On the farther moon, high above Halkeginia, the Protoss purification campaign had now moved to delve into the caverns. Losses were, thankfully, minimal for their people, though the progress was slow, much to Alarak's frustration. He still insisted to Artanis that the Protoss merely use the Spear of Adun to torch the moon into dust, and Artanis still refused, citing the possible consequences of such an action. Alarak and Artanis found themselves alone in their particular part of the cavern that they were scouring, finding mostly only low-level Zerg such as Zerglings and Broodlings that were easily dispatched.
We waste our time in these caves, we have already won the battle. The rest of these creatures are mindless and have no will to form a new hive cluster, Alarak scoffed as he effortlessly dispatched a Zergling that lunged at him.
Let us hope you are right, Highlord. It would be preferable for this to be a waste of time than a disaster, Artanis replied, looking for his own prey, but finding none. The two walked in silence, their way lit by their psi blades. Soon, each of them felt a disturbance in the ground and walls, causing them to stop. Do you feel that? Artanis asked, readying himself.
Yes… finally, some real conflict, Alarak eagerly replied as he, too, readied himself. Bursting through one of the walls, and charging directly at Artanis, came the unmistakably mammoth form of an Ultralisk, a hulking, quadrupedal monstrosity adorned with massive, scythe-like tusks, that roared as it charged them. Artanis dashed forward himself, imbuing his body with psionic energy that caused him to phase through the Ultralisk, causing internal damage to the creature as he did. Alarak followed the attack with a massive wave of red, psionic energy that pushed the Ultralisk back, nearly crushing Artanis as he barely dodged.
Mind your attacks, Alarak, Artanis admonished as he launched a psionic blast at the Ultralisk, causing it to stumble. No sooner had he done that, the cavern wall behind him burst open revealing a second Ultralisk. Once again, Artanis barely dodged the stomping creature as it emerged. Artanis aligned himself so both Ultralisks were directly in front of him, and psionically dashed through them both, following his attack with a quick energy strike to the first Ultralisk, which looked to be faltering. Alarak finished the first Ultralisk with another psionic wave that pushed both of the back, causing the limp corpse of the first to be flung on top of the second. The remaining Ultralisk roared once more as it tossed its dead companion from itself and charged forth. Its charge was cut short by Artanis and Alarak striking it simultaneously with a psionic bolt and psionically-enhanced blade strike, respectively, causing the creature to let loose one last roar before falling apart. Alarak and Artanis looked at each other with the respect that could only be borne of a bond forged through battle. You see, Alarak, Artanis began as he walked towards Alarak, bombardment from orbit would not be nearly so satisfying.
Ugh, I must admit, you do have a strong point, 'Hierarch', Alarak admitted in a playful manner as the two ventured deeper into the caves. After days of nothing but small instances of conflict, the Protoss warriors finally exited the caves, returning to the Nexus point.
Hierarch, I detected no changes in potential Zerg activity here nor within one thousand lightyears of this position while you were away, it would appear as though the threat has been eliminated, Karax announced as the last of the Protoss warriors exited the caves.
Very good Phase-smith, continue to work on the Spear of Adun so we may be ready to return to Korprulu when the opportunity presents itself, Artanis replied.
If our work here is done, I should return to my charge upon the surface. No doubt my Disciple, Siesta, has kept her safe, but I feel I must continue my responsibility to Tassadar, Zeratul announced as he approached Artanis.
Tassadar? You must be mistaken, old friend, for we believed to be in the service of Tassadar as well on our journey to destroy Amon. However… we found it was actually a Xel'Naga posing as him in order to draw us in to fulfill our destiny and to help fulfill Kerrigan's destiny, Artanis explained. Zeratul was speechless at this revelation. Had his entire mission been but a lie? Was he being manipulated by a higher being with nefarious intent such as Amon? Why would the being calling itself 'Tassadar' not simply reveal it was a Xel'Naga? Was the being he spoke to at the site of the Overmind's corpse also an illusion? An act of deception? He had much to think upon.
Hierarch, I have completed scans of the surface of the planet below. I believe you will find the results intriguing, and disturbing, Karax informed, interrupting Zeratul's crisis.
Understood, Karax, we shall warp aboard the Spear of Adun to see these results, Artanis replied. A moment later, Artanis, Alarak, Zeratul, and Vorazun were warped aboard the ship, where they met with Karax on the bridge.
