6: Betrayal

When I woke up, I looked around for Louise on instinct. Ah, she's in her own room. Right.

Then someone knocked on the door. Wardes? Finally, a chance to vent some anger. Challenge him and be done with it!

I opened the door, and there he was. Viscount Wardes.

"Wardes! Perfect! I wanted to talk to you." I tell him.

He looks a little surprised, but regains his composure. "As did I. You may talk first."

"Thank you. A duel. Now. Is the courtyard fine for you? Sorry if it seems forward, I just want to see how strong Louise's fiancé is."

He smiles. "Ah this is perfect. I wanted to ask the exact same thing, for almost the exact same reasons."

I smile back "Then a duel it is. See you soon."

*Scene Break*

"So where's the witness?" I ask Wardes.

"Don't worry, She'll be here soon."

Then Louise shows up. She doesn't seem to thrilled about the sight of her fiancé, with his sword-wand drawn, and me with my sword drawn, staring each other down, looking hungry for blood.

"Viscount? Saito? What's going on?" Asks Louise.

"Should you tell her or should I?" I ask the count.

"Go ahead." He tells me.

I nod. "We're dueling and we need a witness. You happen to be that witness," I tell Louise.

She puts a hand to her mouth in shock. "W-What! No! I won't let this happen! Saito! Put away the sword! That's an order!"

"Don't worry Louise, This is a friendly little spar, right Wardes?"

"Yes my Louise," (I try not to strangle him right then for that remark) "Neither one of us is going to die. We simply want to measure each other's strength."

"Yes, now shall we begin?"

"I make it a habit of letting my opponent have the first move. Please hold nothing back."

"Gladly." I charge towards him. I plan on only giving half of what I got, at most. I want him to think I can be easily beaten so he underestimates me during our rematch.

When I get in close enough I try a horizontal slash, which he easily jumps over. I'm only going half my total speed, so he easily outruns me. I chase him down and try multiple slashes which he either sidesteps, or deflects off of his sword-wand.

"Your technique is sloppy, your swings are that of an amateur, no sense of strategy. Do you know what that means?" He asks me before assuming a combat stance. Then he casts the spell he had finished a while back while I was chasing him down.

"Air Hammer."

I put up Derflinger to try and absorb it, But I remember he doesn't remember that he can do that yet. As it stands, all that happens is that I take the full brunt of the Air Hammer, and was sent flying backwards. I hit one of the stone pillars surrounding the courtyard. Sadly I hit it head first. My vision goes fuzzy, and I'm pretty sure I feel blood rushing down the side of my head. When I look up, I see Wardes standing over me looking high and mighty, and Louise looking close to tears.

"I don't believe you told me what you mean by that last question." I tell him.

He glares at me, How dare I have the nerve to speak after being so thoroughly curb-stomped! "It means that you aren't capable of protecting Louise."

If it weren't for the fact that I might have a concussion, I would have gutted him right then.

Louise pulls out a napkin and starts trying to clean up the blood that's running down my head. Wardes looks at the scene like its the most disgusting thing he's ever seen and walks off. When he's out of earshot, Louise draws closer.

"You idiot. You could have died!" I can't tell if the warm liquid hitting my cheek is my blood or her tears.

"Yeah, I could have. I probably should have put more effort into that fight than I did."

"W-what?" Louise asks me.

"Yeah, I need him to think that was the best I could do. Don't ask now. You already know I can't explain at the moment."

She still looks worried about how I almost got myself killed. Almost getting your familiar murdered, inadvertently or not, by your fiancé is bound to put you in a sour mood.

"Also, while I'm thankful for you helping me with this horrible headache, I wouldn't worry too much. I gotten much more painful injuries and survived." I explain honestly.

"Really?" she seems horrified at the fact that I nearly get myself killed very often.

"Oh yeah. Much worse," I intentionally "forget" to tell her that I do get myself killed, but that's besides the point.

"Wow, you get yourself into all kinds of trouble don't you?" she says teasingly. I'm momentarily speechless, Louise never took on a teasing tone. Heh, I think I like this Louise more than the last one! I regain my composure rather quickly.

"I guess I do, don't I? Don't worry, I don't get all the fun."

She stares at me like she partially understands, but would like a better explanation. But we can save that for another time.

"Well, we better get back to the hotel. I feel like I really need a nap." I try to stand, but stumble. Louise catches me.

"You can't do anything without me can you?"

I don't know if it's the blood loss or Louise being so close to me, but I feel light headed.

