The winner of the End of Summer Poll is... Dr. Heinz Doofenschmirtz! Currently I'm running a poll on Spacebattles to determine if he should be summoned normally or reverse summon Louise. If you want to know where your voted summon placed, check the top of my profile or see it on Spacebattles!
Tobias is on deck, but will he be able to warn Louise of the viscount's treachery in time?
The sun rose over the misty clouds, illuminating the face of one sullen Louise de la Valliere. Tired pink eyes stared off into the horizon, seeing everything yet noticing nothing. The tired pinkette didn't react as she heard familiar footsteps come up behind her.
"What's wrong, my dear Louise?" Wardes asked.
"Nothing."
"Did the breakfast not agree with you? Or perhaps you are airsick?"
"Breakfast was fine, and I do not get airsick," Louise replied curtly.
The Viscount took off his hat and ran a gloved hand through his long silver hair. He joined Louise in looking at the morning sky. "Sorry, my dear," he apologized. "It's hard, losing a familiar."
"He's not lost forever," Louise insisted.
"Yet it hurts just the same, doesn't it?" Wardes asked. Louise's silence all but confirmed his observation. "It was the same for me. It was early on in my career, I had to leave my griffon behind because we were traveling in an enclosed area, and our mounts would become liabilities. It felt like a part of me was missing. Then I received wise words from a senior soldier."
"Which was?"
"Harden my heart and push on with my head held high," Wardes replied, the levity in his voice diminished.
"Reminds me of my mother's 'Rule of Steel'," Louise said wistfully. "A noble is supposed to be composed and dutiful at all times, serving their liege without hesitation."
"Any advice from the famed Karin of the Heavy Wind is worthwhile."
"I know," Louise said softly. "But it still hurts. He's annoying, but I've gotten used to him being by my side."
Wardes raised a curious eyebrow. "That's surprising. You've only been master and familiar for a few weeks, and he frequently runs off anyways."
Louise tilted her head curiously. "How'd you know that?"
"You've mentioned it offhandedly," Wardes replied smoothly. "And it was clear from his attitude that your familiar is not an agreeable person."
Louise made an "ah" of understanding. She supposed that she did regularly complain about Tobias. He was infuriating. Impossible to discipline. Ran off at odd times, and annoying when he stuck around. And yet, without him… she felt like a part of herself was missing.
"Fret not, my dear Louise," said Wardes. "We still have a ways to go to complete our mission. Put thoughts of your familiar aside for now."
"Right. We'll see him when we're done and back in Tristan."
"Of course."
With Louise staring out into the clouds, she never noticed the vindictive smile on the viscount's face.
"Whatya doin' back there?"
"Some of the sacks shifted off to the side. Gotta fix them up.
"'ow the blazes did that 'appen?"
"Someone probably stacked them wrong."
"Well git it done fast. O'erwise we gonna be wadin' in oats up to our ankles!"
"Aye, Aye."
Tobias listened to the conversation as he kept himself curled in a ball behind a stack of barrels. The sacks of grains had been the softest thing he could find to sleep on, so he had taken some of them down so he could make a bed out of them. Unfortunately, he hadn't woken up in time to fix them before someone came to check on the cargo. Why did they decide to check the cargo in the middle of a trip? Tobias had no clue. Just his bad luck, he could only assume.
Once the sailor—or whatever he was called—had heaved the last bag into place, the man looked around the room to see if anything else was amiss. "If someone took these down to sneak a nap on their shift, the captain will have a fit," he grumbled under his breath as he stormed out.
Tobias waited until he could no longer hear any footsteps, and then began to morph. A fly was inconspicuous—as long as he didn't go buzzing around people's faces—and gave him an aerial view of the surroundings. He squeezed through the crack of the door and began exploring the ship properly.
There wasn't much to say. It was a weather-beaten vessel with an equally crusty crew. The only thing that stood out was the faintly glowing rock that was mounted to the underside of the ship. It was a greyish color, and it made Tobias's insect body start to vibrate when he flew too close to it. Tobias briefly recalled that Louise had mentioned something about Windstones being the primary means of flight, which, by derivation, meant that he was looking at the ship's "engine".
