Chapter 16: The Water Maiden
Castle Altea, The Kingdom of Altea, Archanea
Arch. Year 609
Byleth's first instinct was to draw his sword. He put himself between the kids and the woman reflected in the rain, weapon raised and prepared to strike.
"No!" A thin arm hooked around Byleth's elbow and pulled him back. "Don't hurt her!"
"Kana," he started, trying to shake his sword arm out of the boy's small—yet strong—grip, "she could be—"
"She's not like them! She's nice, look!"
Kana used his other hand to wave to her. The woman's image rippled for a moment, like a reflection atop a disturbed pond, then offered a smile and a hand wave of her own.
"See? The bad guys don't do that."
Byleth narrowed his eyes at the woman. Sure, they hadn't seen anyone in the invisible army smile like that before, but for all they knew it could just be another trick. A tactic to earn Kana's trust, only for her to later snatch him away when they let their guard down…just like what had happened with Altea's late prince. Byleth wasn't going to make the same mistake.
The woman's expression slipped into a frown as he stared her down. It seemed she could sense his distrust. Good, she needed to know that he wasn't someone she wanted to mess with.
"I think that's her, the lady who's been helping me. I saw her in the ocean too when we got off the boat." Kana lifted the shining pendant up by its golden chain. The muffled melody Byleth had heard out in the hall now hummed gently against his ear. "That's your voice, isn't it?"
The woman nodded. Her lips parted and, with a slight tremble shaking the base of her throat, the pendant's tranquil song grew in both volume and clarity. At once, the rain that had been pouring in through the window came to an abrupt stop, each water droplet pausing in the air without regard for gravity.
"Whoa…" Kana breathed out, reaching forward to poke one. The droplet broke apart in slow motion, separating into small beads that floated alongside the other sections of time-frozen rain. Sophie tried it out herself, then turned to the reflection with wide eyes.
"How…how are you doing this?"
The woman pointed to the pendant then patted her throat.
"This thing lets you do all that?" Kana ran his hand through more of the suspended water, marveling at the way it flowed between his fingers. "Wow…"
"Why are you doing this?" Byleth asked, tightening his grip on his weapon. The song was easing the pain in his chest and the soreness in his muscles, encouraging his body to relax, but he refused to give in. Not without more answers first. "Enough of the magic tricks. Who are you? What do you want?"
The woman raised her hands high above her head, her hands and hips swaying to the rhythm of the music. Impatience flared in him like a lick of hot flame. Was she seriously dancing right now?
"Answer the—"
The water began to swirl over their heads, the droplets clumping together to form a series of floating letters that read:
I AM AZURA.
"Azura…Azura?!" Sophie gasped. "Our mother had a friend named Azura! She talked about you all the time!"
"Oh yeah! She did!" Kana bounced on the balls of his feet, grinning from ear to ear. "You left her this pendant, didn't you?"
Azura just smiled at the siblings as best she could while singing.
"But…she said…" Sophie's face fell, "she said you disappeared. She thought you were…that you had…"
After a moment of hesitation, Azura nodded, her smile growing sad.
"…So you're one of them," Byleth said. Not as a question, but as a statement of fact. "One of the dead."
The water rearranged itself again after Azura swung her arms across her body, spinning herself around in a graceful circle atop one foot:
YES DEAD
NOT UNDER HIS CONTROL
"His? You mean the Silent Dragon?"
Another nod, but Azura did not shift the water around to elaborate. "Who is he?" Byleth tried again. "Does he have a name? Something we could use to—"
Azura shook her head with a violent jerk. Her hands moved through the air in grander, more aggressive strokes, and the letters changed accordingly.
SAY HIS NAME
She ran her thumb along her neck.
YOU DIE
"…That's a bit dramatic," Byleth said flatly. She shot him a sharp look, telling him that she was being completely serious.
"Is there anything you can tell us?" His sword arm lowered but did not fully relax. "Where is he? How do we beat him and his army?" Can we even beat them? he wanted to ask, but he decided it was best to keep that one to himself.
She pointed across the fields outside the castle, past the southern shores of Altea.
THE DRAGON'S TABLE
THEN THE CANYON
Byleth groaned. He had no idea what any of that meant.
"Do you know where our parents are?!" Kana blurted out. He ran over to the window, gripping the edge of the sill and staring up at her with pleading eyes. "Mama, Papa, are they looking for us? Are they okay?"
Azura nodded and pointed again in the same direction, thrusting her finger a little more forcefully for emphasis. The water letters shimmered for a moment, but the message remained the same:
THE DRAGON'S TABLE
THEN THE CANYON
Byleth's lips twitched into a frown. "Their parents are in the same place as the mastermind behind all this?"
Another nod. She glanced over her shoulder, the rhythm of her dance faltering.
"Does that mean they're…" Sophie bit at her lip, unable to finish the question.
Azura resumed the dance, extending a leg out from the slit of her white dress as she rearranged the letters in the water. Her movements seemed more stiff and cautious than before, as though she were a performer struck with sudden stage fright. Her song, in turn, dwindled in volume.