I am detecting massive deposits of natural Khaydarin Crystals here, Karax pointed out, pointing to where Albion was on the map upon the viewscreen.
Intriguing… Artanis mused as he looked at the telemetry data on the screen.
That is not all, Karax continued as he zoomed the display out, showing the entire world, it appears there are also standard mineral, vespene, and even jorium deposits throughout the planet. Were it not already occupied, it would be an ideal world for colonization. I am also detecting faint Terran signatures akin to Dominion ones but… different.
Different how, phase-smith? Artanis asked.
The signatures are… older. Decades older, relative to us, and their encryptions date back to the Brood War, but that would mean… Karax's voice trailed off.
That they have been here long before our, or even my, arrival, Zeratul surmised as he stepped forward. I knew of my disciple's forebear being from Korpulu, but this is far beyond any scope I had imagined before… Zeratul hastily thought of what he must do, before turning to Artanis, I must return to the surface and warn my disciples of this. They have a right to know.. Artanis nodded in response.
—-
"En Garde! Strike!" Agnes' Vice Captain, Michelle, commanded to the girls at the academy. The self-defensive training had continued, with the same intensity as the first day Agnes had begun it. The students thrust their blunted staves forward, as commanded, now seeming to be gaining a certain competence and confidence about them. Siesta, meanwhile, still sat idly by and observed, snacking on sweets she had gotten from Garcon, the academy chef.
"Hey! Watch how many of those you eat!" Derflinger warned.
"Why? Because I'll get fat?" Siesta replied, rolling her eyes as she popped another one of the small cakes in her mouth.
"No, because Louise probably will want some, too," Derflinger answered. Siesta stopped as she popped the last cake into her mouth, before opening it and letting the drool-soaked sweet fall back onto the napkin that she had been given to transport them in.
Damn, I hope she doesn't notice, Siesta thought in a panic as her mouth watered from the anticipation, and denial, of the sweet now before her. As she did that, Agnes came forth to interrupt the training.
"At ease!" Michelle ordered as Agnes stepped beside her, looking over the sweating nobles.
"As you have requested, you will now begin to learn practical magic," Agnes announced, much to the delight of the now excitedly murmuring girls. "The Queen has sent an instructor for this very purpose: Eleonore!" Siesta and Louise's eyes went wide with horror at this announcement. As they had feared, the scowling, blonde, masochistic sister of Louise revealed herself from the tower the girls were training before.
"I am Eleonore Valliere of the International College of Magic. This will only be for a short while, but I still look forward to our brief time together," Eleonore announced with a smile that only Louise could recognize was wicked as her elder sister's eyes passed over the girls, briefly focusing on her with a short glare. At the announcement of her name, some of the other students began to murmur in intrigue.
"Valliere? Is she related to Louise?"
"No way! Who knew Louise had a sister that was so cool!"
"I guess she's just the oddball of the family. Can't really do magic but her sister is a professor."
Louise could hear the girls whispering to each other, even if they were unaware of that fact. Louise felt someone nearly brush up against her and she turned her head to see Julio almost pressed against her face.
"Is she your sister?" Julio whispered in her ear, flirtatiously, "She seems like a nice woman."
Louise, irritated, turned away from the teasing flamen. The lesson, thankfully, was brief and without incident. Once it was over, Louise stomped after her sister, following her to her new room that contained quite a bit more luggage than she would assume someone needed for a "brief" stay, with boxes and traveling cases almost completely filling the room. Louise was intent on confronting her sister as she entered the room, with Siesta merely standing at the doorway, watching the situation unfold as Louise loudly confronted her sister.
"Were you sent after me?!" Louise asked, demandingly.
"Like. I. Said," Eleonore began with emphasis, "Queen Henrietta personally requested my assistance and sent me here."
"What? She did?" Louise nearly shouted in surprise.
"Apparently," Eleonore began as she circled around Louise, giving her a dirty look, "someone told the Queen that Duke Valliere's family tried to lock up their youngest daughter." Eleonore's hand snapped forward and initiated a vice-grip on Louise's cheek faster than she could respond. "I wonder who was the one that said such a thing?"
"I-it wasn't me! Please!" Louise cried out, truthfully. Siesta had seen enough, and stepped forward to put herself between the elder Valliere and her girlfriend.
