Before the Dawn
I think there's little that needs to be said about how that banquet turned out. But those traitors would all be getting their punishment in due time. With the corrupt Brass Blades and Crystal Braves searching Ul'dah for Alphinaud and S'eni, and the other city-states not being safe either, I took them to the one place their influence would not reach.
The sound of the engine echoed through the interior of the Enterprise, serving as a companion to S'eni as she stared at the ceiling above her. She was lying on the sole bunk, offered generously by Cid after he had seen how exhausted she was from narrowly escaping Ul'dah.
But rest wasn't something that came easily to her right now. Whenever she closed her eyes, the images from a few hours ago immediately came to haunt her.
The Sultana's eyes, growing wide before collapsing right in front of her, poisoned by the people conspiring against them.
Raubahn's bloody arm as it hit the floor, severed by Ilberd, whom they all had thought a friend.
Her friends, one after another staying behind to guard their escape until it was only her left.
Gritting her teeth, she balled her hand into a fist, ignoring the pain as her nails dug into her skin. Damn Teledji Adeledji! He had played them all like fiddles.
The only solace she could take was that he couldn't enjoy his victory. Raubahn had seen to that before Lolorito had shown his true colors.
But what good did that do when the others were missing, or perhaps even worse?
Shtola, she thought. She hadn't wanted to leave her, but the look in those mint green eyes, as they stared into hers, had left no room for argument.
"Dammit!" she slammed her fist against the wall next to the bunk. The airship started to shake, and for a moment she thought she might have hit a little too hard, but when the shaking intensified, she realized that they were slowly descending.
Getting up from the bunk, S'eni crawled towards the hatch leading up to the deck, very glad of the fact that she was lithe and in shape as the place was clearly made with maintenance in mind and not for sleeping, bar some emergencies where there was no place to stay for the night.
She could faintly hear the voices of her two companions as she climbed the small ladder, before pushing the hatch open. As soon as she had done so, a cold wind blew into her face, causing a shiver to run through her body and staining her cheeks pink almost instantly.
"Ah, S'eni," Cid called out to her when he saw her climb outside. "Did you manage to get some rest?"
"Not really," she replied. Her eyes landed on Alphinaud, who was looking out into the distance. He was taking what had happened especially hard. "We've arrived, I take it?"
"Yes." The engineer nodded. "I'm sorry that I can't get you closer than this."
"It's alright."
He frowned. "You sure?"
Noticing the look he was giving her, S'eni glanced down at herself. She was still wearing her dress. It somehow had survived the entire ordeal.
"I'll manage," was all she said.
After landing, Alphinaud and her stepped off the Enterprise and onto the snowy ground of Coerthas.
"Thank you, Cid," the young Elezen said.
"Don't mention it. If you need anything else, you know where to find me." Giving each of them a final nod, he took off again.
Once the Enterprise had vanished into the night, the two of them looked at one another.
"We should head to Camp Dragonhead and speak with Lord Haurchefant," Alphinaud said, lowering his gaze. "...Perhaps he will know what to do."
S'eni nodded and turned her gaze up ahead. Camp Dragonhead was still a good distance away. She could only hope her toes wouldn't freeze off.
The track through the snow was thankfully uneventful, but the closer they got, the colder it seemed to get and by the time the fort was starting to come into view, she was hugging herself tightly and trying with all her might to keep her teeth from chattering.
"Only a little more," Alphinaud managed to say through gritted teeth.
As they approached the gate ahead, one of the two knights standing guard called out. "Halt! Who goes there?"
Doing as they were told, Alphinaud and S'eni stopped, both visibly shaking from the cold. The Fortemps knights stepped forward, their spears held firmly in case either of them tried anything funny. The one that had called out to them had taken a torch to get a better look at these strangers traveling in the dead of the night.
"By Halone, it's you!" he exclaimed as soon as he saw their faces, before turning towards his fellow knight. "Tell Lord Haurchefant that Master Alphinaud and the Warrior of Light are here!"
The other knight nodded, then rushed inside.
"My apologies," the man said. "We can never be too careful around these parts. Let's get you out of the cold."
"T-t-thank you," S'eni stammered.
After being ushered inside, they were met halfway by Haurchefant and the other knight, both carrying blankets and hurrying towards them.
"S'eni!" upon reaching her, he wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and picked her up to quickly get her inside, where Alphinaud and her were placed in front of a warming fire.
As the warmth slowly crept back into her limbs, she sent Haurchefant a grateful smile.
"I have heard news from Ul'dah and was fearing the worst. It warms my heart to see you and Master Alphinaud unharmed," he said to her.
"It's good to see you too," S'eni replied, pulling the blanket tightly around her.
"Lord Haurchefant," Alphinaud spoke up after he finally stopped shaking, his eyes never leaving the ground. "May...may we request asylum?"
