A/N: Thank you to Quicksilver915 for the reviews! I appreciate them. And I hope everyone continues to enjoy!
Disclaimer: Nintendo owns Fire Emblem.
Alita cracks her eyes open as the sun slits through the window, an opening a head wouldn't even fit through. Groaning at the light she throws an arm over her eyes and turns away from the opening. Her movement rustles the straw beneath her, and she takes note of the pallet she's on, just barely off the floor. Frowning in mild confusion Alita rubs her face, almost surprised to find her mask still in place. She licks her lips as she gathers herself, pushing up into a sitting position. The brine she tastes brings back the memory of the battle and her swim to the outcropping of land to join the ravens.
Remembrance brings on another slew of questions she can't answer. She doesn't know where she is, though her assumption is with in the stronghold of the ravens. She doesn't know how long she has been out, and glancing at the window again gives her no answers. The hollowness in her stomach, however, suggests several days. She plans to go out and explore, get her bearings and learn about where she's at. She doesn't want to rely on the ravens for long, and her ploy of serving them will only hold for so long before they realize her trickery.
Her plans are paused as the wooden door creaks open admitting an old raven carrying a tray of food. He's the one that was with the king when she turned to them for help. He sets the tray on the pallet next to Alita, giving her a wizened smile. "Eat. Otherwise you won't have strength to begin your duties." Automatically Alita replies, "I serve no one." The elder smiles in a placating way, shaking his head at the fire of the young one.
Alita watches the elder momentarily, wondering why he is staying but turns to the food to fill the void that's eating at her. It's simple fare of bread and cheese, enough to be filling and easy on the stomach after the lack of nutrients. While eating, two more people enter Alitas chamber. The first is the king, who Alita dismisses as she studies the second person. He's garbed all in white with matching wings and very fair hair. Alita wonders who he is, and why someone so pure would be with the King of taint.
"Look who decides to grace me with his presence." Alita snarks around a mouthful of food. The king dismisses the elder, giving Alita time to finish off the rest of her meal before leveling her with his gaze. "I don't appreciate snide remarks from a servant, boy! So I expect better from now on."
Alita draws her legs up onto the pallet, leaning against the stone behind her and stares right back at him. "For your information, King Kilvas, I am not yet your servant seeing as I don't have any information."
"Naesala, why did you bring me here? You know how I feel about beorc" the stranger speaks, crossing his arms. Alita immediately bristles, preparing herself to attack the man. She should have checked for her weapons before, but she'll make do with her fists if she has to. He doesn't look much like a fighter anyway.
"Now, now Reyson. Lets not upset the guest~" Naesala placates mockingly. Both Alita and Reyson give him a glare which he ignores, turning his attention to Alita with a smile, still mocking. "Here is what I'll do, since I'm feeling generous today. I will answer three questions. Think carefully on what you want to ask," he warns before continuing. "You will then begin your duties here. Based on your performance, I will answer more questions, or even give you access to our records. You are in my territory now boy, so I suggest you follow the rules."
Alita gnashes her teeth together. She should have seen something like this coming after what she had heard about the crows. No matter. She will do the minimum required of her and then start planning her escape. "Fine." she grunts, drumming her fingers on her knee. Starting off simple, and wanting to clarify what she knows, she asks "What kind of laguz are there?"
"Why, there are dragons, birds, and beasts."
"That's not what I meant!" Alita fumes. She knows there are dragons, birds and beasts. Lethe and Mordecai are part of the beast tribe and obviously she is talking to two kinds of birds. Naesala chuckles and smirks. "If you want something specific your questions have to be specific~"
Alita growls at him. He knew what she meant yet he intentionally wasted one of her questions. "Fine. What are the specific species of laguz with in those three groups?" she bites out.
"Ah, well the dragons are just dragons" he hums as if thinking. "Among the beasts there are lions, tigers, and cats. And the birds include hawks, ravens and herons."
Alita takes a moment to mull over the information. She is surprised to hear about lions, and wonders if they are the royalty of the beasts. They would have to be big, which reminds her of Mordecai. He is a large man...but she is not sure. Her assessment of Lethe being a cat is probably correct though. She knew there where hawks and ravens based on what the beorc where talking about. She didn't know there were heron though, and she concludes the Reyson is most likely a heron. So far she has felt the most comfortable around the birds, no matter how despicable the ravens currently are, and thinks she might be a bird laguz. Which one is another matter.
"You have one more question." Naesala breaks her train of thought.
Alita thinks hard on this one, wanting to get the most information out of one question and have it worded just right for that effect. "Have the bird laguz lived anywhere else than where they currently are?" she finally asks, clicking her tongue slightly at herself to realize she opened it up to a simple one word answer. "No. Except for the herons who were displaced from their home for a time. Your questions have been answered. I will send someone to show you where you will begin your work. Have fun." He smirks before ushering Reyson out, leaving Alita alone to her thoughts.
True to his words, Alita was immediately put to work. She started off with the most disgusting job possible, that of emptying all the chamber pots. It was easy enough on the ground floor, but she soon learned that there were no stairwells in Kilvas. Everything was connected by large tunnels placed strategically throughout the palace. To get to the higher floors, one would have to fly. Alita had to learn to climb up an almost smooth surface to reach those floors. And since the ravens used the night-soil for a fertilizer, she would have to bring that back down. On multiple occasions she had fallen with the contents drenching her, or simply spilled those contents on her. It infuriated her, since now not only did she have to continue her collection, but she had to clean her mess up and herself.
