anything sharper than a maiden's tongue. Odd choices. But he'd trust Henrietta's decisions.
As they were all off the boat he took a step forwards and bowed, not letting his eyes drop. "Welcome honored guests to Newcastle, on behalf of my father the King. Might I ask your names and why you've come to join us?"
The girl up front bowed, her raven shifting to stay perched. "Prince Wales, I am Louise Francios de Valliere. Allow me to introduce my fiance and bodyguard, Count Wardes, my lady in waiting, Baronet Siesta Takeo, and her guard Guiche de Gramont."
That was an odd party. Henrietta had mentioned her old playmate, and he knew of the leader of the Gryphon knights, but the other two were new to him. Perhaps Louise wanted to make sure no one questioned her honor traveling with her fiance.
Louise deflated a bit. "Also Kirche von Zerbst and Tabitha will probably be sneaking in soon too, because they want to."
Prince Wales blinked. "I... see?" It seemed this group was less organized then he'd assumed. Still he had some shreds of pride left so he gestured towards the castle entrance. "I apologize for the lack of ceremony, but I do welcome you. The King is resting right now, but I will be happy to receive any missives from your nation, as well as give you what hospitality we can offer." He felt his smile twist as he added. "Unfortunately with the loss of one of their blockade vessels to accident they're certain to shell us, so it will be a noisy night. But it is unlikely they'll begin an assault on the castle this week."
As if to punctuate his words the ships began firing. He was about to hurry his guests to safety, but then he noticed the sound was wrong.
"That's canister shot," Wardes remarked.
Louise looked up. "Thought Tabitha would wait," she muttered.
Sure enough a rhyme dragon was diving towards the courtyard. A bolt of lightning arced above it, but the rider seemed to dodge easily. Guiche shuddered. "Isn't that dangerous?!"
"Yes." Siesta pulled her cloak closed. "I hope they aren't injured badly. I can only heal so much."
Somehow the dragon zipped through a hail of spells and landed nearby without even having to hover. An impressive feat, even for experienced dragon riders. Two more girls around Henietta's age hopped off the dragon, the taller redhead likely being the Germanian noble Kirche von Zerbst. She immediately strode over to Louise's side with a wave. "Well that was exciting! I thought it'd be dull sneaking in, but after that boat caught fire they started firing off light spells and caught us."
"Annoying," Tabitha muttered, calming her dragon.
For some reason Louise looked a little guilty at that. Wardes wondered why. It wasn't like she'd shot down the thing. The small pink haired noble elbowed her friend in the ribs. "You could try to follow etiquette and greet the prince."
"Ah." Wales felt Kirche's eyes fall on him, and warning bells sounded in his mind. He'd seen looks like that from ladies before the revolution. "It seems the rumors about the Lady Killer of Albion were true." Kirche bowed specifically to show off her chest. "I am Kirche von Zerbst, the Ardent. Feel free to-"
Louise cut off her friend with another elbow to the gut. A much stronger one. "Not this time Zerbst."
Kirche recovered and latched on to Louise. "Oh my! Your first jealous outburst. I'm so happy~."
Wales forced himself not to laugh, but he couldn't resist a smile. The Count on the other hand shook his head in mock sadness. "If only you were as vigorous in the defense of your own honor as the princess', you'd have gotten rid of those rumors by now."
"Wait, the princess-?" Guiche's face rapidly cycled through surprise, consideration, and then despair. It seemed Henrietta had broken another heart by accident. Ah well, Wales was hardly one to judge!
Louise had finished turning bright red and ducked out of Kirche's loosening grip. "If anyone says a word about that I'll have Utsuho char broil them." The raven on her shoulder gave a mocking croak.
The thud of heavy shot being fired cut off further conversation. "Let us head inside," Wales said. "Sir Tabitha, you can house your dragon in the stables yonder. You'll find they're well suited for dragons, if sadly empty." The last loyal dragon knight had been slain four months ago.
Tabitha nodded and hurried off, while Wales led the others inside as the barrage began in earnest. It seemed they were quite interested in punishing the castle for making mockery of them. He hoped the smugglers could move their boat in time.
After a few turns he arrived at a good set of rooms, well behind the protective walls. "Please feel free to take these. There should be enough even if you wish to all room alone." He sighed. "Sadly there's no servants for you, so you'll have to tend to your own needs. I apologize for the lack of hospitality, but my father dismissed most of the castle staff recently."
"Thank you Prince Wales," Louise said. "This will do nicely given the circumstances."
He hesitated. This was something he didn't want to do. But it was best to admit the truth and get it over with now. After a moment he removed the ruby of wind from his pocket. The ring symbolising the bond between Henreitta and him. "I imagine this is one of the items you needed from me."
Louise froze, then folded her arms. "You can keep it! I came here to help you win this fight!"
"What?" Wales stared at the defiant girl before him. Apparently her friends were similarly surprised by the declaration. "You seek to defeat an army of fifty thousand with only fifty allies?"
"I'm going to break the army. They'll finish defeating themselves," Louise replied.
Wales shook his head. Was this really Henrietta's plan? Probably not. Louise was a great defender of her princess it seemed. He decided to try to steer her towards reason. "I know your fiance is quite powerful, but Cromwell has many square class mages at his disposal. Beyond that there is little-"
"The ship blowing up wasn't an accident," Louise stated simply.
"What?!" Guiche and Kirche both stared at their friend.
The raven crowed loudly as Louise grinned. "I told you Utsuho was the best familiar."
Wales looked at the Count, who slowly nodded. That was quite a power!
But the flames of hope quickly ebbed. Power alone wasn't enough. Not at this stage. But he wouldn't be able to explain that so easily. Best to leave it to his father. For now Wales simply put forth the ring again. "While an impressive feat, I still feel it would serve the princess better if this were in your hands. If I'm wrong you may feel free to return it to me."
Louise frowned, but carefully took the ring. "I'll make sure Henrietta can return it personally," she said.
A lovely thought, Wales had to admit. Too bad it could never come to pass.
Been a while eh? This one was hard, and I'm expecting the next will be as well. But I'm back at work. Swapping perspectives helped a lot, so I'll try not to get myself locked into a single set of eyes.
Anyway, only 2/3rds of an update with political shifting before the action kicks back in. Here's to hoping I pull it together soonish.
Edit : I'm an idiot. A (9) among (9)s. I forgot I already had 1800 words sitting around that I hadn't posted because they barely moved the plot at all, and were instead mostly an excuse for yuri. Unfortunately it does cover TWO details, so if you care about those, (or just like yuri) you may wish to head back a chapter and read them. Now to commit sudoku for that huge mistake.