Chapter Sixteen - Walking the Line
Guiche looked over at the makeshift infirmary and saw Matilda sitting faithfully by Calista's side, waiting patiently for her to wake up. He very much wanted to do the same for Montmorency, but Calista had claimed that spot and trying to get her away from Montmorency's side could have had lethal consequences. Right now he was just thankful that they had kept Montmorency next to her house rather than in the infirmary where the Sith slumbered.
"Guiche, could I have some more water please?"
"Certainly my love," he said while picking up his water skin and moving to help her sit up and drink.
Montmorency didn't want to be treated like an invalid. It annoyed her greatly that she needed help to do something as simple as sit up and drink. But she had to swallow her pride while she recovered from her ordeal. At least Guiche was at her side this time and not hiding away again. Though it did bother her to think that she had to end up in a state of helplessness to get some affection out of him. Then she decided that line of thinking was unfair to him. She knew he cared about her. Katie had explained that much to her back at the academy.
But a slight resentment creeped into her mind and festered there. Guiche tried to stubbornly stand in the way of her helping Calista. Why would he have done that? Didn't he know her well enough by now to know what kind of person she was? Why couldn't he respect her decision to protect the life of her friend just as she had done for him?
Montmorency thanked Guiche for the water as he gently lay her back down into her cot and smiled at him contentedly. She didn't want to think bad thoughts, she just wanted to enjoy this moment and that's what she resolved to do.
"You know. Calista was by your side every moment of every day you were laid up here unconscious. She may be a monster, but she cares about you a great deal."
Montmorency frowned at the boy's words. "She's not a monster Guiche. I understand you would feel resentment towards her and I don't blame you for it. But she's a good person. A good friend."
"I don't want to talk about that right now my love. I just want to be with you, and to see you happy and well."
"Then come here and hold me," said Montmorency while stretching her arms out to him.
Meanwhile Calista smiled up at Matilda and then spoke, "It's a good feeling to sense happiness from Montmorency for a change."
"How long have you been awake," asked Matilda with a curious eyebrow raised.
"Not long. Just long enough," said Calista with a stoic voice.
"You'll probably want to see this since you won't believe me if I just tell you about it," said Matilda as she pick up a small mirror from her bag and put it in Calista's hands. "Take a look at your face."
"Why? Did I get nerfed while I was asleep?"
"Nerfed?"
"Cultural reference joke. Nerf Herders are considered low class uncivilized people who smear Nerf dung on each other's faces when they get drunk. So it's called Nerfing... And it's probably not so funny if it needs an explanation."
"Remind me to teach you more of our jokes. Anyway. Take a look at your face," said Matilda with a trace of urgency in her voice.
Calista opened her eyes and brought the small mirror up to look at her face. She gazed at herself and lost all sense of time. Matilda tried to get her attention but Calista was frozen in place.
"I see."
That was all Calista had to say as she handed back the mirror. Matilda's eyes widened behind her glasses.
"You see? You stared for ten minutes and all you have to say is 'I see'? What the hell happened? Are you alright? That can't be good for you! There's literally no color in your eyes!"
"My eyes are fine Matilda. This is how an Echani is suppose to look. Our eyes and hair don't have colors. It's all supposed to be white. The thing that sets me apart from other Echani is my height, my facial structure, and the way I move. I've told you about this."
"I can't tell if you're concerned, happy, or sad about it Cali."
"I don't have any feelings about it at all. There's no point. Sooner or later my eyes are going to go back to the way they were."
"I don't understand. Why would that happen?"
"Matilda. Let's not discuss it right now. There are things I need to think about before I'm ready to have this discussion with myself let alone with you."
"As long as you know you can always talk to me if you need to. I'll drop it."
"Has anyone ever told you that you have particularly potent maternal instincts?"
"Everyone. All the time. And has anyone ever told you that you have strong maternal instincts too?"
"Never."
"That's because you don't. But I respect that you try," said Matilda with a suddenly bright smile and pleasant tone.
Calista got up out of her cot and yawned loudly while she stretched and pointed up into the sky.
"Let's go greet our new arrivals."
"What new arrivals," asked Matilda as she looked up and saw a formation of over a hundred flying creatures. "Oh fuck. The Manticore Knights. I think your reign as the queen of terror is about to be contested."
"What do you mean?"
"The Manticore Knights of Tristain are, well, there no excuse for them. They're effective, don't get me wrong. But I don't think there's a strong enough word to describe how brutal, bloodthirsty, and vicious they are. They're lead by Louise's mother. So I'm sure you're going to love her," said Matilda in a cold tone.
Duke Valliere and his entourage were shown to where the Princess intended to hold council, in the ruins of House Montmorency. The Duke did not seem at all pleased with the locale and wasted no time in expressing his displeasure.
"We could have pitched a proper tent for this. Why must we have a meeting in the ruins of that pig of a man's house? This is utterly deplorable."
Calista growled from her throat while General Gramont covered his face with his palm and Princess Henrietta seemed suddenly very uncomfortable dealing with this man.
Duke Valliere then gave a proper bow to the Princess, followed by those in his entourage.