I smile. "Nope. I guess I can't."

*Scene Break*

After that whole incident, Louise helped me to my room. I thanked her, crawled into my bed, and fell asleep, knowing I'd need my energy for tonight.

I woke up to the sound of giant thunderous foot steps outside the hotel. I get up, stumble a bit since I'm not fully recovered, grab Derflinger, and look out the window.

"Fouquet." I mutter when I see the Golem stomping around outside. I jump off the balcony, which was only about ten feet off the ground, and walk up to the Golem.

"Ah! Gandalfar! So you're here. Now I can crush you like the-"

Before she finishes, I throw a rock at her, which hits her square in the stomach knocking the wind out of her. I always thought that I was a bit of a crack shot, so I decided to test my luck. It was better than wasting time trying to fight her and missing the boat. She loses her balance and falls off the golem. I run up and catch her before she falls. As evil as she is, I can't let her die. She is the closest thing Tifannia has to a sister after all.

I like this strategy. Can we use it on everyone we meet? Just cut them off and be done with it? 'Actually, that's not a bad idea. I'll think about it.'

I put her on the ground, give her a small cut on her side, and put Derf to her throat. I don't want her getting away before I get some solid information.

"Sorry about that. I just didn't really have time for this, and I really wasn't feeling up to it right now. So how about a deal? You give me some info, I let you go free. Sound fair?"

Realizing she doesn't have a choice in the matter, she nods her head.

"Good. Now first off, who let you out of jail?"

She shakes her head. "I can't tell you. He'll kill me if I do."

I sigh. "Fair enough. I wouldn't want you to sign your own death warrant or anything like that. Then can you at least tell me what he wanted you to do?"

She nods. Good, some cooperation. "He wanted me to stall you, so you wouldn't get on the ship and never make it to Albion," she gives a weak smile, "Guess I failed."

I nod. "That's really all I need from you. Don't worry, you can go free. Also, I'll even tell Wardes you're dead. Would that help?"

She gasps in surprise, before wincing and grabbing her side. I guess I overdid it a little.

"How did you know?" she asks.

I shrug, "I know a guy who knows things. Let's leave it at that." I put Derflinger back in his sheathe. "Go on, you might want to get some help for that wound. There's a medic in the hotel. If they ask, tell them you were being mugged. I'm sure they'll believe it."

She nods and starts limping towards the hotel. Halfway there, she turns and looks at me.

"I don't believe I ever caught your name."

"I'm Saito Hiraga." I tell her. Since I haven't earned my noble title yet, I decide to just forget about it and stick to my regular name.

"Thank you, Saito Hiraga." she turns around and heads on towards the hotel.

I stand there in shock for a few minutes before realizing that I need to get to the ship. Fouquet didn't realize it, but she did manage to stall me. I rush towards the port, a hand on Derflinger to activate my runes and give me an agility boost, and find that it's too late. The ship has started to take off. Not losing speed, I jump up and land on the roof of the hotel (I love my Gandalfar powers) and keep running. I make a final jump towards the ship, and almost miss it. I reached out and was able to grab ahold of the ship's railing and I pulled myself up and over, landing on the deck of the ship.

"Great job partner," says Derflinger, "Should we go look for the missy and traitor? She probably thinks that you abandoned her."

I shake my head. "Not yet. Wardes doesn't know we're here. He probably thinks that Fouquet stalled, or even killed us. We have the element of surprise, and it will help us immensely." I tell the sword.

"If you say so partner."

*Scene Break*

I hid myself among the cargo. They would probably come through at some point, and they would never think of checking all the barrels on the off chance I might be in one. At least I hoped not. Then I heard footsteps, so I tuck my head in the barrel, close the lid slightly and peer out the small hole I had cut in it. As I expected, in walked Louise and Wardes.

"No, Wardes, you're lying. There's no way he said that." Louise sounded rather hurt. This was one of the reasons I try not to eavesdrop. You usually only hear half of the conversation.

"I'm sorry Louise, but it's the truth. He said he saw no reason to stay. He felt that I could do a better job at protecting you, and he was upset at you for not trying to help him, or try more to stop the match. That's why he didn't come with us."

Oh that bastard, my inner monologue says, He'll get his. He'll get his for sure.

"No, there's just no way." Louise breaks down and starts crying.

"It's okay, my Louise. I'll go to the captain and see how things are doing. You should stay here and think things over," says Wardes before turning and leaving Louise.

