On High Guard
Aspirator
THREE
Koko could tell at one glance that their Queen was not happy. Not even remotely close to happy. Aggravated, really.
"What is this?" Hotaru demanded, whirling around to face her subject.
"A cabin." The Commander eyed the Queen's frown of disdain, but resumed glancing around the small log cabin in muted scrutiny. He looked as if picking apart every object in the room and considering it as a viable weapon. "You have just relieved one of the most dangerous man on the continent of his best Alices." He stated in a matter-of-fact tone, as if that explained everything.
"A log cabin is hardly suitable defense." The Queen countered, swiping her pale fingers at a nearby bench, then sitting pristinely down on it.
"You're right," the Commander droned without sparing her a glance, "there's not enough collateral damage." Koko almost smiled at the thought that their emotionless Commander actually had a sense of humor, however dark it is. Natsume stopped his visual dissection of the cabin to look at their Queen, "You think they won't follow our trail? Send word to the monastery, see if your friends aren't already dead." The members of the Court winced at his harsh words.
Hotaru didn't respond, and the Commander resumed his post by the door.
Suddenly there was a sharp rap on the door. Two knocks, then a beat of silence, then three knocks. Natsume knocked twice in response.
He barred the door. He scanned the room. Koko, too, followed his gaze. There was one knight, three High Guards, then Natsume himself in their defense.
Hotaru asked the same question on Koko's mind, "where are the rest of the High Guard?"
Natsume ratted off carelessly, more occupied with peeking outside the cabin through a small hole in the door, "two on scouting mission, four sent to gather supplies and food, four sent to gather horses unless you prefer we travel on foot. I left four behind at the monastery since they stubbornly refused to leave, and the other three are standing guard outside. When we depart from here, the rest of my men will catch up." He then turned to face them. "For now, there is a small party coming to ambush us. Six High Guards and myself, if necessary, should be enough to defend you, your Highness."
"What about me?" Tsubasa exclaimed, causing all four pairs of High Guard eyes to gaze at him blankly.
"You're a knight." The High Guard returned.
"What's that supposed to mean?" The Knight frowned.
Then, with a loud thud, the ambush party was upon them. To Koko and the rest of the small council's surprise, it was a large crowd of what looks like villagers hungry for blood. "You haven't upset any of the locals, here, have you?" Koko muttered sideways to his Queen when the small council moved to surround her.
An annoyed glare was his answer.
"A small ambush party?!" Tsubasa quoted the Commander in astonishment. He was right to be sarcastic, the ambush party was not small at all. Commoners in rags piled through the door like ants, pushing with their mass of bodies as the three other High Guard from outside had followed them in with troubled faces.
Tsubasa unsheathed his sword. At the same time, Mikan produced a dagger. Koko and Yuu glanced at each other, and both picked up a heavy log from the fire place.
Natsume, for the first time, actually produced a weapon in his defense, but it was a long wooden staff.
The small council flinched when Tsubasa met his first victim. The blue-eyed man half-covered in dirt with farmer's dungaree had lunged at the Knight. He ended up on the ground in a bloody gurgle.
Amidst the chaos, Koko caught sight of the Commander glancing back at them in alarm. "Do not kill, Knight!" The Commander snarled. The High Guard all seemed to understand this fact already.
Tsubasa looked down at another victim to his sword. "Why?"
"They are civilians-" Natsume hollered through the chaos.
Koko used the log in his hands to put more distance between him and an middle aged woman attempting claw at him. He glanced at the Knight next to him in panic.
"-Blood thirsty civilians-" The Knight hollered back, kicking the middle aged woman in the gut to push her out of Koko's range.
"They are being controlled with Magic." Natsume announced, "look at the blue eyes."
The small council noticed with a start that not only do they all have blue eyes, but the blue was glowing. "They don't have that in the West." Tsubasa commented with shock and horror, and Koko nodded along in terrified awe.
"They don't have dark magic west of the Ibaragi lands." The Commander agreed darkly.
Koko shuddered at the wild looks on the civilians' faces. "Pissed off any powerful dark magicians lately?" He uttered sideways to his Queen.
"Yome." The Queen growled lowly, using his last name as a sign of her irritation with him.
"If they are controlled by Magic..." Yuu spoke up nervously, looking at Mikan.