"Please, stop," Siesta ordered in a soft, but commanding, tone. Eleonore immediately relented as Siesta could see a trace of fear on her face.
"The Prin-, I mean, Queen came and personally asked me to help you," Eleonore continued, mustering back her haughty demeanor as best she could, scoffing at the two as she looked them over incredulously. "I've been told you're doing something under her secret orders. What could you possibly be doing when you can't even accomplish basic magic?"
"That's…" Louise began, trying hard to hold her tongue.
"Forget it. I bet it's nothing special," Eleonore said, dismissively as she turned away from the two. Siesta could see and feel Louise's distress and stared daggers at the back of Eleonore's head, which she soon turned to see, but did not register. "Anyway, it's a great opportunity, considering recent events…" Eleonore gave the two a knowing look as she narrowed her eyes at them. "Therefore, I will be watching over you from today onwards." Eleonore's announcement was met with a frightened gasp from Louise while Eleonore focused all her scowling on Siesta, "This will help so that you don't get caught up in anything… unbecoming of someone of your status." Siesta's bubbling rage was coming to a head as her hand twitched, ready to grab Derflinger from her back or launch a psionic blast at the taunting noble before her. They were interrupted, however, when Siesta and Louise felt something touching their legs. They looked down to see two small, white, fluffy dogs, looking up at them, tails furiously wagging and chirping with excitement.
"Hey, these are…" Louise began, recognizing the dogs' faces as a smile broke upon her face. Her hopes were confirmed as Cattelya, a black and white short-haired cat in her arms, walked into the room, giving them both a warm smile. "Chii!" Louise joyfully cried out as she rushed to her sister's arms. Eleonore frowned at this display.
"Be grateful for Cattelya," Eleonore declared, irritated. "Were it not for her, you would be excommunicated from this family. Considering your… escapade upon the lake." Louise and Siesta blushed at this statement. "Luckily, Cattelya was there to talk father down from that for your brazen degeneracy. With a peasant… of ALL people…" Eleonore grumbled. Louise was mostly unfazed as she took comfort in Cattelya's warm embrace. "With her weak body she'd be better off at home… 'I want to be by Louise's side no matter what', she says…" Eleonore scoffed.
"I'm happy," Louise said as she pulled back from Cattelya, the cat in her arms still pawing at her. "It'll be great to have you around." Louise gave her elder sister a wide smile, which Cattelya returned.
"You mean to have BOTH of us around, right?" Eleonore asked, accusatory. Siesta placed her hand on Eleonore's shoulder with enough force to get her attention.
"Don't push it," Siesta said, plainly as Eleonore gave her a look of helpless frustration. Cattelya giggled in response. Unfortunately that small action had consequences, as Siesta was ordered to unpack the luggage of the visiting sisters. Louise, being paralyzed by her childhood fear of Eleonore, was unable to protest, leaving Siesta in the cluttered room to unpack the contents of the cases as she did in her maid days. By the time night had fallen, Siesta had almost finished and was now working on the last piece of luggage when she was startled as a knock was heard upon the open door, whereupon she turned to see Louise cracking it open.
"Almost done?" Louise asked, with a slight hint of shame on her voice from not speaking up for her earlier.
"Just putting away the luggage, as requested," Siesta replied as she, out of spite, poorly folded the clothes within. Louise stepped forward and gave her a tempting smirk.
"You weren't thinking about my sisters in their underwear were you?" Louise teased.
"No! Of course not!" Siesta partially, genuinely denied. Louise raised an eyebrow, which indicated to Siesta that she was not fully believed, causing her to blush in embarrassment.
"Did you, maybe, wanna see mine?" Louise offered with a tantalizing look on her face as she climbed on the bed on her hands and knees, peering seductively at her now flustered girlfriend. Siesta gulped, feeling overwhelmingly tempted. "You know," Louise began, pulling back from the cherry-faced Siesta, interrupting her lustful thoughts, "now that Eleonore mentioned it, we never did get to finish what we were doing on that boat."
"T-that's true," Siesta stammered as she gave a nervous giggle. Without warning, Louise leaned in to kiss her, which Siesta happily reciprocated.
"Ever since that night, I can't stop thinking about this," Louise admitted as she continued to kiss Siesta, moving down to her neck.
