A/N: Finally, I get a chance to have some fun and write another chapter of this story! I hope you enjoy it as much as I love writing it. Have fun!
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You can steal my home
You can steal my freedom to choose
But my heart is mine
It is mine alone
Chapter 11: King of Hearts
The dim throne room of the enchanted castle seemed to bristle as the clocks of the castle chimed midnight. The shadows squirmed and shifted slowly as the light of the moon grew brighter. The time has come, and the throne of the king knows it.
"Fen," Yuri harshly stared into the violet eyes of his friend, "what are you doing?"
Fen did not give him an answer. Instead, he faced his shoulder towards Yuri and the others. A single stroke of moonlight made his eyes flash mysteriously.
"So that's how it is." Raven chuckled, humored by the fact that such an obvious connection missed his notice.
Karol looked at him in confusion, "What do you mean?" He looked back at Fen, "What's going on?"
Yuri ignored their questions, "Fenderick!" He roared in outrage when Fen did not move. His silence was more potent than anything he could have said. His silence only awakened the fears Yuri had about Fen since the very beginning. He drew his sword and got ready to fight the man who used to be their ally.
"Hold on!" Karol cried, still confused by the situation. He looked at Judy and saw that she too had drawn her black spear. "Y-You can't be serious." He laughed weakly.
"Does it look like a joke to you." Rita growled, "I should've known that mutt is nothing but a snake!" She felt a strange pull within her, but readied her spells regardless. Her eyes met Fen's with a strange rage. Remembering Estelle, Rita spun around to begin forming her magic arte, but when she finished the circle at her feet, she saw nothing but the violet of Fen's eyes.
"Rita!" Yuri looked back, shocked by Fen's unreal speed. He had dashed straight to the cat-eared maid within a blink of an eye.
Fen took Rita by the wrist swiftly and tripped her with a fluid swipe of his leg. Seamlessly, he had left the maid on the ground and went for Karol. Before the boy could draw his large weapon, Fen grabbed the handle of Karol's sword and tossed him towards Judy.
Judy side-stepped Karol, but was too slow to catch Fen before he weaved through Raven's arrows. She watched as he blocked Repede's knives, leaped over the hound, and punched through Yuri's Azure Edge.
Cursing when he saw his arte shatter, Yuri tried to put distance between him and Fen by using a Ghost Wolf. Fen's speed, however, proved greater than his. The brawling butler ducked under the first strike and narrowly weaved around the second strike. Yuri grunted in pain when Fen delivered a powerful punch to his gut.
"Back off!" Judy caught Fen with a Crescent Moon, and forced him back with uneven footing. The moment Fen did get his footing back, a series of Fireballs struck him in his arm.
"One against six isn't the best odds for you." Raven smirked while he slipped in to use his short blade to push Fen back even further. Fen side-stepped his first swipe and countered by sweeping his leg low. Raven leaped over his leg and brought his blade downwards. Just like Raven wanted, Fen flipped back near the throne, "Rita!"
"O frozen blade, fly sharply across the heavens!" Rita twirled around to form the sphere of azure symbols around her. She opened her palm towards a stunned Fen, "Freeze Lancer!" She felt the familiar surge of magic course through her before a barrage of icy blades shot towards Fen. Through the icy winds that drove her arte, she saw the violet eyes of Fen once more. Time slowed to halt, as a voice spoke in her ear.
What was once yours, I shall give back to you
A flood of images passed through Rita's eyes, showing her the memories that she had sacrificed. She saw those violet eyes look at her softly. She saw a talk by moonlight, a secret meeting between two young hearts. She heard Fen's voice tell her all she deserved to know. She saw a young man who had everything taken from. She saw a man who no longer had anything to call his own.
When the scene of her Freezing Lancer continued once more, she dropped to her knees. Her eyes watched as the attack tore into Fen and sent him flying into the empty throne with a dull thud. His body, limp from the solid impact, filled the throne. Now filled with a sudden burst of concern, Rita watched as Fen struggled to move.