"Your highness. I wish our meeting was under better circumstances. Permit me to introduce everyone. This is my eldest daughter Eleonore, she's in charge of the logistical management of my army for this campaign."
"Your highness," she said while rising up from her deep bow.
Calista regarded the woman for a long moment with a curious expression. This was Louise's sister but they couldn't have been more different. Eleonore was her father's daughter, that much was abundantly clear. Both had blonde hair and a very small mole under their left eyes. Both seemed to need glasses. But Eleonore wore a full frame while her father favored a monocle.
But what stood out to her was how little she seemed to share with Louise. Their facial structure and body type, she saw nothing which connected them except for the pink eyes. That was the common feature she had with Louise. She could also see why Louise was so self conscious of her lack of anything in the chest area, Eleonore was fully figured, though not to the absurde extent of Kirche. She was dressed in a manner which seemed like what professionals would wear to their place of business on this world. A white loose fitting shirt with an elegant knee length skirt and practical shoes for the task before her. That was one thing she wished Louise had picked up from this woman, Louise didn't even own practical footwear. A pink scarf completed the out of place look among all the military people around her.
Then there was what Calista decided was the thing that actually rubbed her the wrong way about these two. Father and Daughter both stood with the same smug postures that would get them instantly killed for their audacity among the Echani. She should be used to people acting this way, it was normal among Sith. But their postures were giving her murderous thoughts nonetheless.
"This gentlemen here is Count Bertrand du Guesclin, second in command of the Manticore Knights."
The man had a stern expression and said nothing as his rose up.
"The rest are officers commanding the various divisions of my army. I'm sure General Gramont will work well under them."
"I see you still don't waste time throwing your pomposity around your excellency," said General Gramont in a polite tone with a bright smile.
"With an army of sixteen thousand at our backs, I don't see the point of niceties. So might we dispense with them and get to business," asked Eleonore with a forceful tone to keep things on track.
"Very well then. Duke Brinvilliers has seized Lutece, La Rochelle, and Marseille. We haven't been able to gather more information than that due to our situation here," explained the Princess.
Duke Valliere looked at Eleonore and nodded to her, she went up to the table and spread a map of Tristain with notes and mathematical equations scrawled messily all over it.
"As you can see I've given a good deal of thought to the situation as soon as we heard what was going on from that Gallian student you sent us. If we're going to move on the capital we can't bother with the other cities. The first town we need to retake will be Moissac near the academy,
"With a population of around one thousand two hundred people I estimate it'll take between one hundred and fifty to two hundred soldiers for them to maintain control of the town's resources and supply their war effort. Our army can march there and impress those soldiers into our forces as well as seize whatever supply stocks they have there to further bolster our forces."
Eleonore continued her detailed explanation by extending it to the surrounding towns with resources which would be useful to Brinvilliers' efforts. Her plan was simple, to move on the capital city and have their enemy's economy in ruins by the time they arrive.
"Your plan is based on nothing but assumption. We have a saying where I come from; assumption is the mother of all screw ups," said Calista with a stoic tone.
"Shut up! These aren't assumptions. They're estimates based on mathematical certainties. My calculations are meticulous. I know the economy, statistics, and demographics of this nation inside and out. The only assumption I've made is that Brinvilliers knows what he's doing. If he does, this is the situation."
"What are your factors here," asked Henrietta.
"Most of Brinvilliers army are mercenaries. For every one, he has to ensure each has enough money on them to remain loyal in addition to the promise of regular pay. That means it becomes very cost prohibitive to maintain large garrisons anywhere but in the major cities where they would actually be needed. There's also another factor. Someone has to keep these men paid. The average cost of one mercenary is three silver coins per day. Which means he has to have officers he can trust with with enough money to keep paying the troops in each of these towns without pocketing the coin and taking an early retirement. Those men need to be resupplied from the capital. So cutting off the trade and supply lines means we also cut off the finances,
Cutting off the finances means the armies don't get paid. Unpaid mercenary armies desert. To sustain the effort, he has to select towns to occupy which produce the things he needs to generate income. Those are the towns we intend to take back on our way to Lutece. Once we take back Lutece, the mercenary armies disperse on their own with very little encouragement from us needed. So like I said, mathematical certainty."
"I see. But if we cut off all trade, what would it mean for the people? How will they survive without goods and services," asked Henrietta.
"Normally every town has reserve food supplies for winter. But since winter just ended and planting season has just begun. I won't lie to you, it won't be easy on them. We can mitigate the damage done to some extent with the supply lines I've arranged for our army. But the longer the war goes on, the harder it will be on them. By my calculations, if the war isn't won in two months, we'll start to see famine."
"I'll ask our Romalian representative if he can arrange humanitarian aid to be brought in should we need it," said Henrietta with a nod.
"How will you pay for that your Highness? The royal treasury is in enemy hands now," asked General Gramont.
"That's easy. We retake the capital. Once Brinvilliers is out of the way, I intend to seize his lands and assets and sell them to help pay for the damage he's done. Same goes for everyone else who sided with him."