"M-me neither, ah!" Siesta squeaked as Louise's nose tickled her neck, causing Louise to giggle in response. Their rendezvous, unfortunately for them, was halted by the thunderous sound of an explosion in the distance. "What was that?" Siesta asked, turning her head to where she believed the source of the explosion to be. Louise looked up, too, annoyed at the interruption. "We should go," Siesta declared as she hopped out of the still clothes-strewn bed and began walking with purpose to the source of the sound. Seeing Louise was not close behind, she stopped, and returned to the room to see Louise still sitting there, a grumpy expression on her face. Siesta giggled, which caused Louise to pout even further. "C'mon, we can always do 'that' later," Siesta winked. Louise sighed and began to reluctantly follow her curious girlfriend. Siesta, along with other curious students, followed the noise to a gathering of students, professors, and musketeers that had already arrived to secure the scene, at Headmaster Osmond's office. Siesta spotted Professor Colbert among them.
"Mister Colbert? What's going on?" Siesta asked. Colbert turned to her, with worry in his eyes.
"Oh… I just got here myself," Colbert replied, with genuine worry and confusion in his voice. "It appears that a thief broke into the Headmaster's office." Siesta peered through the crowd to see a gaping hole in the wall leading into the office, with Agnes and Michelle standing beside Osmond. Siesta's mind immediately thought of Fouquet, though her brand of thievery was a little more ostentatious than this. Osmond and the two musketeers, after they finished talking amongst themselves, turned to face the gathered crowd.
"Don't worry, it was only a minor incident," Osmond announced, unconvincingly. "Everyone? Return to your rooms." At his order, the students and professors dispersed into a murmuring wave, save for Louise. Osmond raised an eyebrow at the curious, pink-haired noble. "Did you not hear me? I ordered you to leave. The Musketeer Squad will investigate the explosion. Except you, Siesta, come with me." Louise gave Siesta a desperate last look before walking away with the rest of the crowd. Siesta, as ordered, came to Headmaster Osmond, stepping beyond the hole in the wall and into his office, in which she saw a safe in the wall that had its lock melted off, and the ever smug-looking Julio. "The thief broke in while I was away. Luckily my familiar was here when it happened, and rushed to inform me. Right, Morsognir?" The small, albino mouse on Osmond's shoulder squeaked in acknowledgment. "Once I entered, and called out to the intruder, I was greeted by a masked assailant with quite the wonderful pair of breasts. She immediately cast a spell that caused the floor to turn on me, throwing me off balance. I was able to see her place her stolen loot between her perfectly ponderable orbs, and threw this at one of them, marking her." Osmond held up what looked to be a stamp with a pentagram inside it. "At that time, she blasted through the wall and made her escape. Which leads us to now…" Osmond walked over to the safe, once again examining it. "The nimble thief may have escaped, but this seal, of my own design, that has marked one of her perfect jubblies should still be upon her. Not even a triangle-class mage could remove it." Osmond gave a prideful chuckle at his own brilliance while the women in the room gave exasperated sighs.
"What was inside the safe?" Siesta asked, looking at the safe herself.
"The wind and water rubies, as requested to be kept here by the Queen," Osmond revealed. Siesta raised her eyebrows at this, but was not terribly shocked. "Of course, they were merely replicas, I have long since forwarded the real rings to Romalia." Osmond nodded to Julio, who nodded back with a smirk.
"Imitations?" Michelle asked, worried. Siesta picked up a feeling from her that immediately made her suspicious. "Is it really alright to give Her HIghness' precious items to a foreigner?" Michelle asked in an incredulous tone.
"Out of the country was safest, as you can clearly see," Osmond gestured to the safe.
"There were no signs of anyone entering or leaving the campus," Agnes informed, continuing the investigation.
"So… we have a traitor in our midst?" Julio surmised, with an ever cocky grin upon his face.
"Indeed," Agnes confirmed. "Therefore, I'd like you and Siesta to help find the criminal." Siesta gave Julio a dirty look but sighed in defeat.
"I guess I don't mind… but what about Louise? Shouldn't she be here if I'm here?" Siesta asked.
"The culprit used magic, so all mages are suspect," Julio replied, nonchalantly.
"That's ridiculous, we all know she can't use anything but her own Void magic!" Siesta rebuked, but immediately covered her mouth and blushed at the insult she had just given her girlfriend.