This is your chance, I open the barrel top slightly and peer to my left. There are whole stacks of paper right next to my barrel. I grab a piece, but realize I have nothing to right with. On a hunch I look to my right and see some quills and ink bottle.

Wow, the author must be really lazy to honestly believe that anyone will find this contrived coincidence believable. My inner monologue says. 'What? What author?' Nothing you need to worry about.

I take the quill and dip it in the ink bottle. I use the side of the barrel leaning up against the wall as a hard surface to right on.

"Louise, Wardes is lying through his teeth. I would have boarded the ship along with you and Wardes, but Fouquet showed up and stalled me. By the time I had finished with her, the ship had departed. I am still near though, considering you got this note at all. Sincerely, Saito."

I finish writing the note, let the ink dry, crumple it into a ball, then toss the note at the wall so it rebounds and lands near Louise. My improbable plan works, and Louise sees the note. She picks it up and unfolds it. She reads it, and her eyes light up, and she gets on her feet and scans the room. She sees the barrel I'm hiding in, and gives me a bright happy smile, the likes of which I have only had the pleasure of seeing maybe one or twice. I silently wonder what tipped her off that I was in this barrel, and then I notice that my hair is poking out the top. I should really get a better hair style than "Spikes in all directions." Louise takes a quill out of one of the crates and writes on the back of the note. She folds it neatly and, making sure no ones looking, slips the note into my barrel before running off.

I unfold the note and read the note.

"Saito, thank you for being there for me. I realize you don't want Wardes to know your here, and I think I know why. So here's the plan, I will agree to Wardes marriage proposal," my heart nearly stops at that line before I realize what she's planning to do, "Then I'll trick him into revealing his true intentions. Then you bust in, do you really awesome sword stuff, and save the day. It's not the best plan, but it'll work right? See you soon. Love, Louise."

I swear that girl developed psychic abilities recently. She knew, down to every last moment, how this was going to go down. I smile, lean back in my barrel, and fall asleep, waiting for us to reach Albion. When I finally get to truly fight Wardes.

*Scene Break*

I bided my time while I waited for the wedding. I followed Louise and Wardes around to make sure that they didn't decide to do the wedding ahead of schedule. They didn't and when the time came, they went to the chapel with Prince Wales. It was a bit saddening to see him alive again, and marching off towards his death, with nothing I could do to change that fact. Putting that thought process aside I followed them into the chapel as stealthily as possible. I wanted no one, not even Louise, to know I was there. It would ruin the one advantage I had. I hid myself behind one of the pillars holding the building up. This pillar was near enough the altar that I could hear every word being said, and see everyone's faces, but far enough away that they hopefully won't notice me.

The wedding ceremony began. Wardes said his vow and everything, then Wales turned to Louise.

"Bride, third daughter of the Vallière family, do swear to love this man in the name of founder Brimir?" asked Wales.

This was it. The moment of truth, if Louise was going to do anything, it had to happen now.

Louise blushed and looked down, as if thinking about something. Then a shook her head, "I'm sorry. I can't do this."

Wardes was surprised. "Now's not good? Okay then, another ti-"

"No. I'm sorry, but I can't marry you." Louise said interrupting him.

Then Wardes' mind blew apart. He grabbed Louise's shoulder. "N-nonsense! You're just nervous is all! After all, I need you Louise! The world will be mine! And you are the key to that!"

Louise tried to back away, but Wardes kept an Iron grip.

"Wardes, she said no. This ceremony cannot continue. If you continue trying to force her, I will resort to my own force," said Wales, trying to calm down the rampaging Wardes.

Wardes smiled and let go of Louise. "Such a shame. It appears I can only accomplish two of my goals today."

Louise looked more terrified than I had ever seen her. "What do you mean?"

"My first goal was you Louise, sadly that doesn't appear to be achieved anytime soon."

"Absolutely not!" cried Louise, her voice shaking with fear.

"No. It appears not," mused Wardes. "The second goal, was the princess's letter."

Wales, brave stupid soul he is, realized what was happening and pulled out his wand and started chanting. Wardes dashed up to him and stabbed Wales through the heart with his swand. Swand? 'You know, sword wand.' So you call it a swand? 'You have a problem with that?' No, no, call it what you like.

"The third goal, was your damned life, Wales," snarls Wardes.

Wales falls to the ground, and is dead within seconds. Than Wardes turns to Louise and makes his first mistake.

"Now then, since you won't give me the letter willingly, I'll just have to kill you and pry it from you cold, dead hands," he says while raising his swand.