"The total value of those lands. Brinvilliers' and the five others we know support him amounts to a grand total of three hundred thousand gold coins. That's my most conservative estimate. If you let me handle the sales, I could net you twice that, easily. My commission will only be five percent," said Eleonore with a cheerful smile. Calista took one look at her and could almost see credit symbols in her eyes.
Duke Valliere looked at his daughter and gave her a satisfactory nod. She returned the gesture and stepped back to her place beside her father.
"I'll keep that in mind. But for now, let's focus on winning. We can settle whatever financial debts we incur later," said Henrietta with a firm nod.
"Very good your Highness. I'll be commanding the army with the help of my advisors. General Gramont is welcome to take a place among them," started Valliere but was cut off by General Gramont.
"Wait just a moment Valliere! This isn't the time for your sense of reason to become subordinate to your hubris. You have no experience in war. You're a business man. Where's Karin, she should be the one in command here!"
"War is business General. As for my wife. I'm afraid she was away at court when all of this started. If she hasn't come back to us here, she may have been captured. I agree she would have been a valuable asset. But we'll just have to learn to do more with less."
"A valuable asset? Is that all she is to you," asked the General without any attempt at masking his contempt.
"Would you rather I sit here and weep about it? Or would you rather we go get started doing something about it? War and Business general, two things where solutions matter more than problems."
"Duke Valliere. With all due respect. General Gramont has earned a place in my advisory council. He's my Lieutenant. Just as you are now. I don't know what the problem is between the two of you, but I won't tolerate this head butting. Act like gentlemen and work together. Also on my council are Lord Calista Zarkot of the Sith Order, Lady Matilda de Saxe-Gotha of Albion, Lady Agnes de Milan of the Musketeers, and Sir Julio Chesare of the Romalian Knights. I expect you all to co-operate. Now prepare the army to move on Moissac and lets get to work!"
"Yes your highness," was the unified response from the room.
"What are you up to Cali," asked Matilda.
"I'm trying to find that arrogant schutta. She's in charge of logistics so I was told to go through her to find a solution for Montmorency," explained Calista.
"She's over by the wagons supervising supply distribution to the troops."
"I see," said Calista as she walked away.
"Cali! Be nice! Remember she's Louise's sister. It wouldn't do for you to choke her or whatever you do to people who irk you," said a very stern Matilda.
"Yes mummy dearest. And I'll be certain to be back in time for tea and biscuits," replied Calista in the thickest and most posh Imperial accent she could muster as well as the most childish and innocent of body language she could muster up too.
Matilda decided to play chaperone for Calista, not so much for the snowy haired girl's sake, but to potentially save the lives of anyone stupid enough to push Calista's buttons. By now she knew the petite Sith well enough to understand that sarcasm was an early warning sign of potential lethality.
"When did that actually happen," she wondered to herself.
Matilda and Calista had come a long way since the day they first fought each other at the academy. It had been years since she had anyone in her life she could even call a friend and now here she was chasing after this young woman whom she called her sister. At first, Calista wanted someone she knew could be a strong ally. Matilda did her part in that alliance most certainly. But when did she actually start thinking of Calista as a friend and sister? Friendship, she decided came when Calista shared her room the night they brought Siesta back to the academy and Calista graciously made herself scarce to offer them privacy. Sisters? That came when they decided to go to war together. But she had to wonder how Calista actually felt about all this.
Little did she know her thoughts were mirrored by the petite young woman in front of her who wore a bright smile as she sensed her friend's thoughts and feelings through the Force. Calista felt a warm feeling of confidence and security granted by the company of the woman behind her. Someone who would drop everything to make sure she'd be alright in this alien environment. Calista suddenly felt guilty for not giving her as much credit as she did to Montmorency. The Sith resolved to let Matilda know through action how much she appreciated her.
Calista's warm feelings quickly soured once she was face to face with the eldest Valliere girl. Eleonore wore an angry scowl that could rival her former Master's on a particularly bad day.
"What is it? I'm busy now, so you'd better not be here to waste my time," said Eleonore with a tone as abrasive to Calista as her body language.
"I need you to make arrangements for the transportation of my friend Montmorency. She can't do much of anything on her own in her present condition," explained Calista with a stoic and icy tone which sent chills down Matilda's spine but left the eldest Valliere girl unimpressed.
"Third wagon on the left column is for the wounded. That's common knowledge by now. Why bother me with this?"
"She's not riding in a small wagon with a pile of battle hardened soldiers and mercenaries in the state she's in. I would have thought that would be common sense."
"We're at war here. I'm not about to start making special arrangements for spoiled girls. If you don't like the idea of putting wounded with the other wounded, you can carry her. Now sod off, I'm busy here."
"I think there was a miscommunication somewhere here. I wasn't making a request. I was giving you a command," said Calista with a low growl.
"Who the hell are you to be giving me commands?" asked Eleonore with narrowed eyes behind her glasses and a furiously indignant tone.
"Lady Valliere. This woman is a personal advisor to her Highness. She's also the familiar of your sister Louise. The person she's making the request for is a personal friend of the Princess. Take your pick from those reasons for why you should do as she says."
