Once again, a tricky part to do right.
Chapter 29 – Out of Context (Pegasus Moon)
Zola smirked as she stood before Lindow's town center building, which also served as its chapel. She and her squad had just defeated the Varley ambush, having lost only two other members of their own force, and driven the last of their men into the town center. They now had the building surrounded.
However, there were screams of women, children, and other terrified people from within.
One of the Varley soldiers then shouted, "You Eagles back off, you hear me?! We have hostages! Come any closer and their blood will be on your hands!"
"We're serious!" shouted another Varley goon. "We'll kill all of 'em!"
Zola had to sigh at this while some of the other Eagles looked her way. Most of the other Eagles under Zola's command were other penal troopers like her, though none were nearly as deadly as the blonde murderess. Since she was the highest ranked member there, it fell to her how they would proceed.
Then, another Varley goon shouted, "You think we're bluffing?! Here!"
The severed head of an old man flew out of a window and rolled across the mud toward Zola. The cries and whimpers of the hostages within told Zola that whoever the old man was, he had been beloved.
But Zola wasn't fazed at all.
After a second, she then shouted, "So, that's your plan, is it? The old human shield trick? Can't say I haven't seen that one a dozen times now."
As she spoke, Zola walked over to a nearby burning cart, picking up an unlit torch off the ground.
"But lemme ask you something…"
Zola dipped the torch into the flames, setting it alight. She then turned to the town center as the flickering fire illuminated the blood splattered all over her face. The other penal troopers with Zola, knowing what she planned to do, grabbed torches of their own and ignited them.
With a sadistic smile, Zola said, "What makes you think I give a fuck?" Then, she shouted to her comrades, "BURN IT DOWN, BOYS!"
The penal soldiers cheered as Zola swung her arm back, and then flung her torch at the wooden building, followed by the torches of the others. The hostages and soldiers within screamed and cried out in panic as the building was set on fire.
As Zola began to laugh at hearing the cries of men, women and children within, a sudden shout caught the attention of the Eagles.
"Regenschauer!"
Zola's laughter stopped instantly as she looked up and saw a raincloud rapidly materialize over the town center. Seconds later, torrents of water began to fall, soaking the building and the Eagles. A particularly dense amount of rain came down on Zola herself, drenching her instantly. Zola sputtered as she stumbled back, wiping her damp blonde hair out of her eyes as she looked at the town center. The flames had been put out, leaving smoke billowing from its charred walls.
Knowing who was responsible, Zola turned to the sound of wingbeats and shouted, "What the FUCK, Trau?!"
As she swooped down on Zorne's back, Trauare said, "Getting ahead of yourself again, Zola?"
"What's your fucking problem? You're spoiling my fun!"
In a completely unplayful tone, Trauare answered, "I'm following the Commander's orders, Sergeant. She sent me to help you secure the hostages. And here I find you about to use them for a bonfire."
"Hey, you wanna march in there and save 'em? Be my fucking guest."
Before Trauare could reply, a shout came from inside the town center.
"W-W-Wait! WAIT! We surrender! We surrender!" shouted one of the Varley soldiers.
"P-Please, spare us! W-We were only bluffing!" shouted another Varley goon.
"I don't want to be burned alive!" cried another one.
As more cries of surrender came from the building, and as other members of the Black Eagles moved in to subdue the Varley soldiers, Zola was enraged at being denied the chance to slay more victims. In her frustration, she swung her axe into a nearby market stall, smashing it to pieces with one blow.
Trauare had to glare at this. She knew Zola was in for a world of trouble once Ladislava heard about this.
…
As the others had expected, Ladislava was furious by the time she arrived in Lindow, having heard of Zola's actions. She immediately dismounted Fenix as the conscripts and Eagles tended to their wounded and to the hostages. Salia looked as the families wept as they embraced their loved ones, soldier and hostage alike. Some wept upon learning that their loved ones had perished, while others told them what Zola had tried to do. The jubilation and relief of the conscripts seeing their families safe quickly soured upon learning that a Black Eagle had tried to kill them.
Salia groaned at this, knowing it would fall to her to try and smooth things out with the conscripts. They didn't need to make an enemy out of them.
Zola, still scowling at Trauare's interference, turned as she heard Ladislava storming toward her with Setiawati close behind.
"Oh, Ladi," said Zola. "You finally kill that–"
Zola turned to Ladislava and was immediately met by a steel-plated punch to the face. The blonde staggered back as she tasted blood.
"What the hell were you thinking, Zola Axberg?!" Ladislava shouted.
Spitting, Zola said, "Finally, I spill some of my own blood today!"