The older Elezen looked at him, his expression growing serious. "I will make the necessary inquiries. In the meantime, please rest."
Glancing at one of the present knights, he gave him a silent order in the form of a nod, making him salute and walk away, before leaving for the back himself.
Not long after, the knight returned with two bowls of hot soup that he handed them. With a "thank you", S'eni took the offered bowl, feeling welcomingly warm in her hands and smelling delicious. It was only now that she realized how long ago it was that she had something to eat.
Taking the spoon out of the bowl, she dug in, letting out a sigh of relief as its warmth started to spread from her belly outward. Next to her, Alphinaud was a little bit more hesitant in taking the soup but found himself giving in nonetheless.
"At the very least we're out of the cold, that's something. Right?" she asked him.
"Hm," was his only reply, staring into the bowl as if it held all the answers.
A frown formed on S'eni's face. She wanted to cheer him up, but couldn't find the words. They had all been blind to the corruption inside the Crystal Braves, despite knowing that Teledji was up to something. Wilred's death should have been a warning.
And now it had all come crashing down on them.
The bowl in her hand groaned as she gripped it tightly. If she got her hands on Ilberd and the rest of those traitors—
But for that you need to actually get to them first, a voice in the back of her mind reminded her.
Easing her grip, she let out a sigh and went back to eating instead.
A heavy silence fell over them, and only the crackle of the fire disturbed it until Haurchefant's return. As soon as S'eni saw him, she knew that he wasn't bearing good news.
"I'm afraid the situation has become more complicated," he said, sitting down next to them.
"Complicated how?"
"Ishgard has weathered another assault, and word is that several wyverns managed to enter the city proper. The Temple Knights succeeded in slaying them, but the intrusion prompted orders to further strengthen the guard and to place it under a perpetual state of high alert," Haurchefant told them. "Luckily, Ser Aymeric has returned safely from Ul'dah and is leading the defense himself."
He then sighed. "As for your asylum, I'm loath to say no progress will be made until the threat to Ishgard has diminished."
That's what she had been afraid of, but where else were they to go?
S'eni looked over to Alphinaud, who was staring blankly ahead.
Looking between the two of them, the older Elezen rose back to his feet, prompting her to look up at him. He was smiling now.
"But don't despair. You're not without allies." He pointed at himself. "You're more than welcome to shelter here for as long as you wish. Think of it as your new headquarters—the 'Falling Snows' or some such."
Despite herself, S'eni found herself chuckling at the name. He was such an odd one. "Thank you, Haurchefant. I mean it."
"You fought to preserve the honor of my dear friend—now it's my turn to repay that debt in kind." He gave her a nod, his smile widening. "Frivolities aside though, any who come here in search of you will receive no aid from House Fortemps. Agents of Ul'dah will find every inquiry dismissed and request for entry rebuffed until their master will acknowledge your innocence. For once the Ishgardian reputation for inhospitality shall work in our favor."
The older Elezen once moved his gaze between the two of them. "But let's not dwell on that. How about we go and meet your companions?"
Her eyes widened in surprise and even Alphinaud perked up for a moment, looking up at Haurchefant, his mouth agape.
"I apologize for not saying so sooner, but I felt it more important to make sure of your well-being. They were the ones delivering the news of what transpired. I imagine they will be glad to see you."
Their soup now entirely forgotten, the two of them rose to their feet, eager to see who of their friends had managed to get here ahead of them.
S'eni exhaled through her nose as she stepped into the room that would be her home for the foreseeable future. It reminded her of the room that she had shared with Alphinaud and Cid what felt like ages ago now. There was a fireplace, a table, and two beds.
"Almost looks like the Waking Sands, doesn't it?" the friendly voice of Tataru asked before the smaller woman stepped up next to her.
"Yeah," she replied with a small smile.
She couldn't describe the relief she had felt when she had laid eyes on Tataru and Yugiri earlier. When the Crystal Braves had tried to capture her, the Lalafel had run away as fast as her short legs could carry her and was ultimately saved by the Doman woman. Together they had fled to the Waking Sands, where Urianger was hiding everything with a special spell he had come up with, before heading this way.
But if that wasn't surprise enough, then laying eyes on Yugiri's face for the first time sure was. She had never in her life seen someone like her, with horns and scales that weren't unlike a dragon's. Yet, as Tataru had said, she was very pretty indeed.
There had been no time to dwell on that though, as Yugiri had soon after taken her leave, swearing to them that she and her ninjas would do everything in their power to keep an eye out for their missing friends and keep them informed on the happenings of the city-states.
Walking towards one of the beds, Tataru took off her hat, letting the long hair she had pulled up underneath flow freely past her shoulder, and climbed on top of it.