"You're done Fen," Yuri stood over Fen's slouched form, "this fight is over." Yuri placed his sword on his shoulders in case Fen felt like struggling some more.
The wolf-eared butler coughed before smirking bitterly, "Did you have to hit me so hard?" He chuckled at his own bad joke. His violet eyes slowly blinked and looked towards Rita, "I've done my duty to that blasted man." He nodded his head towards the door to his left, "Go and save Estelle."
Karol shook his head, "But why? What duty are you talking about?" His shaken stutter was gone, and his posture was stronger. His bravery has returned.
"I was hoping you wouldn't ask that question." Fen's bitter smirk remained as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
"He's your father." Rita spoke with stoic clarity. Her eyes grew sympathetic when she saw Fen's face scrunch in disgust, "You told me before we came to this world, at Ioder's coronation." She looked at Yuri, "You knew too, didn't you?"
Judy focused her gaze on Fen, "That certainly is a surprise."
"Yeah, heard Alexei married the widowed wife of the Marketing Guild." Raven sighed and shook his head, "That man certainly does know how to make a mess of things."
Fen's violet eyes slowly opened, "Are we going to sit here and talk about how despicable Alexei is, or are you going to go and save Estelle?"
"You're not coming?" Judy calmly started to the door after her failed attempt as sounding concerned.
"I would, but I forgot Rita can throw a mean Freeze Lancer." Fen flinched when he tried to move, "I'm stuck here." Relaxing, he leaned his head back again and closed his eyes, "I'll see you guys on the other side." He heard their footsteps echo as they left the room. In moments, he was left alone with the gathering black fog.
Estelle blinked, astonished by the man standing before her. She licked her lips before nervously speaking to the stoic man with long, white hair, "W-Who are you?" She watched as he offered his finger as a perch for the Nightingale. When the glowing bird hopped onto his offered finger, he held it out towards Estelle.
"I have been your guide from the beginning." The glowing Nightingale dissolved into a shower of sparkles before disappearing, "I am Duke, king of this castle."
"You're the king of Hod?" Estelle quickly bowed respectfully, "I-I'm sorry for intruding Your Majesty, I uh, kind of stumbled into your world and I-" She stopped her ramblings when Duke held up his hand.
"Was I not the one who brought you here?" Duke looked up to the moon in the enchanted sky, "It was the will of the Full Moon to bring you here." He looked down to meet her emerald eyes, "I should be the one thanking you, for your bravery."
Estelle dipped her head, slightly embarrassed by his words, "But why me?" She looked towards the castle as she thought of Yuri, "There were other people more fit to do this."
Duke's red eyes slowly looked back up at the moon, "It is not our place to question fate's reasons for giving us the roles we are handed." He closed his eyes, silently digressing, "Estellise," He looked at her once more, "I must ask one more thing from you." She straightened attentively, "Dein Nomos is the symbol of my power as king of Hod, without it, I cannot fight the darkness that consumes this place."
"You want me to retrieve it."
"By any means possible." Duke pointed to the glowing sphere that still floated just above the ground, "Drive it into that sphere, and please hurry."
Estelle's eyes grew concerned, "How much time is left before Hod falls apart?"
He closed his eyes and sensed his floating island, "Not much time."
"But," Estelle looked at the motionless Alexei, "how am I supposed to defeat him? I'm not strong enough on my own."
Duke closed his eyes and held back an exasperated sigh, "Have you forgotten so soon Estellise?" He opened his eyes to give her a firm look, "I have been at your side since you began this journey, and I will be at your side until its end." He held out his hand and swiped it off to the side. A sudden rush of light gave birth to a glowing sword that levitated just below his open palm, "Allow me to be your sword and shield."
"My sword and shield." Estelle echoed his words. She felt a protest form in her mind. Before she could voice them, she recalled the guidance Duke had given her as the Nightingale. Her power as the Child of the Full Moon has taken her this far, who's to say she can't do it? Breathing deeply, Estelle held her hand out towards Duke, "Okay."