ALIVE BUT
IN DANGER
"Then we've gotta help them!" Kana whipped around and grabbed Byleth's arm, nearly in tears. "Please! I-If we don't then they'll…they'll…"
"…We need to wait out the storm first," Byleth said slowly, "and we can't leave the castle until we know it's safe for us to do so. We won't be able to help them if we get caught in another ambush."
Kana's hands fell to his side and balled into tight fists. "But—"
The boy squeaked as the water hanging over him began to drip on top of his head. The letters sagged, losing their distinctive shape as gravity fought against the power of Azura's song. Azura herself wore a pained expression, her dance steps turning sluggish.
Despite the obvious toll the song and dance were having on her body, she managed to keep most of the water floating in the air. With a quick flick of her wrist, the water slowly formed a new string of weeping letters to decipher:
HIS POWER RESTS
BUT YOUR TIME IS SHORT
Another roll of her hips, another set of lines written below the first, though the letters continued to melt together:
GO TO THE TABLE
THEN THE CANYON
BEFORE HE AWAKENS
Her torso bent over in a long, elegant bow, arm stretching out towards a pointed toe. The song on her lips wilted into a soft whisper.
FIND PARENTS
FIND ANSWERS
Azura's image flickered like a dying flame. The water fell from its suspension, splashing over their feet in one final message:
FIND ME
The pendant flashed, bathing the room in blinding light. The melody faded until its song was consumed by the pattering rain outside the castle walls.
And in the next moment, Azura was gone.
No one moved. Even as the wind picked back up with a howl, blasting their faces with cold rain through the open window, they stayed rooted in place. Byleth's mind felt like it was stuttering, trying to make sense of the whirlwind of information the woman had left behind for them.
"What are you doing?!"
Kris marched into the room, striding past them to the window panes flapping and creaking against the wind. He slammed them shut and latched the lock for good measure. With a glare, he swiped the rainwater running down his forehead and turned to Byleth.
"Are you trying to get us all killed?!"
Byleth just blinked and tilted his head. He must have looked like an idiot, standing there with his blank stare and drenched clothes.
"The windows stay closed!" Kris shoved his palm against the window, testing the lock's hold. "The princess enchanted the castle walls with her magic, but we don't know if that also covers the gaps made by doors and windows." His eyes narrowed on them. "So they stay shut, unless you want to give the enemy a way inside."
Byleth finally managed to shake himself out of his stupor. "Sorry, that wasn't our intention."
"Then why open the window during a storm like this? Tired of being dry already?"
"No, it was—"
"Azura showed up in the rain and said the bad dragon and our parents are at a table and a canyon!" Kana interrupted.
It was Kris's turn to look stupefied. "Um…what?"
"Azura's my Mama's friend. Her spirit wrote letters with the rain and I couldn't read them all fast enough but I know she said they're in danger so we need to go to the Dragon's Table—"
"Okay, okay, slow down." Kris sighed and rubbed his temple. "The Dragon's Table? In Dolhr?"
"Uh…I dunno…"
"Wait, you know where this 'table' is?" Byleth asked.
"Well, yeah, it's where all of the Earth Dragons are sealed away, including Medeus. It's where Gharnef has probably been holing up too, in his efforts to revive the Shadow Dragon." Kris jutted his thumb behind him, pointing in the same direction Azura had indicated just a few minutes prior. "They call it the Dragon's Table, but it's more like a temple tucked away in the mountains separating Dolhr and Macedon."
"Is it far from here?"
"Not really, Dolhr itself is just across the straight at our southern border, and the Dragon's Table is probably a few hours hike through the mountains after that," Kris said, cocking an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you actually want to go there."
"Want isn't the right word…"
Byleth explained Azura's instructions and warnings as best he could, trying to work through the mess of letters from her final few messages in his mind. Kris lowered himself into a chair in the corner of the room as he listened, lips pressed into a thin line.
"…So, the spirit of a dead woman randomly appeared before you in the rain—the same way the invisible army was summoned to fight you not too long ago—urging you to travel to one of the most dangerous places in all of Archanea? Before you've had a chance to properly recover?" Kris summarized, leaning forward with his elbows on his thighs. "And you trusted her?"
"She's Mama's friend," Kana repeated. The boy had plopped down on the ground, sitting cross-legged, but his knees bounced with impatience. "That means she's our friend too."
Kris continued to look unconvinced. "And how do you know she wasn't lying about that?"
"Because she…she's helped us before. And she was nice, so…uh…"
"We know they at least used to be friends, from our mother's stories," Sophie added, though her expression quickly turned pained. "But…that was a long time ago, and since she's dead now…I guess we can't really prove yet that she's completely on our side…"
"Sophie!" Kana's cheeks puffed into a pout. "How can you say that? Of course Azura's on our side, she wouldn't be trying to help us if she wasn't!"
"I know, but—"
"And she said our parents are in danger, so if we don't go help them soon they might—"
"I know!" Sophie sat next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "But we can't be impulsive. We need to be careful or next time…" Her head hung low, and her voice dropped into a whisper. "Next time they might get the best of us and take you away. I know Mama and Papa wouldn't want us to risk ourselves like that…even to save them."