"Wait. Seriously? You're not joking are you? Louise summoned a Human familiar? A lowly familiar summoned by my incompetent sister is trying to boss me around?" Eleonore burst into laughter. "Oh that's just hilarious! Run along and play in the corner or something little doggie. I'm busy here with real people and real problems."
Calista opened her eyes widely and Matilda didn't waste a single second in grabbing Calista and fighting to pull her away from Eleonore before she got the opportunity to murder the woman.
"That's right. Run along and play now you two," said a mirthful Eleonore.
"I'm going to kill her Matilda! I don't care what happens after! Nobody speaks to me that way," said a very angry Calista as she was pulled away.
"I get it Cali. I want to rip her a new one just as badly as you do. But there's more at stake here than our prides. We'll give her a dose of reality soon enough. But for now, worry about Montmorency, not about that harpy."
"Rrrgh… You're right. Can I entrust you with making arrangements for Montmorency? I need to speak with Tabitha about getting to the capital to find Louise and Kirche. I sense they'll be in great danger without me."
"You really care about them all don't you? Especially Montmorency," asked Matilda with a kind smile.
"I do," said Calista with a slightly warmer tone than she had before.
"It wasn't so long ago that you told me we shouldn't allow ourselves to care for others unless we're strong enough to protect them."
"I'm not a thirteen year old Sith Acolyte anymore. I also have someone I can depend on when I can't be here to look after her myself. At least I hope I do."
"You do Cali. I won't betray your faith in me. No matter what."
"I know. I believe in you Matilda. Agnes betrayed us. The Princess has been forced to distance herself from us. But nothing and no one may come between us and live to tell about it," said Calista with a wink.
"I believe in you too Cali."
"Oh, Matilda. One more thing. Make sure Guiche behaves himself with Montmorency while I'm gone. If he steps out of line or says something stupid to her, just ask yourself what I'd do to him, and then do something worse."
"Hah! Count on it."
The two parted company and Calista went over to Tabitha who was deeply involved with a book while standing next to her dragon. Suddenly Calista had a flash of someone who looked vaguely like this girl doing something similar next to a mighty Imperial Bomber. Calista shook the image out of her head, sure they looked and behaved similar but they weren't the same person. When she thought about it, a lot of people here reminded her of people she knew in her old life. Calista didn't believe in coincidence so she chose to dismiss it as her imagination. Besides, Ice was taller than Tabitha, she was sure of it.
"Tabitha. How long do you think it would take for us to get to the capital with your dragon? Kirche and Louise will be needing our help."
Tabitha put her book down and looked at Calista with her usual blank expression. The Sith just felt that putting her book down was a sign of what she was thinking, and it was confirmed when she sensed a feeling of worry wash over the young girl before her.
"Six hours. Get permission. Then we'll go," said Tabitha.
"I'm not asking anyone's permission to go help my Apprentice. I hope you wouldn't ever feel compelled to seek permission to help your best friend."
Tabitha then turned to her dragon who lowered her neck inviting them to climb up.
"Good. Never ask who's going to let you Tabitha. Ask who's going to stop you. If there's an answer to that question, break the chain."
"Good advice," was the stoic answer.
After nightfall, Marlene lead Kirche and Louise through the city. They stuck to the dark alleys to evade the patrols enforcing the curfew as they slowly made their way to their destination. It was a long silent walk in which they would have to spend much of their time waiting for patrols to pass before they could cross streets into other alleys. The back ways were almost pitch black with only very little moonlight coming through between the buildings to illuminate their path. The air was thick with the smell of human waste emptied from chamber pots in the buildings around them. Occasional splashes of more being added to the mess served to further remind them of what they were walking through but could not comment on for fear of alerting anyone to their presence. The sound of rats skittering about made the task all the more challenging as Louise fought to contain her fear and disgust.
Eventually the trio came to a seemingly innocuous door which Marlene opened and lead them into tunnels beneath the city block. Marlene quietly explained that these underground tunnels were largely sealed off by the previous King, but that some parts had been reopened by unsavory individuals who needed a discreet way to get to their places of business and conduct illicit trade.
It was pitch black inside and so Kirche took out her wand and ignited a flame on the end to serve as a torch to light their way from here on. Even with the light however, Louise found it difficult to focus. She decided to close her eyes and try to see if she could figure out how Calista managed to always keep her eyes closed and still somehow perceive the world around her but she succeeded only in tripping on something and nearly falling over.
"Whoa, are ya alright Louise?" asked Derflinger as he popped himself slightly out of his scabbard to speak.
"Yeah, I'm alright Derf. Though, I feel the need to ask. How do you see?" asked Louise in a voice which was just a little louder than a whisper.
"This ain't the time Louise. Just focus on what you're doing now."
"You're right. Sorry."
"Don't apologize either. It's dangerous down here, I need ya to stay alert."
