So obviously some things are a little different in this story than in the game proper, but I think it fits fine. I love expanding upon certain things, and I think it's pretty clear that's been happening. This chapter will have some brief adventuring, before Bella starts doing real quartermaster work. To be fair, when you have an army of four people, there's very little to organize. But first, plot! And Bella revealing some more of her… Uh... eccentricities.
Please enjoy and please leave a review!
Chapter Three
Deep Down
Belladonna awoke in a bed, which was nice. Most soldiers had to make do with tents on the ground, but the castle in the Astral Plane was spacious and furnished, and thanks to Lilith's power, could be grown and changed as it was needed. She sat up and stretched, yawning. She slung herself from the bed, and stretched.
This place was nice. Cozy. Nothing special, but perfectly serviceable. She wandered outside, noting that she was the second one awake. Jakob was already up, making tea, presumably for Corrin.
"Diligent, aren't we?" She complimented him, as she passed. "I don't think I've seen people get up before me since I was a little girl."
Jakob raised a brow, examining her. "A good servant must always prepare the day before his or her liege rises."
"Perhaps so. I rarely get involved with the good servants. Just the talkative ones."
"Yes, so I've heard, Madame Rocha."
Bella jolted. "Oh, uh. You've heard of me then."
"Yes." Jakob's voice was flat as a knife, and Bella couldn't tell if it was hostility or just him being blunt and unfriendly by nature.
"Ah… Well, rest assured, I've left those days behind me… I have no intentions of wriggling scandal out of Lady Corrin."
"I should hope not." Jakob seemed to relax slightly, although his blunt tone remained. A little of both then.
"Although I can't imagine that sweet young lady would have much scandal to her name, aside from her very existence." Belladonna chuckled. "A princess, born of Hoshido, raised in Nohr, siding with neither… That would have earned me a fortune when I was still a broker. Although after that debacle, I imagine the cat's out of the bag, now."
"Broker is one term. Sensationalist and rumormonger are the ones that I would prefer."
"To each their own." Bella shrugged. "It was a living. Quite a nice one, in fact. I didn't spread rumors and sensation, incidentally. I just sold people facts. Facts some people preferred to remain unsold, of course, but facts nonetheless."
"So what happened?" Jakob smirked.
"I trod on someone's feet and got shipped off to run a backwater middle-of-nowhere town. It was a blessing in disguise, though. I've always been good at keeping organized, but never got much chance to use it. I... rather enjoyed it, now that I think about it. I was too busy to realize..."
"Hmm." Jakob's smirk became a frown once more. Belladonna didn't pay it any mind, and just shrugged it off. "I suppose your past transgressions can be ignored, so long as you intend no harm towards milady. But I will be watching you, nonetheless."
"Duly noted. I won't be harming Corrin, though." She shook her head. "I like her. She's naive, but very kind."
Jakob softened, for a half moment. "...She very much is that."
Bella groaned. Back at the Bottomless Canyon, it seemed. At least this time, hopefully Corrin wouldn't be using the Dragon Veins to turn cliffs into bridges.
"Not far from where I almost got buried." She noted, amused. "Was awfully kind of Rinkah to dig me out of the rubble. Hope I get a chance to thank her again."
Nobody seemed to know how to react, and Bella huffed a little. These people are too serious.
"Azura…" Corrin looked at the blue-haired woman cautiously. "You don't mean for us to hide from Nohr and Hoshido here, do you?"
"That's exactly what I mean. We'll jump into the canyon."
"What?!"
"Wait just a minute!"
Jakob and Bella shouted in unison, startled by the plainly uttered madness.
"If we jump from here, we'll all die." Jakob, impressively, managed to keep his cool, though his face was strained with sock. Bella picked up a good sized stone and dropped it, watching it tumble into the abyss below her, shying away from the edge.
"Mm, I do hate to say it Princess, but that- that certainly does look bottomless. I mean sure no one will find us…"
"But we'll be ghosts." Jakob finished.
"Don't worry." Azura gently shook her head, expression sincere, and stern. "You won't die, if you jump. You need to trust me."
"Azura…" Corrin bit her lip warily. "...You'll tell us more after we jump?"
"Oh gods she's serious." Bella whispered.
"If that is what you wish, yes." Azura ignored Belladonna for the moment, staring into the canyon.
"Then we have no choice."
"A-are you certain about this milady?" Jakob's composure was finally shaken, and he wrung his hands behind his back.
"I… I trust Azura." Corrin said, firmly.
"Has the world gone mad?" Bella's voice was a bit shrill. "Oh my god they're doing it aren't they?"