Kana huffed, the sound coming out like a low growl, but he didn't argue back.
"…I think it would be worthwhile to at least check the area out," Byleth said. "If we can figure out a safe way to do so, that is."
Kris sent him an exacerbated look. "Did you not hear what I said before? It's too dangerous. Even if it weren't for the reports of invisible soldiers congregating around Dolhr, it's possible that Gharnef is still there, trying to break the seal on Medeus and the Earth Dragons. Worst case scenario? All of them are working together." His head fell into his hands as he let out a frustrated sigh. "None of us would last a minute at the Dragon's Table."
"What's the alternative, then?" Byleth asked. He stood over Kris's chair, waiting for the royal knight to meet his gaze before continuing, "Do we just let the evil sorcerer carry on with his machinations? Let the invisible army recover their strength while we hide away in this castle, sitting around while we wait for them to renew their attack?"
The muscles in Kris's jaw tightened. "That's not what I said."
"But it's what you're implying."
"We don't have the means to beat them!" Kris shot up from his seat, nearly knocking his head into Byleth's chin. Byleth did not back away. "We've already tried, and now my friends are dead because of it. We'll only be following in their footsteps if we try facing them as we are now: outnumbered, stretched thin, and missing the weapons needed to defeat them."
"We've brought some powerful weapons." Byleth gestured to his own sword, but Kris's glare only intensified.
"Not the ones we need. The only weapon that can counter Gharnef's magic is the tome Starlight, which we don't have anymore, and the only weapon that can slay and reseal the Earth Dragons is Falchion, which we also don't have any—"
"Alm has Falchion," Byleth said, "or the other version of it, at least. Would that not work?"
"I…" The fury in Kris's face slowly melted away, and he took a few steps back out of Byleth's personal space. He turned away and scratched his head, seemingly embarrassed by his outburst. "I suppose it would, in theory…we don't know for sure…"
The room grew quiet as his sentence trailed off. Not even the sounds of breathing broke through the tension, everyone waiting for someone else to be the next to speak. Byleth decided it would have to be him.
"…You said we don't have the means to win," he started slowly, "and you're probably right. Even with Alm's sword and our resources, it likely won't be enough to fight all our enemies if that's what it comes to."
Out of the corner of his eye he could see Kana wrap his arms around his sister, hiding his face in her shoulder. Sophie was doing her best to comfort him, but her quivering lip betrayed her own distress.
"And while I don't fully trust this Azura…I don't think it's wise to just ignore what she said either."
Before anyone could jump in to agree or protest, Byleth held up a hand to keep them from interrupting his train of thought. "Sure, she could be trying to deceive us, but she could also be trying to help us. And if that's the case…well, she implied we have a short window of time, and that short window of time might be our only chance to figure out what's going on, and how we can fight back."
"And help our parents!" Kana quickly added.
Kris rested his back against the stone wall, crossing his arms. "So, what are you suggesting we do, exactly?"
"We scope out the Dragon's Table. See if there's anything useful waiting for us there, or any people in need of help." Byleth tapped his knuckle against his chin. "But we also take every precaution we can. We need to find the safest—and quickest—route there, and we need to have several escape plans ready if it turns out to be a trap."
"…Anna might know some creative ways through or around Dolhr," Kris said, "and we have a stash of Warp and Rescue staves that could come in handy…"
Byleth nodded—he had been thinking the same thing.
"So we're going?" Kana asked, a hopeful grin lighting up his face.
"I'll have to run it by the princess first, but if we're quick and careful about this…" Kris ran a hand through his dark-blue hair, nose scrunched in deep contemplation. After a few seconds, he exhaled a long, deep breath. "…I guess we could make it work."
"Yes!" Kana pumped his fist and gave his sister another hug. "We're gonna see them again! Really soon!"
Sophie patted his head and sighed. "I hope so…"
"Once the storm settles, I'll take some men to the southern border to get a status report on Dolhr from our scouts. Princess Elice will decide what we do from there." The royal knight straightened himself off the wall and made for the door. "In the meantime, you should really get some rest. You… look like you need it."
Byleth had to stop himself from grumbling. Why did everyone feel the need to comment on his health? It was getting annoying.
Though it wouldn't last much longer, he supposed, if Azura had in fact been telling them the truth. If her words could lead them to the source of everything, then they'd be that much closer to his body finally returning to normal…
And, if fortune favored them, that much closer to putting an end to this once and for all.
Character Bios:
Azura: Songstress
-A mysterious woman with a beautiful singing voice and the power to manipulate water. She seems like a kind woman and claims to know Sophie and Kana's parents but, according to the children, is supposed to be dead.
-Relations: Unknown
Oh, but Fortune is a fickle mistress…
(I spent so much time spacing out Azura's "weeping letters" to showcase how the characters were seeing them...but FF formatting will not save the special spacing I was using so I just had to settle on writing out the messages normally. No puzzles and no fun :( )
Next chapter: What exactly is waiting at the Dragon's Table?