Louise continued to follow the two in front of her. She was silently thankful that neither of them decided to scold her for having a conversation with Derf while they were all meant to be quiet. The trio walked up the tunnels until they came to another door. Marlene knocked upon it in a distinctive pattern which let the person on the otherside know he could open it safely. When he saw the three young women his eyes widened slightly but he didn't say anything at all to them and simply shut and locked the door behind them as they proceeded up some stairs.
The space they emerged into set them all on edge. Kirche had been to a lot of bad places in her short life and she thought the Enchanted Fairy Inn was bad. But she'd never imagined a place like this could even exist. Not even the most twisted of fiction writers could have imagined a scene like this one. It was a tavern, with a bar in the center and tables all around the room in a semi-circle. The patrons were like a who's who of wanted posters around Tristain. Rapists, murderers, black market dealers and rogue mages. The room was filled with smoke, that was the first thing Louise noticed because of the stinging in her eyes. It was a mix of tobacco and other things Louise had never smelled before in her life. But Kirche knew those scents well enough as she had gone through them all in her quest to find something to numb her pain.
Next, Louise realized how much attention was on them. It wasn't overt, but she felt all the eyes in the room were upon them. There were subtle grins from all the men as they each picked one of the trio they liked best. Kirche stretched the fingers of her right hand and closed her fist to crack her knuckles before relaxing her hand again in anticipation as one tall man stood and started walking up to her with a twisted smile on his face.
"We're going to have some fun in here tonight boys," he declared to the room which drew nods and grins as more men stood up and started to approach them.
With a sleight of hand trick, Kirche ejected her wand from her sleeve and muttered a spell to transmute her wand into a dagger and didn't waste a single moment in showing him just who was going to be having all the fun tonight. With her left hand she grabbed the man by his neck and with her right hand, she impaled him in the crotch.
He screamed in agony and terror as she she ripped her dagger out of him and pushed him to the floor while every man in the room covered their crotches with their hands and cringed in empathy.
"The only one getting fucked tonight is you," said Kirche with a cold tone and an evil grin on her face.
"Oh no lady. You're payin' for that. With your bodies, with your lives, and with interest," said another man as he pulled his own knife from inside his jacket and started towards them with others gathering around him. Knives and all manner of bladed and blunt weapons emerged from the growing crowd gathering around them like a pack of rabid wolves. The candlelight of the room reflected off the weapons like the moon light over the sea, only this was a sea of sharpened steel.
Over at the bar a tall and well muscled balding man whose face and hairline was marred with grotesque scars was having some soup and stood up from his bar stool. A number of men noticed this and very quickly rushed back to their seats. The girls were bewildered, first the whole room was ready to take them on, but suddenly dozens lost their nerve. A few others turned to look around at what was happening to the cowards and noticed why the others were quickly retreating as their eyes fell on the man.
The man was tired of their hesitation and picked up the spoon from his soup bowl and held it up for them to see. "Anyone who tries it, ends up like my soup."
At that point all semblance of courage fled the room and it suddenly felt very cold as the crowds put away their weapons and sat back down like misbehaving dogs after being scolded by their master.
"So. A prostitute, an arsonist, and a murderer walk into a bar. If this doesn't go well for you girls the punchline could still end up on your tombstones," said the man in a gruff voice as he gestured to the empty bar stools around him while he sat back down in front of his soup.
The three girls looked at each other but Kirche and Louise had their eyes locked with each other in surprise.
"Arson?"
"Murder?"
The two girls shook their heads at each other and cautiously went to sit down with the man. Louise looked around the room and realized that nobody even dared to look at them, or even turn their heads in their general direction in case someone might think they're looking. She just couldn't understand how one man with a spoon could change the atmosphere in this room so much.
"My name is Felix. Now tell me why you've come to this place."
"We came here looking for you. I'm Kir-"
Felix put a finger on her lips so quickly she didn't even realize what had happened until he spoke again.
"I'm not interested in your names Arsonist. You three were dead the moment you walked in here and now you're living on borrowed time. Do not waste it."
Kirche and Marlene both looked at Louise, this was for her to explain. Louise in turn took a deep breath and looked at the man in front of her. She tried to feel the flow of the Force around this man to give her an impression of what she was dealing with exactly but she was too inexperienced to interpret the feelings she was sensing, all she could feel was the myriad of mixed emotions from the room around her and couldn't sort through it.
"You don't have all night Murderer. You only have my curiosity, not my patience. Once I finish this soup, I'll be leaving."
"We came here to ask you to help us break into the Central Prison."
"And why would I care enough to help you do that? Or did you not think that far ahead?"
"Actually. I didn't. All we know is that you're the only one who could potentially accomplish a break out from there."
"I could, it is possible. But the question remains, why should I?"
Kirche interjected herself quickly before Louise could say something, "Because I have it on good authority you're looking for a way to upset the new establishment. The prisoners we want to liberate would very much upset the establishment."
"Your information is good. But your offer is weak. Just like your entrance here was stupid. You resorted to murder in a room full of murderers. You can't always fight fire with fire Arsonist. Liberating prisoners doesn't upset the establishment. One of the first things Brinvilliers had his cronies do was let everyone out of there to work for him. He has no interest in justice or the law. So why should I help you do the same?" he asked while taking another spoon of soup into his mouth.
