For: Crouching Dragon Hidden Shizuru
Prompt: Minna and Trude
She had to do something, anything. Those bastards needed to be taught a lesson.
Oh-so-familiar power surged through her, but the second it left her body, she regretted it.
She was going to have to run.
The road was bumpy, and the cart magnified every jostle and dip the road made. Trude tossed as she searched for a comfortable position. Propped against the other side, Minna and Erica slept peacefully.
With a sudden bump, Trude found herself inches in the air before landing roughly. The driver laughed with glee, mentioning something about "good air time." Trude glared at the back of the driver's head, mentally wishing to shoot some magic at her but acknowledging that she wouldn't get far acting like that.
She needed to get to the hospital before they did anything to Chris.
"Can you make this thing move any faster?" Trude demanded, anxiety flowing freely through her veins.
The driver shot Trude a look over her shoulder and smirked, her blue eyes twinkling mischievously. "I thought you'd never ask," she responded, eagerly.
Trude didn't have the time to be wary before she was pinned to the back wall of the cart, positive they must be flying for the pressure to be so intense. Every random box and bundle sitting the wagon with her was either crushed or stuck to the back with her, and Trude couldn't help but thank any god that existed that her magic made her body durable enough to handle the strain.
They arrived at their destination before the bumpy ride awoke Erica or Minna. Trude shakily handed a small handful of coins to the driver, who only took half the money. The driver jangled the coins in thanks and knowingly told her that she would probably need the money more. Trude was ready to protest, but she was silenced by the driver's sudden and fast departure.
Trude looked to her two friends, worried by both the driver's actions and the state of her sister. The hospital in front of them was nothing more than a house with an extra room attached to one side to accommodate patients. Like every other serf's house, it was wooden and dirty.
There was a very good chance Trude wouldn't even be allowed to see Chris, if the doctor had heard about her already. She knew she needed to avoid conflict and force, but she was fully prepared to do anything it took to get her sister back.
Feeling a warm hand drop on her shoulder, Trude jumped in shock, but Minna's calming voice flowed through her ears.
"Don't be rash. We'll get her back."
Trude inhaled and breathed out deeply. Minna was right; she couldn't just go in looking for a fight. She had to be calm.
Taking extra care with her steps, Trude marched to the hospital door and opened it slowly. There was no one in the front room, let alone anyone that might try to stop Trude from getting what she came for.
"It's awfully quite in here," Erica commented, yawning a little as she said it. Trude could practically feel Minna nod from beside her as her blood ran cold.
No longer caring about control, Trude burst through the door leading to the patient's ward. Searching wildly with her eyes, she scanned the room, only to feel painful disappointment stab through her chest.
There wasn't a soul around.
Tears welled in Trude's eyes, even as she fought to stop them, and she felt Minna's comforting hand on her shoulder again.
"Don't worry. We'll get her back,"
After a small amount of forceful interrogation from a shady bystander, they learned that the patients in the hospital were transported to Saarbrüken, a village on the border of Karlsland and Gallia. Trude wrung her hands in worry; the trip to the border would take at least two days by horse-drawn cart and a week if they had to walk.
The tavern they were waiting in was dark and dirty, and nearly every man had their eyes on Minna's nice shaped butt as she flirted with the barkeep in an attempt to get them a ride to the next town. Erica sat beside Trude, seemingly carefree as she sipped at the ale she had ordered with their meal.
Minna gave her behind a little shake as the men in the tavern leaned closer to look and Trude came a little closer to starting a fight. Annoyance turning her vision red, Trude almost stood to teach the leering men a lesson, but she was roughly pulled back into her seat.
"Starting a fight won't get us any closer to Chris," Erica explained. Trude glared at her but didn't move. Erica sighed and tried again. "You can't save Chris if you're burned at the stake."
Suddenly Trude felt the life drain out of her, and it was only then that she realized her magic was coming out without her knowledge. Angry at herself for losing so much control but sobered by understanding, she sat still, eyes turned downward.
Minutes later, Erica shook Trude's arm and pointed to a victorious-looking Minna walking quickly towards them, staring directly at Trude. There was something in the way that she ignored everyone else in the tavern that made Trude's heart jump.
Their new cart driver, who was confident she was the fastest driver around, was really no better than their last (Trude was sorely tempted to chide her every opportunity that presented itself), and her attitude was considerably worse. Minna, of course, thanked her graciously for the help; Erica, on the other hand, seemed entirely unimpressed, which drove the driver mad.
The cart was considerably fancier than the last, and it had the name of some Gallian delivery company painted on the side. The inside was cramped and filled with boxes.
Trude settled in amongst the crates and sighed, stressed and tired. Leaning her head against the nearest box and praying that she could get some sleep, she closed her eyes.