"Are you so bloodthirsty that you would slaughter civilians?!"
"Hey, you said to secure this place, and that's what I was doing until Trauare got in my way."
"You're lucky she stopped you, Zola. We promised these men that we would rescue their families and you almost massacred them! Are you insane?!"
"Hey, you never mentioned a fucking thing about hostages in the briefing. Besides, why should I give two shits about a bunch of dirt farmers who can't defend themselves?"
"What are you getting at, Zola?" asked Trauare.
"Maybe if these sods had some balls, we wouldn't be having this conversation. But my boys and I find them cowering in their hovels, with food and soiled bandages on their tables that they gave to the Varley's. You go telling me how innocent they are if they were feeding and patching up our enemies."
Ladislava was about to refute this when one of the village women shouted, "They made us do it!"
"They said that they'd kill us if we didn't give them our provisions!" said another hostage.
Other hostages raised their voices, confirming the same as the first two.
Zola then shouted back, "Then maybe you all shoulda told Varley and his punks to go fuck themselves!"
"Are you crazy?!" shouted another hostage.
"We couldn't fight them!"
"We aren't warriors!"
"We don't have any weapons!"
The protests continued as Zola turned back to Ladislava, who continued to glare angrily at the blonde.
"You heard them," said Ladislava. "They had no choice."
"Oh, but you see, Ladi?" said Zola. "That's where you're wrong. If I were in their boots, I'd rather die than kiss the ass of some noble prick. They could've refused. They were just too fucking spineless to do it."
"What is your point, Axberg?" said Setiawati.
"Why should we give a damn about useless crapsacks like them? Isn't that what Her Majesty wants? A world where only the strong deserve power?" Waving a hand at the hostages and conscripts, Zola added, "So what's their place then, eh? What place does the Empire have for people who can't do shit?"
Everyone who could hear Zola's tirade was silent. Salia and Trauare looked around to see the townsfolk and conscripts were disturbed by Zola's words. They felt she was right. What place did they have in an Empire where only the strong and capable were meant to thrive?
Ladislava, however, was not shaken by Zola's rhetoric.
"You are taking Lady Edelgard's words well out of context, Zola," Ladislava said angrily. "Not everyone can be as strong as you, but that doesn't mean they have no place in the Empire. They are still our citizens, and it is up to us to give them the opportunity to rise and fall by their own merits. You have no right to kill them simply because they feared for their safety."
"Oh, is that so?" said Zola. "Well, maybe if they hadn't been such fucking cowards, they might've warned us about Varley's pricks and the new kid might not have bought it!"
Zola swung her arm toward a body that lay on the ground. Ladislava turned to look at it. Her anger slightly gave way at seeing Yosen's corpse.
"You can't blame them for that, Zola," said Ladislava. "And I suggest you start tempering that bloodlust of yours. Is that clear?" Zola grumbled at this, so Ladislava said commandingly, "Is. That. Clear. Sergeant?"
Sighing in annoyance, Zola said dismissively, "Yes, ma'am."
Ladislava was not pleased at all with Zola's response, knowing the blonde fighter wasn't agreeing with her.
Before Ladislava could say anything else, though, the two heard a child cry out in sorrow, "Grampa!"
The aces turned to see two children bawling with their mother over the severed head of the old man the Varley thugs had killed earlier. The mother was also weeping at the death of her elderly father.
"Your work too?" Ladislava hissed at Zola.
"What? Fuck no. My axe only has the blood of Varley's on it right now." She then pointed to the Varley goons, who were now bound together by ropes, and said, "One of them did that – hell if I know which one."
Ladislava was about to verify Zola's claim with her squad-mates when a middle-aged woman said, "It wasn't her!"
The aces turned to the woman as she pointed at one of the Varley prisoners.
"It was him! I saw him do it!"
The Varley prisoner went wide-eyed as he gestured in protest. Ladislava could tell a guilty man when she saw one, but she needed more than one person to verify it.
"Did anyone else see what happened?" Ladislava asked the crowd.
After a few seconds of hesitation, another elderly man raised his hand and said, "I saw it. I saw him kill Henry in cold blood. Henry never did anything to upset him."
"I saw too!" said a young teenage boy.
A fourth witness then said, "Aye! That ruffian's the culprit!"
This stirred the conscripts' ire, with some voicing their desire to kill the prisoner for his crime. But just as one of them moved to draw his blade, Salia shouted, "Enough! You will all have justice for the old man's death."
Zola chuckled at this and said, "Allow me. My way of making it up to these poor sods."
Ladislava thought about it for a moment, and then sighed and said, "Fine."