"The people we need to rescue are Karin the Heavy Wind and the Queen herself," said Louise.
"Yes Murderer. I figured that out already. Your mother and her best friend. I'm still not interested."
Louise was utterly flabbergasted by his words and their cold delivery, "You can't seriously believe they deserve to be in that prison!"
"Everyone is guilty Murderer. There are no innocents, only the poorly interrogated. In the absence of men like me justice has a way of self regulating. The law of the land has convicted and sentenced them."
"Are you saying you would torture my mother?!"
"Yes Murderer. The law is the law. It doesn't matter who's making the laws. The purpose is to maintain order. His order, the King's order. I don't care, as long as order is maintained."
Louise thought about his words, she wasn't going to get anywhere using logic and reason with this man. Then she thought about Kirche's display of strength when they walked into this place. Killing that man in what amounted to a horrific violation of his manhood, just as he'd intended to violate her womanhood. But it backfired and made a bad situation worse. Her thoughts drifted to Calista and she wondered what she would have done and she felt so stupid for never having thought about it before. The dining hall, Calista used her power to inspire fear. Choking out Old Osmond with the Force, ripping away the staff's magical implements. She inspired fear with these actions and let everyone know their only choices were submission or death.
But this man in front of her, fear was as alien to him as Calista was to this world. Louise needed to be creative with her application of Calista's methods. This man, just like Calista, commanded the fear of everyone around him. She had to take that fear and make it her own. The room needed a reason to fear her as much as they feared him. She wouldn't get anything out of this man unless she proved herself his equal.
"You are the one betraying the law you seem to hold so dear. You call us by our crimes, I wonder what your's are? Now I accuse you of failing to provide aid to the Executors of her highness Princess Henrietta de Tristain. The rightful ruler of this nation."
Felix cracked only a very small smile at the seemingly harmless petulance of this girl and her meaningless name dropping until something felt very wrong and he was thrown from his chair into the back wall a full three meters away from where he was before.
Kirche and Marlene jaw dropped. "Louise! We're trying to get him to help us not give him a reason to kill us," said Kirche with a tone of shock and dread as she drew her wand and held it pointed behind Louise at the crowd of men who stood up and gathered to watch in horror at this little pink haired girl who threw Felix around like a doll.
Felix started to laugh loudly, maniacally. The thugs in the room felt their blood run cold at the sound of Felix's mirth. "Did you just do that to me little girl?" he asked while looking at her to try and figure what trickery she used to accomplish the feat.
"I could do it again if you doubt me," Louise stated coldly while she closed her eyes and focused to float his spoon out of his bowl and held it suspended above her open palm. The silence of the room was deafening as everyone watched the little pink girl levitate the spoon above her hand. A few looked around the room and particularly at her companions but the only one with a wand had it pointed at them, not at the spoon which convinced them Louise really was doing what she was doing.
The next thing Louise heard was the world shattering noise of a flintlock pistol going off. She heard the lead projectile buzz past her ear and and impact something behind her. She turned her head slightly to see a hole in the wooden support beam of the bar just beside and behind her. From the corner of her eye saw a few strands of pink hair floating away from her head. Louise then looked back to Felix and saw the smoking gun in his hand. He quickly stood up while discarding the discharged firearm and drew a knife as he got a hold of Marlene and used her as a human shield before either Kirche or Louise could react.
Kirche brought her wand to point at Felix but the man was unimpressed and held his knife closer to Marlene's throat, close enough for blood to drip down his polished blade and dance with the light reflecting from it. Kirche clenched her teeth in fury.
"Mages can't use magic on one target while it's in proximity to whatever they want to avoid collateral damage on. And whatever power you use seems to require a lot of mental concentration, next time, don't show off," he said to her with a smirk.
Kirche knew he was right. If she used any magic, especially fire magic, she would hurt or kill Marlene along with him. There was nothing she could do and that feeling of helplessness only further fueled the fire in her blood at the sight of Marlene's dripping down that knife. Suddenly the only thing she could think of was the day they fought Matilda. Something Calista said to them all started burning in her ears. "Attachments are a weakness. Don't let yourself care for anything you aren't strong enough to protect." She didn't have more than a superficial understanding of what those words really meant, until this exact moment.
Louise meanwhile refused to allow her face to betray her concern, this man figured out her weakness far too quickly. He was sending her a message, that she'd never again be able to surprise him with her power. She'd have to take the lesson to heart because the next time she'd take a lead ball to her brain. Louise was also furious about the reversal of her fortune once again. Though she managed to command the fear for a moment, Felix was very quick to take it back and reassert his dominance over the situation, and his power over their lives and deaths. Louise had a long way to go before she could handle a situation like this with Calista's passion and determination.
"So. May I finish my soup now? Or do you require another lesson?" asked Felix with a dismissive tone.
"I take it you still won't be helping us," said a suddenly very dejected Louise.
Felix released Marlene who rushed into Kirche's warm embrace before he spoke again, "I didn't say that. I said I wanted to finish my soup."