The sorceress frowned, "I've never encountered this type of magic before. I don't know the counter spell. The only thing I know to stop them is to put them to sleep."
The Commander sent her an irate glance, "then why haven't you done it already?"
"But I can't isolate people not to put to sleep. I can knock one person out, or the whole room." Mikan protested, slightly aggravated by his tone. "You have magic too!"
"I'm Enhanced," he responded curtly, expecting them to figure out the rest themselves. Mikan was what they call a Pure magician, so her magic is much more potent and powerful than any Enhanced.
She pushed forward, abandoning her post beside Hotaru, causing Koko to sidle sideways so that they created a three-man cage rather than the four-person cage they had earlier. She moved toward the center of the room until she was beside the Commander.
Natsume glanced at her while blocking a crazed clawing attack with the wooden staff. "What are you doing?" He barked, "get back."
The sorceress paid him no heed. "I'm trying to help!" When the attackers got close enough, Mikan waved her hand, palm outwards, in the air to put them to sleep - only one at a time. But they were coming at all directions, so with one hand she put one person to sleep, while on the other hand, she slashed and thrusted inexpertly with her dagger.
Koko silently applauded her for her bravery. Other witnesses, however, thought differently. Hotaru grumbled something about staying put and letting the professionals take care of things. Tsubasa glanced at their sorceress anxiously, but with the knowledge that he couldn't give up his position directly guarding their Queen. Yuu fretted, but Yuu always fretted.
It seemed endless, the civilians piled in. Someway or the other, someone would knock them unconscious. Then, they would fall to the floor in piles. Koko breathed out heavily, swinging his wooden log heavily against an attacker's head, frowning when the man stumbled back but did not fall to the floor like he wanted the man to. Slowly, but surely, Koko was starting to see the end.
When the chaos was over, there was a still silence, interrupted by the heavy breathing of the fighters. Koko made a motion to cheer but stopped when he realized all eyes were on the pair in the middle of the room.
Thus far, the Commander had never actually shed any of his own blood, too skilled to allow his perfect skin to be scratched. Until today.
By the way Natsume was glaring darkly at the blood coming out of a small but deep scar across his forearm and then at their meek sorceress, Koko knew immediately that it wasn't by the enemy's hand.
"Um...sorry?" Mikan offered, obviously intimidated by the cold stare.
In a flash, the Commander had used the staff in his hand to disarm Mikan, who fumbled from the attack. Mikan's eyes widened as the dagger flew, then narrowed when Hyuuga easily snatched it from the air. He pocketed the item.
His voice was clear but frighteningly cold. "You are a danger to yourself and those around you. You do not deserve to wield a weapon."
"But I - but I just.."
"You just - what?" He looked down at her sharply. "Intentionally decided to wound the man protecting you from harm?"
"I had it under control!"
He only stared at her, as if to say really? Without another word, he stalked off, ratting off orders to the other High Guards regarding the unconscious bodies on their hands.
Meanwhile, in the back of the room where the small council stared at their sorceress in a mixture of concern and empathy, Mikan paced back to her friends and fumed. "How-how-how dare he! Who does he-and he-he referred to himself in third person! What kind of person does that? He's crazy!"
"You're not too sane yourself," Koko uttered with a chuckle.
Mikan sent him a glare, causing the advisor to hold his hands up in mock surrender.
"He does have a point," Tsubasa coughed, when she sent her glare his way. "A little bit drastic, but a point. You should be more careful. I was worried about you over there. You can't just throw yourself in the middle of a battle like that, especially without proper training."
Seeing that no one else seemed to support her, she whirled on her Queen and friend, "Hotaru! Say something!"
"What?" The Queen shrugged, "he was right. You got in his way more than once, I saw it."
"B-But I was trying to - But why did he have to take my dagger?!" Mikan whimpered.
Koko swore there was a twinkle in her eyes when Hotaru responded carelessly, "get it back then. Or better yet, ask him to teach you how to use it."
Mikan, the idea becoming more and more appealing in her head, grinned in triumph.
Three pairs of questioning eyes turned to the Queen. She shrugged. "It's for her own good. You can't stop her, so might as well help her."
Koko had no idea then just how right Hotaru Imai was.