"Hmm, seems comfy enough," the smaller woman said after sitting down and bouncing a few times.
A chuckle escaped S'eni. Tataru always was a bundle of optimism. Most of the time anyway.
"Minfilia told me many times: As long as we stand fast against despair, the beacon of hope will never be lost. Be it in the snow or in the clouds, we will see that the dawn's light shines again!" she recalled her words from earlier. They had been enough to even lift Alphinaud's spirits again.
Yes, they would not give up. They would find Y'shtola and the others and clear their names.
But before that, they would rest.
As she walked over to the other bed, she stopped when she saw something lying on it; a change of clothes. She also found a pair of boots resting next to the bed upon further inspection.
"Do you want me to give you some privacy?" Tataru asked as she picked up a comfortable-looking wool jacket.
"It's fine," S'eni said with a smile, putting it back on the bed. "We're both girls here."
She dropped the blanket still wrapped around and proceeded to undo the lace buttons that formed a nice golden pattern on the dress.
"Oh my!" the other woman exclaimed. "You look beautiful in that!"
"Hm? Oh, yeah I suppose so," she replied, looking down at the dress. While it had remained relatively unscathed, there were smudges of dirt all over it, and the shoes were absolutely ruined. "Looked better earlier tonight."
"I can clean it up later if you want, it'll look brand new."
"That's really nice of you, but you don't need to go through all that trouble. I doubt I'll get the chance to wear it again." After undoing the buttons, she pulled off the dress and let it drop to the ground before turning towards the new set waiting for her.
She started with the wool stockings, followed by a simple skirt that ended mid-thigh, a warm-looking undershirt, and ending with the jacket. It wasn't exactly the most colorful set, and the jacket was a little too large, but it would do.
Rolling up her sleeves a bit, S'eni sat down on the bed and put the boots on. Unlike the jacket, they fit perfectly. While she was binding the bootlaces, Tataru had gotten up from the bed and gathered the discarded dress and folded it up, apparently still adamant to clean it for her.
Once she was done, she rose to her feet and walked over to the door.
"Where are you going?" Tataru asked.
"Just going to say thank you to our host, I won't be long," S'eni replied before leaving. Her feet carried her back to the conference room of what had now officially become The Falling Snows, where she found Alphinaud and Haurchefant still where Tataru and her had left them; deep in discussion.
After his mood had improved, the young Elezen had wasted no time asking the knight questions about some of the finer details regarding Ishgardian politics, and while Haurchefant was no expert, he knew enough to be an ample source of information.
She cleared her throat, making them turn their heads towards her.
"I hope I'm not interrupting?" she asked.
"Of course not," Haurchefant replied.
"We were almost done anyway," Alphinaud added, then stifled a yawn.
"How about we continue at a later date?" the knight suggested. "It's getting late and you all have been through so much tonight."
The younger Elezen nodded and rose to his feet. "You're right. Good night, Lord Haurchefant, S'eni."
He gave each of them a nod, before walking past her to his room.
"That goes for you too, my friend," Haurchefant said to her, getting up as well and gathering the mugs they all had drank from earlier.
"Don't worry, I can hear the bed calling already," she told him as she walked up to the table. "I just...wanted to thank you again. For everything."
The Ishgardian knight looked at her for a moment, his face that same mask of polite neutrality that he had worn when they first met, before breaking into a smile.
"It's only right to help a friend. There's nothing to thank me for," he said. "Consider yourself guests of House Fortemps until your innocence has been proven. And come morning, I shall write a letter to the count himself to petition your case once things have calmed down somewhat."
"What makes you so sure he'll agree to it?"
"Aside from aiding Ishgard in battling the Dravanians?" he asked while slowly walking towards the door leading outside. When she nodded in response he gave her a little shrug. "Count Edmont also happens to be my father."
At that revelation, S'eni could only stare at him in disbelief.
Seeing her expression, Haurchefant released a laugh. "Well, I think that's one too many revelations for tonight, so I shall take my leave. Good night, my friend."
She could only watch as he left through the door, completely speechless. Haurchefant was the son of such an important figure?
Huh. She remained standing there for a few more moments, letting this new fact sink in, before deciding that, indeed, it was probably time for her to head to bed.
Later that night, as S'eni and Tataru were both sleeping, utterly exhausted from the night's events, a small shape appeared from the darkness inside the room.
Tiny wings flapped in the air as it flew over to the sleeping Miqo'te, stopping right above her and remaining there without making a sound.
And as Hydaelyn's chosen, the Warrior of Light, slept, Midgarsormr watched...listened...and waited...
Book 1 - A Warrior Reborn - End
And this concludes the first part of this story. Next week we start our adventures in Ishgard, so let's see how that will turn out, shall we?
Until then!