"So you'll help us then?" asked Kirche.
"Yes," was his direct response as he picked up his barstool and sat down to his soup.
"What changed your mind?" Louise asked feeling slowly more elated as she gently seated herself down on a barstool and fought to keep her nerve as the adrenalin left her system.
"Yes. I won't help you. My soup is cold now. I don't like cold soup," he said to her with a cool calm.
"Can't you give a straight answer to anything?" asked Kirche who only getting more angry as each moment passed.
Felix picked up his mug and took a big sip. There was a long silence before he broke it, "I don't always drink beer. But when I do, I prefer something other than this Tristain shit."
"Why won't you help us?" asked Kirche with an angry scowl on her face.
"Arson, Murder, and Prostitution are all good enough to get you into the prison. Just knock and confess. You don't need me."
"Louise, Marlene. Let's go. We don't have time to waste here," said a furious Kirche as she grabbed her two companions and pulled them along with her.
"So now what? We don't have time to do our own research on the prison," asked Louise once they were back in the tunnel.
Kirche stopped and turned to Louise so her improvised torch light would illuminate both of their faces while she placed a hand on her shoulder. She spoke with the calmest and most professional tone she could muster to the short pink haired girl, "I only have one question Louise. Answer me honestly. Can you trust me?"
"I want to Kirche."
"Good enough. We'll take Marlene back to the inn. And then we'll go get your mom and the queen."
"How?" asked Louise, conflicted between hopefulness and cynicism.
"I don't know exactly how. What I know is that we're all out of time, and out of options. If we don't step up now, later will be too late."
"Kirche! You can't. Just the two of you? You'll both die," said Marlene as she grabbed onto Kirche and pleaded with her.
"This is what we came to the city to do Marlene. There's too much at stake here for us to do nothing. We have to try."
"Kirche. I don't want to lose you over something as petty as revenge," said a tearful Marlene.
"There's nothing petty about it my love. But this right now, this is about more than vengeance. If it was just about that, I'd find a better way to get what I want."
"What could it possibly be about then? Why do you care?"
"It's simple my love," started Kirche before giving Marlene a soft kiss on the top of her head as she held her close. "If I can't be trusted to stand by my friend, how could you ever trust me to stand by you?"
Louise heard her words and wasn't sure what to say. Just when she thought things couldn't be more awkward the two locked lips. She was trapped in this situation watching the two of them in their moment with nowhere to go to give them privacy. She closed her eyes and silently thanked Calista for the meditation training before forcing those feelings and the whole image out of her mind.
Lutece Central Prison
"Karin! If you keep this up I'm going to run out of dress long before you run out of stupidity," said Marianne as she tore off a new strip of her dress and grabbed onto Karin's hand to wrap her finger.
Karin had torn out three finger nails so far trying to remove a nail from her bed. This had been the fourth. Karin clenched her teeth tightly to keep from expressing the pain but it was just too much this time and she roared loudly as her friend pulled out the fingernail and quickly wrapped the bleeding finger.
"Rrrragh! One of you get in here! I'm going to reach up your ass and string you up by your own entrails," yelled a furious Karin as she stood up and started banging on the door.
"You're only going to make your hands hurt even more," said a calm Marianne as she lay back in her bed.
"How can you be so damned nonchalant about this?" asked a furious Karin as she punched the door for good measure with all her might. Then stopped with her fist pressed against the door and inhaled sharply.
"Told you,"
Karin clutched her hand and walked over to sit on her bed with an expression of silent agony on her face, her eyes watered as she fought to suppress the pain.
"Why is it that small wounds hurt the most?!"
"I doubt you would have agreed with yourself back when you had an arrow in your butt."
"That hurt less than this," said Karin in a small screechy voice as she cradled her hand.
"So the nails won't come out. The only tool we had was a spoon we could have used to pull the nails but instead you tried to use it as a wand and blew it up so thoroughly that it would have made Louise proud. Then we savagely beat up the poor boy who came to feed us and couldn't take down all the guards outside, so now we're going hungry. Look at it this way, you'll probably end up bleeding to death and I'll end up starving to death long before we get to the gallows."
"That's not funny."
"No. I suppose it isn't. But I'm out of ideas now."
"What about breaking a bed and making some kind of weapon from the wood?"
"And what good will a wooden stick do against dozens of trained soldiers with armor and steel swords?"
"All we have to do is beat down a few of them and take their weapons."
"Didn't we already try that? Though I suppose it might be worth another try since we have nothing to lose at this point. But if the noise doesn't get them to open the door and check out the disturbance we're not getting out until they come to escort us to our execution."
Meanwhile, outside the prison. Louise and Kirche walked out of the dark alleyway and faced the front gate of the building. There was only one way in or out of the prison and that was the front gate which was only tall enough to accommodate the prisoner transport wagons that would come in and out.
"The prison is divided into three sections, which is what each of those three buildings are. Once we're in we're going to have to find a prison roster to see which cells your mother and the queen are in,
"Louise. I hope you understand what's going to happen once we're in. You can't hesitate, you can't show any pity, or mercy. We can not allow anyone the opportunity to get help. It's going to be messy enough with just the guards inside."