"I leave it in your hands." Duke stepped to Estelle and placed his hand on her head.
The cat-eared girl shut her eyes when light flooded her vision. It was only for a brief moment, however, as the world around her began to move once more.
"Nicely done Estellise." Alexei's smug tone sounded from behind her, "Thanks to you, I can finally fulfill my vision for Zaphias." He looked down from the sky and to Estelle only to see her glaring at him. Alexei smirked mockingly, "Such a sour expression is unbecoming of a lady of your upbringing Estellise."
Estelle's eyes grew firm, "I won't let you get away with this." Her frown deepened when Alexei chuckled.
"Oh please Estellise," Alexei tilted his head, "in the grand scheme of things, you're nothing but a tool to be used at the right time." He gripped Dein Nomos, "And I do believe you have exhausted your usefulness." He steadily approached her before lunging out to stab her in the chest.
Estelle raised her arm just before Dein Nomos came too close. A flash of light blocked the dark sword, giving Estelle a chance to swipe with her other hand.
In shock, Alexei barely managed to leap backwards, only suffering a shallow cut to the armor on his chest. His dark eyes wide, he examined Estelle, "What kind of trick is this?" He watched in confusion as Estelle began to cast her powerful spells.
"Holy Rain!"
Alexei cursed and looked upwards. Just as he feared, a heavy rain of light began to pelt the entire platform where they stood. He swiftly blocked the beams of light that came near him, but it opened his for attack. When he caught sight of a blur of pink, Alexei swung Dein Nomos.
"Gah," Estelle cried out as she was thrown against the high walls that lined one side of the platform. She tried to gasp, but Alexei's sudden hold on her throat prevented her from breathing.
"You insolent little girl." Alexei's calm voice held malice and a seething anger, "You should learn your place in this world." He readied Dein Nomos to strike her for the final time, but was thrown back by yet another flash of light.
While Estelle dropped to her knees, coughing, Alexei observed the white outline of a long-haired figure as it slowly faded.
Alexei's knowing smirk returned, "I see." He stood up and readied Dein Nomons once more, "Rise Child of the Full Moon," He pointed the dark sword towards Estelle, "let us see how your power compares to mine."
"How many stairs does one place need?" Raven breathlessly whined at the seemingly endless, winding steps of the tower. As the neared the summit of the tower, however, his tired expression became more alert, "I figured we wouldn't just waltz right over to Estelle."
Karol looked back, "What do you mean Raven?"
"He means that someone is obviously going to be standing in our way." Rita quickly clarified after shooting Karol an annoyed glare.
"Yeah," Yuri continued to climb the stairs, "and I think I know who." He dashed into the next room and stopped to stare knowingly at the man before him. His friends standing at his back, Yuri addressed the scythe wielding Yeager and his two assistants, "Just our luck, I was right."
Yeager twirled his scythe and turned his back to Yuri and the others, "Tisk, tisk, and here we are welcoming you with open arms." He looked at the two girls at his sides, "Gauche, Droite, shall we welcome them properly?"
Both girls drew their swords, "It would be our pleasure boss."
"Hang on Sodia, only a little bit further." Flynn's hold on Sodia tightened as he carried her towards the infirmary of the castle. He managed to patch her injuries for now, but she still needed to be looked at. His thoughts focused back on the woman leaning heavily on his shoulder when she shifted.
Sodia weakly stopped Flynn from walking forward and pointed into the darkness, "C-Captain."
"What is it?" Flynn followed her finger and immediately drew his sword. Sloppily working with only one arm, Flynn blocked the flash of two daggers and staggered towards the wall. He swiftly parried another strike and glared into the murderous eyes that met him, "You!"
Zagi grinned, "Hello, Flynn Scifo!"
A/N: Finally done with this chapter. Terribly sorry about the long absence. School is a time consumer. I hope you enjoyed it, please feel free to leave a review and please visit my forum Reaching for Vesperia when you have some time.