Since messing with unknown magical items—especially those of large size—was unnecessarily dangerous, Tobias decided to fly onto the deck. The wind was surprisingly mild, but he quickly decided that it was best to cling to a wall. If a sudden breeze blew, he didn't think a fly would be fast enough to catch up to magically flying ship. It didn't take long for him to recognize Louise's vibrantly distinct hair by the ship's railing. The silver head of hair standing next to her was most likely Wardes. As much as Tobias wanted to push that traitor off the rails to his death, the boy knew that there was no way he could pull that off. It would be best to follow them patiently for now and try to kill Wardes in his sleep once they reached land.
Then, in a fairly typical fashion, things took a turn for the worse.
"Pirates!" a sailor cried out.
As people started to rush about, Tobias tried to find out where the pirates were. He couldn't see any signs around him, and a fly's eyes were too pixelated for him to see far out.
'Of course, pirates,' he mentally grumbled. 'Because nothing about this mission is difficult enough without having every single type of criminal standing in the way. Thugs, thieves, traitors, and now pirates!'
"Wardes, what should we do?" he heard Louise ask. The girl's voice was shaky in panic.
"Keep calm and follow the crew's lead," Wardes advised her. "Captain, what should we do?"
"Not much we can do," another man that Tobias couldn't see replied. Tobias crawled across the wood until he could see a stocky man with a fancy hat. "She's an old cargo ship. She's meant to get from Port A to Port B while weathering a storm or two. No guns, no speed." The man sighed as he scratched the greying hairs growing under his chin. "We'll lower the sails and surrender our cargo. I'd advise that you get a hood to cover your hair, miss. Pirates don't play nice with young ladies like yourself."
Tobias was torn on what to do. 'Fighting is out of the question. None of my battle morphs will allow me to fight a whole ship of pirates on my own. And I don't want Wardes to know I'm here yet. Should I blow my cover and work with Wardes and Louise? No, if the pirates only want the cargo, then I'll be making things much worse. If they go for Louise, then I'll kill them.'
A blurry splotch of brown against the blue and white sky alerted Tobias that the pirate's ship had drawn close. Tobias could hear the clanks of hooks against the ship's side, and the thud of boots landing on the deck. Tobias could make about a dozen new arrivals through the fly's fractured vision.
Wardes's griffon shrieked and bristled, but a flurry of blue sparkles flew over its head, putting it to sleep.
'Even pirates can do magic?' was Tobias's incredulous thought.
"Who's the captain here?" called one of them in a rough voice. He stood in the center front of the formation, and was the first to speak, so Tobias assumed that he was in charge.
"I am, sir," the captain replied. There was a nervous tremble in his voice, but he managed to avoid stammering.
"I have an offer for you."
"An offer, you say?"
"Aye. Surrender your cargo now or we'll take your lives as interest."
The captain didn't even blink before responding, "The cargo is yours."
"A reasonable fellow, I like it. Oh, and you have a pretty lady on board. C'mon girl, don't be shy."
"Please, sir, this is my fiancée," Wardes said.
"Fiancée, eh? Fancy that. This isn't the right ship to take for a cruise now, is it?"
Tobias mentally facepalmed. There was almost no way they could bluff out of this. But even if he started morphing now, if it came down to a fight, he would barely be able to reach human form, let alone morph into something useful. As much as Tobias loathed the Viscount, the familiar needed the slimy noble to pull through. Louise would be safer in the hands of one traitorous noble than in the hands of an entire pirate crew.
"We were hoping to visit my family in Albion before we married," Wardes said.
Even with Tobias's fragmented vision, he could see Louise practically vibrating.
"That so?" The pirate asked with an amused sneer. "Looks like you're out of luck. Pretty much all the nobles are dead or a part of the Reconquista army." He turned to his comrades. "Bring them to the boss. There's ransom to be had!"
Tobias let a sigh of relief escape his tiny insect body. While them being captured aboard a pirate ship was far from ideal, their lives wouldn't be in danger for the time being. Which meant he would have time to find a way to rescue Louise. Worst case scenario, he would have to reveal his morphing abilities. Hopefully they would separate the two in cells so he could find Louise alone and tell her what he learned about Wardes—
"We will do no such thing!"
'That idiot is going to get herself killed!'
"We have important business in Albion, and I demand that you let us pass unaccosted."