What felt like ten minutes later was really closer to three hours, and when Trude awoke, she found herself staring at a starry sky. The air around her face was cool, but she felt warmth on her left shoulder, and, turning to find the source, she noticed Minna curled up beside her, sleeping comfortably.
In the front of the cart, Erica was arguing with the driver, but the sound was little more than a whisper to Trude and her sleeping companion. Removing her cloak in the least disruptive way she could, Trude wrapped it around the two of them, and sank into the shared warmth.
Saarbrüken was bustling with life when they arrived, the populace speaking in a jumbled mix of both Karslandian and Gallian. Market stalls lined the main street, which was packed full of people from all over the area.
The cart moved slowly through the crowd as people passed back and forth in front of the horses. The driver stopped roughly halfway down the street at a stall with crates all marked with the same signature as the ones in the cart, and, hopping down from the front seat, gave Minna vague directions to the hospital. When Trude held out a hand of coins to her in payment, the driver stiffly refused on the grounds that they, Erica especially, would visit her company in Gallia sometime.
After thanking the driver graciously (Trude and Erica grudgingly so), Minna led them to the hospital. The winding streets were considerably calmer than they were in the town center, but it was still far more active than the ones Trude was used to, and the mere presence of people gave her hope. The hospital itself was a large and ominous, a tell-tale sign of the size of the town and surrounding area.
Trude approached the door, ready to kick it down if need be, but paused as worry pulsed through her. What if it was just like before, when Chris wasn't there? What if she was, but Trude couldn't get to her?
Minna's voice drifted through her ears. "Breathe, Trude."
Inhaling and exhaling deeply, Trude nodded for Erica to open the door.
There were only a few people waiting inside, all of whom looked pitiful and sick. The trio walked through, doing their best not to stare at the pathetic states the mother and her son, or the elderly man, or the haggard beggar were in.
They approached a weary nurse, and Minna politely asked if a "Christiane Barkhorn" was admitted as a patient. The old woman simply pointed to one of the doors behind her and went back to attending to the ill in the room. Thanking the woman even as she walked away, Trude pushed forward hope and nervousness protecting her from the dismal atmosphere of the main room.
Inside the ward, a sole doctor watched the patients, but Trude paid him little mind as she scanned the room for her sister. It wasn't until he spoke that she regarded his presence.
"You can't be in here! These patients are scheduled to be moved in an hour."
Trude turned on him, quickly losing control of her magic, and it wasn't until she felt a hand on each shoulder that she stopped. Both Erica and Minna stood on either side of her, determined but calm.
Minna spoke first, "One of these patients is family. We're simply here to collect her," to which Erica added, "We don't plan on leaving without her."
The doctor appeared unimpressed. "I'm sorry, but I can't help you. These patients are in need of better care than we can provide here. They are to be transported to Berlin, and there is nothing you can do about that."
With a reassuring pat on both shoulders, Trude strode forward and grabbed the doctor's collar and, with a little magical push, lifted him straight off the ground.
"We're taking Chris," she spat angrily. "You're more than welcome to try and stop us."
Dropping the frightened man on the ground, Trude spun on her heel and joined a grinning Erica and a slightly disapproving Minna, who held Chris bridal style.
"You didn't have to be so rough," Minna scolded, handing the unconscious girl to her sister.
Trude smiled and cradled Chris close. "Thanks, both of you. I couldn't have gotten Chris back without your help."
Erica, grinning mischievously, punched Trude lightly on the arm and skipped off ahead. "What are friends for?" she laughed.
"What is family for?" Minna corrected, patting Trude's back reassuringly and planting a soft kiss on her temple. "I'm glad we could get her back."
Blushing furiously, Trude nodded in agreement. "But I'd like to think you're a little more than family," she added, keeping in step with Minna as they chased after Erica.
Minna just smiled and intertwined their arms. "After all we've been through," she said, conspiratorially, "I would hope so."
A/N: Look who's still alive and writing! One of these days I'll try to get back to a consistent update schedule, but until then, sorry to make you guys wait.
Most of the AUs I do end up being modern day, so I decided to mix it up a little a make it a Medieval AU. Since I'm terrible at backstory: Chris was attacked by brigands, and Trude used magic to get revenge, but, as magic isn't exactly well-liked historically, Trude, Minna, and Erica have to lay low and sneak around to get Chris back. The identity of the cart drivers, while not named, should be pretty obvious.
I hope that the sort-of-romantic undertones aren't too shoehorned in.
If you see any mistakes/typos/egregious errors, please point them out to me, as it's really late (or early, depending on how you look at it) where I am at the moment, and I'm a bit too tired to catch everything. Also, those of you with requests made so long ago you've forgotten you made them, never fear; I will get to those, even if it takes some more time.
(And in a fit of shameless promotion, you should check out OZ7UP's It's Friday Night, Little Darling for more request-happy, AU fun. It's quite similar to this, but just expect more sex.)