"We are not suspecting her," Agnes admitted, causing Siesta to calm down. "Her sisters, however, are a different story."
"I have heard that the Duke Valliere has spoken against the Queen," Michelle announced, calmly. "He could be trying to use the rubies to prove a scandal and use that as an excuse to overthrow her." Siesta looked to Agnes with growing disbelief.
"Really?" Siesta asked, disbelieving.
"As we have said, all mages are suspects," Agnes stated. "We'll make a list of all the Earth magic users and investigate them thoroughly."
"I shall go with you, Agnes, to investigate the students," Michelle blurted out.
"No, you will go with Siesta to investigate the Vallieres. I will go with Julio to investigate the students." Agnes retorted, causing Michelle's face to become awash with discomfort. Siesta left the room with the reluctant Michelle who she could feel nothing but suspicion for. As the two walked down one of the corridors towards where the sisters Valliere slept, Siesta decided to try her luck, readying her hand to ignite her warp blade at a moment's notice.
"Where were you when the theft happened?" Siesta asked, bluntly. She could feel a sense of panic come from Michelle, but she knew that anything less than an out-loud confession would not be enough to move against her with.
"I-I was patrolling near where it happened. That is why I got there so quickly," Michelle unconvincingly replied. Siesta felt certain she was the culprit, but needed just a little more to verify…
"Did you do it? Did you rob the safe?" Siesta asked, as directly as possible. The alarm in Michelle's mind was palpable enough that she felt that she could feel it without any psionic prowess at all. Siesta clenched her gauntlet-laden fist in preparation.
"No! I'm not a mage, after all!" Michelle denied, sweating with anxiety. For some reason, Siesta could feel this was the truth, and she began to feel confused.
How could she be acting and feeling so guilty, and yet also be truthful about not being a mage? Siesta pondered as the two now stood outside Eleonore's room. Siesta had one, last-ditch effort to try before giving up on this, however.
"Go inside and check the sister Valliere for the marking upon her breast, I will stand guard," Michelle suggested, slightly calmer than before. Siesta nodded and reached for the handle, and when she sensed Michelle's guard was down, snatched at her coat to reveal her chest. Michelle was completely caught off guard and her reaction was only a moment too slow to prevent Siesta from seeing it.
"It WAS you!" Siesta declared, seeing the mark upon her chest as she ignited her blade and struck an aggressive pose. Michelle hastily covered herself and scowled at Siesta. That scowl soon turned to a smirk, much to Siesta's confusion.
"I suppose there's no hiding it now…" Michelle began with a sinister tone as she pushed her hand forward, causing Siesta to feel an otherworldly force against her body that threw her back. Thanks to the power of the Gandalfr, she righted herself before colliding with the ground. Michelle stood before her, looking down upon the shocked former maid with a smug look. "Did you think you were the only one?" Michelle held up one of her hands, as energy from a forming psionic bolt began to appear. Siesta readied herself to lunge, but the two were interrupted as Eleonore's door swung open. Michelle clenched her teeth in frustration as she turned the bolt to Eleonore. Reacting on instinct, Siesta leapt forward, tackling Eleonore to the ground as the bolt flew just over their heads and exploded within the room. Coughing, Siesta lifted herself and looked around to see Michelle had disappeared.
"Just what do you think you're doing?!" Eleonore, still laying on the floor under Siesta, demanded.
"You're welcome," Siesta replied as she stood and began running down the hall. Seeing the hall split many ways, she took a second to close her eyes and focus her power to reach out. After a moment, she felt the direction she needed to go and followed the feeling. It was not long before she could hear the footfalls of Michelle in front of her, and once Michelle had turned to spot her, she once again let loose a psionic bolt, which Siesta ducked to avoid, causing it to collide with a small explosion on the floor. At this, curious students began to poke their heads out from their dormitories and watch the spectacle. Michelle darted around a corner and began climbing the stairs of one of the campus' many towers, this one being to where the male students would be. Siesta chased her up the narrow staircase, with Michelle psionically throwing the bricks of the stairs and walls to attempt to slow her down. Siesta cleaved through the potential obstructions and charged onward. Once the two had reached the top of the stairs, Michelle found herself at a windowed dead end, which caused her to stop. Siesta blocked her escape from the other end and once again struck a threatening pose.
"Surrender, thief!" Siesta called out.
"What's worse?" Michelle began, still facing away from Siesta, "A thief or a traitor?"