"...If my mistress is going, then I'll need to find the courage…"
"You too? Ah... what have I got to lose? Other than my life… and all the worldly pleasures that come with it…"
One by one, they leapt from the bridge.
And promptly fell to their deaths.
No that didn't actually happen. Bella was almost certain it would, until she awoke in a rather cozy, grassy plain. With… islands floating in the sky above her.
"...Huh. I must be dead." She remarked. "It's not too bad. The weather is quite pleasant."
"I assure you, you are not dead." Azura looked down at Bella, standing over her with the same bland expression as usual.
"No, but a woman can dream, can't she?" Bella sighed, sitting up. "...So, this is… inside the canyon? "
"In a sense." Azura glanced at Corrin, who was already up, along with Jakob.
Bella huffed. "Well, I suppose this is something to file away under "Think about the mechanics of this more later"... What is this place?"
Azura watched as Bella pushed herself to her feet, eyes low.
"This," She uttered, as though it were the most normal thing in the world, "Is the kingdom of Valla."
A kingdom hidden in another world. It would have sounded like madness, but Bella had heard similar tales, ones that were nearly as outlandish- tales of mysterious Outrealms where strange new worlds existed. Time and space bending and forming their own rules... Things not going exactly the way they normally did, warped and altered by magical means.
Plus, she'd just spent the night sleeping in an Astral Plane, so questioning the logic behind this felt a bit hypocritical at this point.
Valla was beautiful, in a strange apocalyptic sort of way. It felt hollow, and lifeless. A place that had been cruelly ruined due to... wrath? Hubris? She didn't know. Bella would have written her thoughts about it in her diary, but Azura had uttered a dire warning- one that was not something that she could disregard easily. Speaking of Valla or even simply communicating its existence while outside of it would cause her to dissolve to nothing.
That was pretty good motivation to quell her pen hand. For now, she silently followed Azura and Corrin, hand loosely wrapped around her axe as she carried it over her shoulder.
She glanced to one side, then blinked. Was there someone moving off to the side, there?
"...We're being watched." She said softly. "Someone's following us. I don't think they're particularly friendly."
They were approaching a tunnel of some kind. Azura glanced back in the direction Bella was looking. "...Vallite soldiers. We aren't welcome here. Anankos may know of our presence already."
"Then we must fight." Corrin looked disappointed, but readied the Yato, glancing about as they entered the caves.
"Possibly." Azura held her naginata similarly. "There will be more ahead."
"We should stay close." Jakob advised. "These tunnels look as though they might be rather maze-like."
It wasn't long before they were attacked. The strange figures who assaulted them were… difficult to describe. Bella could see them, but they were shimmery and semi-transparent. It was hard to focus on them at first, but she quickly got the hang of spotting them, and would swiftly bull down and slay the silent soldiers as they attacked. It was tough- she had to hold her axe close to the head so she didn't risk harming her allies in the tight space. Without being able to swing it as wide as she normally would, it made things harder for her to manage
It was rough going. Bella had some shallow cuts on her, but fortunately, whenever they got a moment, Jakob could use his staff to heal their wounds.
"I need to get some armor." She grumbled, glancing at the cuts in her clothing with a sigh. The stave could mend flesh but not clothes. She was only mediocre at sewing. At least this wasn't her fancy Nohrian dress. That was hanging up to dry in the Astral Plane. Still, she rather liked the plain Hoshidan outfit as well.
"It does serve one well." Jakob adjusted his suit slightly, so Bella could see the chain armor he wore beneath it. It was similar to the metal gauntlets he wore, but much thinner and lighter.
"Might be hard to get, considering our position." She snorted, shaking her head. "Ah well. Least it's quiet for the moment. It should give us a moment to catch our breath."
Bella looked around warily. For the moment, the strange, shimmery Vallites were nowhere to be seen. Something was echoing through the caves, however. Hoofsteps and metal clanking, getting closer. An armored knight on a horse. Bella tensed, but was surprised when they didn't meet a shadowy hostile soldier, but a very large and very visible Nohrian man.
"Gunter?" Corrin gasped, delighted.
The knight and his horse had both survived in Valla for quite some time now, and were a great boon for the small group in escaping the caverns. He could quickly run down the unmounted Vallites before they knew what hit them. Bella didn't really know what was happening anymore- only that they needed to escape and return to the surface world.
In all honesty, she still wasn't sure how Azura led them out; some kind of portal that led back to the bottomless canyon. Either way, upon being ejected from it, she stumbled and nearly fell on her face.
"Oof!" She grunted, straightening. "Glad that's all sorted… Never thought I'd be so happy to see the grey skies again."