"Saito!" Louise calls out.

"The boy can't help you now! Fouquet has already dealt with him! He's long gone!" screams Wardes as he swings his blade down, only for it to stop short.

"Well now, let's not jump to conclusions shall we?" I say tauntingly as I push his blade away with my own. Yeah! That was awesome! You need to make more entrances like that! 'Yeah, let's not make it a habit of almost letting Louise get killed just so you can have fun with the entrances.'

Why didn't I jump in earlier? Well, Wardes is a hardened warrior. If I jumped in at the wrong time, he would have heard or seen me, cast some type of wind magic to keep me at bay, then killed Louise, Wales, and get the letter. The timing had to be perfect. And how much more perfect can you get than when he's yelling at the top of his lungs like a madman, with his eyes focused solely on the girl he intends to cut down?

"S-Saito." Louise stares at me, almost not believing that I came to save her. She starts to cry and runs behind me, using me like a shield. Which isn't that strange considering, you know, Gandalfar, the shield of God.

"How are you still alive? Fouquet should have-"

"Yeah, it's kind of hard to stall someone when you're dead." I tell him.

"What? Then you... Hmmm. I didn't think you had it in you lad. Anyway now that you're here, you can die with the girl as w- Arrrrrgh!"

That last part was because while he was talking, I cut off his left arm. Told you, this strategy works!

"Seriously man," I tell him calmly, "Fouquet lost the same way! You people need to pay more attention when someone's out to kill you." I say that last part with an extra hint of spite and anger in my voice.

"I-I'm not through yet!" he jumps back a good ten feet and raises his wand and starts chanting.

"That's lightning cloud!" cries Louise. That spell and I go way back. When I was first struck by it, it nearly barbecued my arm. Three guesses as to who casted that spell.

"Partner! I remember! Raise me up!" shouts Derflinger.

I oblige and hold him up to block the lighting strike about to happen. Wardes finishes casting and fires. Louise closes her eyes and clings to me for support. I stand firm and wait for the moment of impact.

It never came. Derflinger absorbed the whole lightning strike with no trouble or impact at all.

Wardes is clearly confused and starts firing spells as quickly as possible, Not one makes it past Derflinger. Then he starts glowing.

"This is my true form partner! I absorb all the magic around me! I'm old and forgot but now I remember! That's me, Derflinger, the left hand of Gandalfar!"

When he finishes glowing, he's no longer rusty. Derflinger is now smooth polished steel, and is ready to take on anything. Wardes realizes he can't win and calls in his griffon, which breaks through a window and picks him up

"Only one goal accomplished after all. But that doesn't matter Gandalfar, we will meet again, and you'd better be ready!"

"Hey Wardes, just to let you know, I held back a great deal during that duel. If I went full out, I would have easily won." I figure I should let him know that info before he leaves.

His face contorts in rage, then he flies off.

"That was easier than I remember. Are you okay Louise?"

I look over and she that she's passed out. I don't blame her. It's been a long day for her. I head over to Wales corpse and take the earth ruby off of his hand, with the intent of giving it to Henrietta.

"Oi, partner," says Derflinger, "shouldn't you be more worried about the army about to storm in here?"

"Let them come. I will strike down as many as I need to in order to protect Louise."

"Now you're talking! Let them come! We'll cut them all down!"

Just then, I see a small mound of dirt rise up from the ground, and Verdandi pops out of it.

"Verdandi, where have you taken... Saito!" Says Guiche, who has also popped out of the hole. "Why are you-"

"I'll explain later, we have the letter, let's go!"

I grab Louise and jump into the hole with them. What I didn't expect was that the hole went straight down onto Sylphid's back. It wasn't the most comfortable landing. But it will have to do. We got the letter, we're all safe, and we're on our way home. Things couldn't be better.

*Louise POV*

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was the wind in my face. I opened my eyes and saw Saito. I looked and saw Kirche, Tabitha, and Guiche. I looked down and saw that we were riding on Slyphid. "That's right. Wardes killed Prince Wales. He would have killed me, but Saito saved me. Saito saved my life again." Those words ricochet through my head for a bit. I'm so caught up in my own thoughts, that I don't notice Saito getting closer. When I do notice, its too late, and his lips overlap mine. My brain shorts out and it's a while before I can think straight. My first instinct was to push him away, but I realize two things. I have no strength left, and I don't want to push him away. "I-I suppose this is fine. I can just pretend to still be asleep," I think to myself.