"Wouldn't that be you, as well?" Siesta asked, incredulously.
"No," Michelle began to answer as she turned to face Siesta and raised her hand once more, "it is you. Traitor to your people. Traitor to your class." Siesta prepared to dodge a psi bolt that never came as the window behind Michelle shattered and long, sharp shards of glass began to fly at her. Siesta drew Derflinger, spinning him rapidly on instinct and dispersing the oncoming glass, with small shards that stung her face and hands.
Michelle took this opportunity to leap from the window, with Siesta quick to follow. Once outside, she could see Michelle land the mighty fall gracefully with her own psionics, and Siesta followed suit. Now out in the open, Siesta finally had her chance and threw Derflinger at Michelle, which she easily anticipated. What she did not anticipate, however, was the immediate turnaround of the sword into her, amputating her right leg from the knee down as Derflinger flew back into Siesta's hand. Michelle cried out in pain as she collapsed to the ground, her leg bleeding profusely. Siesta quickly positioned herself over her, her warp blade aimed at the agonized Michelle's face.
"I'm asking you again… surrender," Siesta threateningly implored. She could see that Michelle was attempting to raise her hand for another attack, but flinched and immediately went to put pressure on her gaping leg wound. Siesta, after sheathing Derflinger while turning off her warp blade, knelt down and began to tourniquet the bloody stump.
"Hands up! Step away from the Lieutenant!" Agnes ordered, having just now joined along with Osmond and two other musketeers and had her pistol aimed at Siesta. Siesta did as was requested and raised her hands in submission.
"It was her, Agnes, she was the thi-."
"Shut up!" Agnes interrupted Siesta as she drew close to the groaning Michelle, who was in far too much pain to concentrate her psionics to be a threat. Agnes crouched down, her pistol still aimed at Siesta, and pulled Michelle's coat and shirt aside, revealing the very mark Osmond had instructed them to look for. Upon seeing this, Agnes stood and holstered her pistol.
"Take the Vice-Captain into custody," Agnes ordered to her flanking musketeers, who immediately complied. She then looked to Siesta, who was still kneeling, but now had her hands occupied with assessing the damage the small glass shards had done to her stinging face. Siesta noticed the Captain looking at her and returned her stoney gaze. For a moment, the two stared at each other in tense silence, before Agnes broke it with a nod of respect. She did not wait for Siesta to return it as she walked away to interrogate her former Lieutenant.
While Siesta left to try and get the glass removed from her face, Agnes took Michelle to her makeshift office that had only a plain table and chairs. The musketeers with her placed Michelle in the chair, forcibly, as she continued groaning in pain at her bloody stump of a leg.
"H-hey! You can't just leave me like this! I'm gonna die without help!" Michelle protested. Agnes, instead of responding, nodded to the musketeers, who stripped her jacket and armor from her, leaving her in but a plain, thin shirt. "Are you listening to me? I'm bleeding out here…" Michelle pleaded as Agnes rummaged through her clothing until she produced the replica water and air rubies.
"All this for some trinkets that weren't even real?" Agnes asked.
"Please," Michelle scoffed, "we both know that was just a bluff by that lecherous old man." Agnes raised an eyebrow in response to this, acknowledging that it was the truth. She then reached into the pouch on her belt where she kept the vials of medicine she had been taking and, before Michelle could react, grabbed her prisoner's face in a manner that forced open her mouth to pour the concoction down her throat. Michelle coughed and sputtered at the surprise of it, but upon regaining her breath, she felt the pain in her wound lessen. "Thank you," Michelle said, softly.
"Don't thank me yet, traitor," Agnes began as she positioned herself in front of Michelle on the opposite end of the table. "I need to know why. Why, after all these years of service?" Michelle, her breathing now restored, gave Agnes a determined look.
"Service to what? To a corrupt system that chews us up and spits us out? To a Queen that is happy to lead her people to their deaths against an overwhelming enemy? To a ruling class that is more than willing to send us and our children to fight and die for their wars but are happy to stay in the back giving orders? What manner of service is that? What a joke…" Michelle would have slammed her fists on the table were her hands not bound.
"And that justifies treason?" Agnes interrogated, glaring at Michelle, who looked back to her with equal ferocity.