Gunter dismounted his horse, taking it by the reins. The large war horse was clearly worn out from the battle; it was likely that Gunter had been fighting and running from the invisible soldiers for days on end. If that was the case, she had to admit she was impressed; a man of his age fighting as powerfully as he did…
Well, any ally was an invaluable one at this point…
This Astral Plane is good for certain aspects of running a military, but unfortunately, not enough of them. Lilith, Corrin and Azura have been tapping into the Dragon Veins below us, but there's only so much they can do. We have some storage buildings and some barracks, but no soldiers to fill them.
We actually do have a fair bit of gold though. Azura and Corrin had the presence of mind to bring a fair bit with them, and we'll likely… Appropriate some from enemy forces. Same goes for weapons and the like. Gunter is quite knowledgeable about weapon care, and we found some good material for some whetstones to sharpen weaponry without overdoing it. The Yato doesn't need sharpening, but my axe certainly appreciated some time at a grindstone. It was getting rather dull.
We're too small right now to worry about a lot of this, but it never hurts to be prepared. If we get lucky, someone will join up with us. Preferably a good number of people. Our little ragtag band needs numbers, if we're going to even get close enough to convince Nohr and Hoshido to help us.
The biggest problem will be supply. Where the hell can we go to get weapons? It's not like there are any merchants out there who aren't with Hoshido or Nohr…
We're heading into Hoshido first- to find a fort, according to Azura. It's a bit of a shame. If we were in Nohr, I could contact my information network. They would be really helpful right now…
Well, make do with what we have. And what we have is five people.
I hope we find some more, and soon. We could absolutely use some more hands to keep us going.
Bella grunted as she ripped her axe out of another Faceless. There had to be someone alive here. Even with the village ruined and the farms destroyed, surely someone had escape. The small band fought their way into the woods nearby. Bella and Gunter were at the front, with Gunter rushing in on his horse, while Bella bulled through the Faceless with her axe.
"Go back to the abyss." She grunted, as she heaved her axe, viciously hacking into another. There were a lot more of them here than there were back at the other village she had battled at.
"There's someone in the woods!" Corrin gasped. "We must help them!"
Gunter shifted and lunged, spearing a Faceless, scowling as it crumbled to dust. "They will be pinned down if we do not lend aid."
Azura's naginata twirled, lashing out and slaying one that lumbered forward, sidestepping it and flinching as it hit the ground with a heavy thud. "We must hurry."
They rushed to defend the girl, who had stumbled in the small copse of trees, attempting to avoid the murderous beasts. Bella quickly helped the girl to her feet. "Be careful lass. Stick close to us."
The girl gritted her teeth, holding her makeshift spear close- it was a dagger, tightly bound to a long pole. It would do, now that she had aid. "No! I have to fight! For Mother! For all my friends! For everything those monsters took from me!"
Bella grunted. "Then go for the legs. See if you can't knock them over."
The small hoshidan girl nodded rapidly, and began doing just that. Her spear wasn't very sturdy or powerful, but it was much longer than Gunter's lance or Azura's naginata, so she was able to jab at the Faceless, taking out their legs.
It made the job a lot easier. Leaderless faceless, being as mindless as they were, would simply run right into the spear, or if they missed the dagger, they would stumble over the wooden pole, making them easy pickings. Yato flashed and spun.
Corrin was really nimble, Bella noted in awe, as the princess dashed and flipped among the Faceless.
"Whoa." She murmured, at a particularly acrobatic leap. "She puts her size to marvelous use, doesn't she?"
Jakob nodded, using his staff to heal a nasty cut on the young villager girl's leg. "Lady Corrin was trained all her life. She was never very powerful, so Lord Xander focused her training upon her agility instead."
"I suppose in Nohr, being nobility means you really do have to learn to fight..." Bella grunted, as she snapped her axe into a downed Faceless, satisfied as it crumbled to dust.
The fight was short, and mostly bloodless. A few scratches and bruises, but nothing major. The young villager girl showed a surprising amount of aptitude for her weapon, even managing to take down a Faceless without aid from anyone.
Things finally went quiet. Jakob was retrieving his throwing knives and cleaning them, in a manner that was disturbingly casual, as he rubbed them with a handkerchief. "That takes care of the last of them." He commented, as he took a moment to stab a still-dirty blade into a nearly-dead Faceless, finishing it off. "...Ah." He winced, as inky black fluid oozed out onto his sleeve. "...how irksome."
The villager girl looked hollow. Her face shone with relief, but more than that, despair.
"What do I do…? They took my mother… my life…" She shuddered, fighting back tears. Corrin flinched. The Princess looked almost as devastated as the unfortunate villager in front of her.
"You… must have some family near here. We'd be glad to take you there."