The prisoner yelped in protest as two other Eagles led him by the arms and forced him to kneel before Zola, who rested her axe against her shoulder as she licked her lips.
"Any last words?" Zola asked in anticipation.
"P-P-Please! I'm sorry! I won't do it again!" the prisoner protested, but his words were only met with scorn from the crowd.
Zola could only chuckle at the prisoner's pathetic plea. Grasping her axe, she made a wide overhead swing and shouted as she brought it's blade down on the prisoner's neck.
Ladislava watched Zola's sadistic grin widen as the prisoner's blood splashed on her face.
…
The next morning, as she stood in the Black Eagles' command tent with Trauare and Setiawati, Ladislava was thankful things had gone as smoothly as they did. Only four of the Eagles had died, including Yosen, all who had been newer recruits, with twelve other Eagles wounded and only six mounts slain. Most of the casualties from the battle had been conscripts, but in the end, Count Varley and his little army had been all but wiped out. Any other commander would have considered it a resounding success.
But Ladislava knew she'd be writing letters of condolence to the families of the men she had lost in the battle. She hated it every time it came up, but she always took it upon herself to write the letters personally. After all, those men and women were her responsibility, and every time one of them died, she felt it was her fault.
Of course, that wasn't the only thing on Ladislava's mind. She was still thinking about how to deal with Zola. Though the blonde deserved to be punished, she was also the one keeping the other penal troopers in the Black Eagles in check. Ladislava hated to admit it, but she still needed the former bandit as part of the squadron.
"Commander?" said Salia as she entered the tent. "Everything alright?"
Ladislava did not respond.
"Thinking about what Zola said?" Salia asked.
"A little," Ladislava answered. "What about you, Salia? Do you think she's right? Do you think the Empire has no room for those who can't rise?"
"You can't have a nation only made of the best people. Just because some people are weak doesn't mean we get rid of them."
"You are too sentimental, Salia," said Setiawati.
"What's that supposed to mean, Seti?" Trauare asked as she sat leisurely off to the side. "Don't tell me you agree with Zola."
"While I do not approve of Axberg's actions, her words ring true. It is how things are in Brigid – if you are weak, you do not survive."
Ladislava wanted to refute Setiawati's point, but before she could speak, another figure entered the tent. This one was dressed in a black robe with a shroud over his face.
She recognized the uniform. This man was one of Hubert's lackeys.
"Commander Ladislava," said the man. "I come bearing new orders for you and your squadron on behalf of Lord Vestra."
"What does Hubert want now?" asked Ladislava.
"You are to report to Fort Merceus and meet with him. He has a new mission to give you."
"Let me guess," said Trauare, "the details of this mission are too important for him to give to you?"
"That is correct. His orders are that you speak with him in person regarding the mission."
"Typical Hubie." Trauare shrugged and then said, "No rest for the best, right?"
"What of the wamil?" asked Setiawati. "The men who aided us in our battle with the count."
"They will be… taken care of," said the messenger.
"Inform the others that we're packing up camp," said Ladislava. "We move out in one hour, understood?"
"Yes, ma'am," said the other aces.
As the others left the command tent, Ladislava looked at the messenger as he too walked outside.
She knew she would have to speak with Hubert himself if she was going to keep those men from being punished undeservingly.
Yikes with Zola, right?
I hope I'm not suspending your disbelief too much in not having Zola severely punished for nearly massacring civilians. If it were closer to real life, she definitely would get court-martialed at least. But you have to think of how things in Fodlan aren't quite as sophisticated as they are IRL. Not to mention Zola wasn't really going out of her way to harm civilians; she just thought those hostages were collateral damage (i.e. "sucks to be them").
But you also have to admit that Zola has a point, right? If Edelgard's trying to create a meritocracy, what place is there for those who simply can't elevate themselves? I know that's not actually the kind of system Edelgard wants (in CF, she talks about giving the people more education), but so often people can misconstrue the message she's putting across. Dimitri in AM thinks she's trying to make Fodlan only for the strong with no place for the weak, and Zola's definitely taking Edelgard's rhetoric to the logical extreme (or she would've if Trauare hadn't stopped her).
There's also her point on how the civilians and conscripts could've just said "No, fuck off, Varley" instead of bowing down to him. Sure, that likely would've gotten them killed, but they still could've chosen that. Some people put honor and dignity before reason, after all. How often have you heard something like "I wouldn't do that in a million years"? Some people are like that when it comes to submitting to others. Edelgard has that mentality, after all.
Next chapter, I want to get back to Cornelia, and that part's gonna be even trickier than this one was. Wish me luck.