Her next job was in the kitchens, cleaning all of the dishes, all of the time. There was an endless amount of dishes since hey never stopped cooking, except for maybe a few hours in the dead of night. She did get breaks, which she used to her advantage to explore. She found several storage rooms containing a multitude of items. Some where essential for the running of the country, and others looked to be loot from raiding parties. She found a pool of water with in the palace that led to the depths beneath the island. It took Alita several trips in that pool to find an air pocket, and from there she was able to continue all the way to a small cave that opened up to the surf crashing against the island. She had found a way out!
She continued to explore the cave and water tunnel, the tides as the surf came in, what was outside the cave and what direction she was facing. She had managed to memorize the layout of the tunnel when on her next day of exploration she found the library. Since Naesala had been less than helpful, she poured through the books, learning more than she ever thought she would. She read as much as she could at once before having to return to the kitchens, resuming where she left off on the next break.
After having served in the castle for about a month, Alita is ready to make her escape. She had come across a book that was ancient, probably from Naesala's grandfather's time. It was leather-bound with faded gold lettering, pages yellow and browning with age, and the faded script was in a flowing writing that Alita could just barely make out parts to. She realized that this book is probably what she had been looking for the whole time, and needed time to study it or find someone who could read it. She spirited the book away to the room with the water pool, keeping it hidden and wrapped in a cloth.
Next she visited the storage rooms she had found previously. She looked for a bag to replace her own and one that would be waterproof. It took a couple of tries and test runs before she finally found one that would work. Then she searched for her weapons. She never found hers, but she did find a nice knife that would be a good substitute. The knife was placed with the book and the bag in the water pool room.
In the dead of night, when the kitchens weren't occupied, Alita snuck in, heading for the cupboards. She takes a loaf of bread, a block of cheese and a few pieces of fruit. Placing these items in a cloth and wrapping them up, Alita hurries to the water pool. Once there she tucks her food and the book in the bag, tieing it closed in multiple ways to ensure maximum protection. The knife she straps to her thigh, then dons the pack and dives into the pool. It's easy enough swimming through the dark, her memorization of the tunnel coming in handy, and she makes it to the cave easily. She takes a moment to catch her breath, listening to the movement of water. If she times it right, the ocean will do most of the work and she can save her energy for the long swim she has ahead.
With a small prayer to the gods Alita dives back into the water, letting it carry her out past the cliffs shores of Kilvas. As soon as she feels the direction of the water begin to change she starts swimming. She is not going to be thrown against those cliffs tonight. The thought pushes her on, giving her strength to fight the pull of the breakers and make it past that particular current and into the open ocean.
Alita grins in triumph, takes a moment to look at the stars in the sky for her bearings, then starts swimming in the direction of the mainland. It's long and hard, but Alita refuses to give in. Her arms and legs start burning from the exertions and still she keeps going. She rests only briefly, enough to get her breath back, before starting again. If she stops too long, she won't want to start again or won't be able to. The water is cool and saps her warmth quicker if she stays immobile. She can't let that happen so she strains her muscles. She doesn't know how long she swims, only knowing that she gets closer to the mainland. Her mind starts to drift from the exhaustion and begins hallucinating. Her body remains on autopilot, once arm over the other, legs scissoring in their kicks. She becomes so unaware of herself that she doesn't react as a wave suddenly breaks over her.
Alita is pushed beneath the water, breathing in in surprise. The water floods her nose and mouth, cutting off any air she might have had. She forces her arms and legs to move, breaking the surface coughing and spluttering and ripping her mask off only to be taken under again. The wave tumbles her head over heels with in its grasp, disorienting her. She doesn't know which was is up, everything around her is dark and her lungs are burning. Desperately Alita swims, scrambling for the surface. She breaks the barrier again, drawing in a deep breath of relief. It's short lived as she is pulled in by another wave and sent crashing into the depths once more.
She is tumbling again but tries to stop it, reaching out. She doesn't expect to find anything, merely slow her circular motion. To her luck, her foot drags against the bottom. It slows her momentum enough to let her plant both feet to spring herself upward. She breaks the surface a third time, taking a breath and quickly looking around. She feels the next wave pulling and starts swimming away from it, knowing land is in that direction. She quickly takes a breath and dives beneath the water just as the wave hits. Instead of tumbling her like before, she is pushed forward. She swims hard with the wave, making it closer to land.
Alita repeats the process three more times before a wave spits her out on a beach. She digs her fingers into the sand, hauling herself further up the beach to where she won't get pulled back out to sea. Finally she collapses, chest heaving at the exertion and her lungs' need for air. She made it. She actually swam all the way from Kilvas! The thought brings a tired smile to her face and a raspy laugh. Who would have thought that she would make off with one of Kilvas' probably sacred books?
The weariness is quick to catch up, her muscles refusing to respond. So Alita lays there, as the sky brightens. She thinks she hears a group of men, but can't be bothered to care at the moment. Instead, she rests her cheek in the sand, closing her eyes for the much needed rest after that arduous journey. She feels like she is floating, cradled and being rocked. That is what she finally succumbs to.