"There's no one… Even if there was…" She gestured to the ruined fields. "...It's all destroyed… Everyone I knew… Every home… a grave…" Slowly, she scrubbed a sleeve over her eyes.
"Listen, we…" Corrin took a breath. "We'll take you in for now, until we find a safe place. We can't replace what you've lost, but we'll take care of you. We're bound by a dangerous cause. Going from one battle to the next… That's no life for you."
She shook her head. "I'm not afraid." The villager looked up, determination tempering the sorrow in her eyes. "I want to join your cause, whatever it is. I can help. I might even save you or your friends."
Bella chuckled softly. "She's got some strong arms and a stronger spirit. I would have to say having her would be wonderful right now."
Corrin laughed softly. "Yes, it seems so. I have to admit, she sounds more sure than I am."
The girl nodded firmly. "I'll do my best. And I'll stay safe. After all, mother is watching over me now."
"Well, I think that's settled then... But I think it would be best if we were to get moving…" Bella glanced about.
Gunter nodded in agreement "...I hate to say it, but we have no time to give these people a proper burial…"
Reluctantly, the group, one larger, began to march.
Bella shouldered her axe. "What's your name, lass? Might as well get to know one another."
"Mozu." The small Hoshidan nodded. "My name is Mozu."
Having Mozu with us has given us a boon that we will definitely make use of- and that boon is her knowledge of farming. As much as I know, farming is not one of those. She's teaching us, now, so we can at least get a small garden going. Rice and wheat. It isn't much, but having an extra food source will definitely be good for us in the future.
Fort Jinya is ahead. We march on it tomorrow. Hopefully Corrin can handle things peacefully. I'm just not sure how.
Bella looked up from her journal to see Mozu standing nervously in the room, looking about. It was a sort of small antechamber next to the storage rooms- where extra food, gold, weapons, and other supplies would be kept. The rooms were woefully bare, but it wasn't too concerning.
"Um…" Mozu awkwardly clasped her hands for a moment.
Bella offered a casual smile. "What is it, Mozu? Don't worry, I might be Nohrian but I won't bite." She winked. "Too hard."
Mozu blinked, then cracked a weak smile. "It's just, do you know if there are any proper weapons here? I looked in the other room and there wasn't very much."
"Ah, yes." Bella stood. "I was just thinking about that, actually. That little tool you made is decent for a bit of self-defense, but a smarter opponent probably wouldn't care much for it, mm?" She led Mozu to the small armory, examining the few spears that the group had managed to recover. Eventually, Bella found one that was less battered than the rest. It was bronze, with a sharp tip.
"Try this one." She offered, handing it to Mozu. The girl took it and gave it a few experimental jabs. It was a little heavy, but she soon compensated for the weight.
"It's perfect." She nodded. "Mr. Gunter has been showing me how to use a spear a little. He says he'll show me more, later, but that I should practice with a real one in the meantime."
"Good plan." Bella nodded. "We ought to cut some training dummies, if we can. It would benefit us. I mean, I use more strength than finesse, but a little practice never hurt."
"Um, for now, I can just jab the air…" Mozu giggled. "I had better do it outside. Thank you Lady Bella."
"Lady?" Belladonna tilted her head, puzzled. Mozu blushed.
"Oh! You mean, um, you aren't a noble?"
"Ah, gracious no. I am a bit wealthy… Was a bit wealthy… my nest egg is still back in the village... But I'm not a noble by any means. I was born in a little village up in the far northern parts of Nohr. The really cold parts.
"Oh." Mozu glanced down, embarrassed. "Beggin' your pardon, It's just, that Nohr dress you have and the way you talk…"
"Oh, that." Bella chuckled. "I just like fancy clothing and fancy words. I'm still not very good at the fancy words part. I slip back and forth, you see. I simply tried to emulate some of the wealthier people's ways of speaking. It didn't always work, but it did give me an air of class when actually dealing with nobility. It made my life easier."
"Oh." Mozu blinked. "Well, is just "Bella" fine?"
"Of course. So long as it's polite, I don't care what people call me." Bella nodded. "Bella, Belle, Belladonna…" She chuckled. "Belladonna's a bit of a mouthful though."
"Belladonna… isn't that a flower?" Mozu mused, as she wandered out.
"Yes but don't go assuming I'm delicate like one!" Bella called after her with a grin, as she returned to her room to jot down some more final notes.
It would be a long day tomorrow.
You ever stay up all night long working on something? I have! I started around 9PM or so, took a 1-hour break, then went back until like 6AM.
So if there are any errors, kindly tell me so my sleep-deprived ass can fix them.
Thanks! Hope you all enjoyed. Since there will be more than six people next chapter, we'll have more of what I actually want here.
Anyway, goodnight everybody!