As she explained, the tall redhead took out her wand and transmuted it into her shield and ax just as Louise had seen her do during their fight back at the academy. Louise closed her eyes while she draw Derflinger from her back and held him tightly in both of her hands.
"She's right Louise. This ain't gonna be pretty. We're gonna have to kill a lot of people who are just doin' their jobs," said Derflinger.
"I get that. But their jobs are to keep my mother, the queen, and who knows how many others in this prison unjustly. Because they aren't willing to be strong and do the right thing, they deserve what they're about to get. I know that probably sounds cold of me, but it's the truth. If they're too weak or too ignorant to see the truth of the world around them and do something about it, their lives are pointless."
"That is cold Louise. I get the need to rationalize, but that's a bit much. These people just want peace and security, they want to work and feed their families. No one of them thought the two of us would come in and kill them for that. Take a step back," said Kirche with a surprised tone of voice and looked at Louise with her eye widened.
Louise opened her pink eyes again and looked at the gate across the street from her. There were two guards standing watch who hadn't noticed them yet.
"If that's true Kirche. If they have families to feed, they're setting a poor example for them. I can't abide that. Not as long as I have the power to do something about it."
"Oh. So power means you get to pass judgement on everyone just because they're weaker than you? You know it wasn't that long ago when you were the one without power having judgement passed on you by those who do. So tell me how you're better," asked Kirche in a tone Louise couldn't quite figure out. She wasn't judgmental or forceful, she just sounded, interested.
Louise stopped in her tracks and turned to look at Kirche with her eyes wide. "You're right. What the hell was I thinking? How could I say any of that?"
"Power changes people Louise. You're going through a transition from someone who had none, into someone who has a lot of it. If Calista is any indication, power enough to rival any mage. The question you have to ask yourself Louise Valliere, is what you plan to do with that power? Will you be the person I just saw? Or will you aspire to more? I can't give you the answer to that question Louise. I can just be here to kick your butt when you step off the path you've chosen."
"I haven't chosen a path."
"Now would be a good time."
Louise looked ahead at the guards who were still oblivious to them. She thought back on the things Calista had explained to her, but there wasn't anything to guide her in this moment. Calista, the crowned queen of foreshadowing, didn't give any wisdom to help in this moment. Was that intentional? Then Louise realized why it was, when she chose to agonize over this exact question her solution was to lay on her back in the middle of a grassy field and dawdle instead of working to find the answer to her question.
Now here she stood, having come full circle back to the moment that started this whole mess she was in. One single moment of indecision, lead her to this moment. Another moment of indecision could ruin everything.
"You know… I once resented being a Fire Mage. All it does is inflict pain and death. Other magics can be used to build, but fire magic only destroys."
"What's your point Kirche?"
"My point is that I've accepted what I am. I do the best with it that I can. Why can't you do the same?"
"I suppose you're right. No matter what I choose, there will be consequences. It's the same for these men. They made a choice to ignore the injustice of what's going on inside that prison. For whatever reason, they made their choice. So I stand by what I said. They chose wrong. Now they have to accept the consequences of their choices. Just like I will."
"Now that, I can accept. Let's do this."
Louise gave Kirche a nod and started walking towards the guards again. Kirche directed her ax towards the men. They were standing together and having a conversation. Kirche hoped it was interesting because it was the last they'd ever have. She muttered a spell chant under her breath before concluding it in her normal tone of voice, "Ignite."
The air around their heads suddenly caught fire with an explosion which rendered them unconscious as the flames spread to the rest of their bodies.
Louise blinked at Kirche with shock. "Kirche… When we fought. Why didn't you do that to me?"
"I wasn't trying to kill you. Just put you in your place..."
Louise gulped audibly and realized she'd badly misread Kirche's emotions during their fight. She really wasn't out to kill her as she thought. But now Louise was confounded by the true depth of Kirche's power.
"Bust out the lock Louise."
"Huh? Oh right,"
Louise looked at the massive gate and then her eyes settled on the door built into it for people to walk through without the need for opening the whole thing. The door was reinforced metal with what was probably a single iron rod holding it shut to keep people out. She pulled back her left hand and focused the power of the Force with the push ability Calista made her practice so much. She had to use enough power to bust the lock without making a huge scene.
Then something else occurred to her, she didn't see why it wasn't possible. She closed her eyes and imagined what was on the other side, she used the Force to feel around with her mind until she found the slide lock and opened it to unlock the gate.
As soon as the lock slid open the next thing Kirche heard were the baffled questions of the two guards behind the door. She didn't hesitate with her move, she kicked open the door and rushed up to the first man she saw. She brought her ax to hack his face, she then slammed the next man with her shield while Louise rushed in and stabbed him through the chest with Derflinger to finish him off.
"There's no turning back now," said Kirche.
Louise pulled Derflinger out of her victim's chest and looked at Kirche with resolved eyes. "I know. But I passed the point of no return a long time ago. I just didn't want to accept it."