"It's only treason if you lose," Michelle spat back, a small smirk creeping on her face. Agnes lunged forward, grabbing Michelle by her shirt and clenching her teeth as she shoved her face in Michelle's
"I should kill you right now, traitor…" Agnes snarled. Michelle merely frowned in response.
"For who? For what? The Queen that let THAT happen to you?" Michelle used her head to indicate to the scarring that peeked out from Agnes' coat and armor near her clavicle. "Must still hurt, badly, if you're still taking those drugs."
"It won't hurt nearly as bad as you will when I'm done with you!" Agnes growled as she shoved Michelle back into the chair, nearly causing her to fall over. Agnes closed her eyes and took a deep, shaky breath to calm herself while she rubbed her right side, having been reminded of the constant pain she lived with. "You'll be taken to Bastenois." Agnes informed, with a grave tone.
"What?!" Michelle's cool demeanor broke instantly, and she almost stood up, but, remembering she now lacked a leg to stand on, chose to stay in her seat.. "No… you can't send me there! I know what happens there! You know what happens there! I'll tell you anything! Just… please," Michelle pleaded. Agnes, feeling she had the upper hand, looked down upon the quivering Michelle and took the seat opposite her once more.
"I'm listening…" Agnes said, clasping her hands in front of her face. Michelle revealed many details to her, about her organization, about her orders, and about the longer term plans of her organization. Once she had finished, and Agnes could tell she was beginning to fade from the blood loss of her untreated amputation, Michelle's head began dipping from exhaustion. "Thank you, Michelle," Agnes said in response to her information before rising from her seat, "Guards!" Agnes called out, causing the two musketeers who brought Michelle in to re-enter the room. "Take the prisoner to the infirmary and prepare a transport to Bastenois." Upon hearing this, Michelle snapped to alertness once more as she looked to Agnes, her eyes wide with panic.
"No! I told you everything! Don't send me there!" Michelle screamed as the musketeers began dragging her away. "Just kill me! I'd rather die! Please!" Her desperate appeals were met with deaf ears as Agnes sat at the table, sighing heavily. One who she thought was her only friend turned out to be a traitor. In that moment, the weight of her newfound crushing loneliness began… and she collapsed into her arms upon the table.
Siesta, meanwhile, found herself at the nurse, who was looking at the sparkling bits of glass in her face with a frown upon hers.
"Well, we got a few options here, and none of them are very good," The nurse sighed as she looked at Siesta, who now looked worried. "We could just wait it out, hope you get used to the pain," she began, causing Siesta to grimace, "we could use alchemy to turn the glass into water, with the resulting chemicals simply dissipating, but it would be quite painful, if only for a moment, or we could try and use high-powered wind magic to blast them out of your face."
"The second one!" Siesta blurted out without hesitation, causing the nurse to raise one of her eyebrows.
"Alright, but stay still, this is going to hurt quite a bit," the nurse advised. "I'm going to do it on three, ready?" Siesta nodded anxiously. "One," a searing pain scorched Siesta's face as though thousands of tiny needles were stabbed into her at once, and as soon as the pain was felt, it subsided. Siesta, realizing it was over already, gasped for air as she doubled over. "Old medical trick, works every time," the nurse chuckled as she patted Siesta on the back and walked away. Siesta could not help but rub her face the entire way back to her shared room with Louise. Once there, Louise, who had been laying on the bed, jumped up to greet her.
"Siesta!" Louise cried out, excitedly as she buried her face in Siesta's chest. Siesta smiled down at her and rubbed her head. After a moment of this, Louise lifted her head and gave Siesta a concerned look. "I was worried. I heard so much going on. I wanted to leave and check on you but I wasn't sure…" Louise's voice trailed off.
"It's alright, you were right to stay here," Siesta reassured as she shut the door behind her and began to change her clothes. "I'm sorry I didn't bathe, I'm very exhausted from everything that happened."
"I understand," Louise replied, smiling at her. "But… can we still, you know?" Louise asked sheepishly as she blushed.
"Really? But I'm all gross right now," Siesta giggled nervously.
"That's okay, as long as it's you," Louise said as she motioned for Siesta to join her. Siesta giggled once again and moved to oblige her request, but they were both interrupted by a flash of light below their window. After a few seconds a cloud of shadows appeared and, from it, Zeratul showed himself.
My disciples, Zeratul began as he looked to the girls, I come bearing grave news.