The audacity of her statement brought the ship to a moment of silence, before raucous laughter broke out.
"Looks like your fiancée is quite the lady!" the lead pirate remarked. His hand snapped out and grabbed Louise by the wrist. "Maybe we'll keep her for ourselves."
"Unhand me, you brute!"
"Louise, my dear, please settle down," Wardes said calmly. He made no moves as pirates stepped forward and stripped him of his weapon. "I ask that you release my fiancée. This is a stressful time for her. Allow me to keep her calm in the meantime."
The lead pirate shoved Louise into the Viscount's arms. "Keep your girl under control then," he said. "Our boss is the one who'll decide your fates."
There was only one word Tobias could use to describe this situation.
'Shit.'
Tobias hitched a ride on the pirate who had done most of the talking. He was probably important, and sticking with him could lead to the areas that the underlings wouldn't go. Surprisingly, the man smelled rather clean. Cleaner than the sailors of the cargo ship, in fact. Underneath the scent of musty clothes and alcohol there was a freshness from someone who bathed on the regular.
The ship was similarly more orderly than expected. There wasn't a strong smell of tobacco, no drunken antics or rowdy roughhousing, or even signs of blood and filth. Aside from the pirate flag, assortment of weapons, and copious amounts of rum barrels, the ship looked surprisingly normal and quite clean.
The pirate—Tobias assumed him to be a first mate or something of the sort—knocked on a nondescript door before stepping into a small room. There was a square table that sat in the center of the room, covered with papers that Tobias couldn't read with his compounded fly eyes. Across the room a man was hunched over the table. The window above his head cast a shadow over his face, but Tobias could tell that his hair was a bright color. His clothes were fancier than the other pirates, Tobias could tell even with his poor vision, and he didn't have the same musty clothes scent most of the pirates carried either.
"We found two nobles on board, sir. A man and a young lady. Tristan by the looks of them. The lady has the pink hair of a Valliere, but the other is an unknown. Holds himself well, so I'd say he's at least a military officer."
"Did they say why they were here?" the other man asked. His voice was surprisingly velvety for a pirate captain. In fact, Tobias noted a lack of roughness in his passenger's voice as well.
"No, sir. The young lady insisted on arriving at Albion, but I decided that a merchant ship was not the best place to hold an interrogation."
"Good work, Wellington. Give me half an hour and I'll take them in my office. Try to get a feel for them in the meantime."
"By your leave."
Tobias abandoned his ride and stuck himself to a wall. There was no way this crew were a band of regular pirates. Their appearances were too clean, their ship was too neat, and their attitudes were too professional. This room appeared to be the command center, so if he was going to find out what they were really after, he would need to do some snooping.
About ten minutes later, the supposed pirate captain started shuffling the papers around. Some pages were slid into drawers, while the others were messily scattered across the table. With a satisfied hum, the man briskly exited the room.
Tobias waited another two minutes to ensure that no one else would come in before demorphing. Chitin and compound eyes became replaced with flesh and human eyeballs. His hands stretched out to grab the first set of papers he laid eyes on, holding them so he could read them by the light of the cabin's sole window.
Only to realize that he couldn't read a word.
Tobias smacked the paper against the table. "Would it kill them to write in English?" he grumbled. The French, German, or whatever language it was was written in spiraling cursive letters that Tobias could hardly recognize. Grumbling, he started rifling through the drawers, only to find most of them locked.
A minute of focus allowed him to partially morph into a hork-bajir. The alien creature's sharp blades and lean muscles made busting open the drawers easy. Unfortunately, his method also left evidence of snooping, but under the circumstances he didn't pay that much mind.
Most of the papers were letters or maps. The maps were vaguely useful. Tobias may have been a middle school dropout, but he could follow arrows and understand a basic map legend. The maps mostly detailed the movements of a fleet, which was most likely the Reconquista. The fleet had clear numerical superiority and were destroying… bases? Outposts? Some types of military settlements were disappearing one by one from recent maps.
The letters were mostly useless since Tobias couldn't read the language or the handwriting. But he did notice one world that showed up frequently in the greeting: Utaloz.
But no, the T wasn't crossed. Maybe it was a part of a different letter?
Waloz.
No. He read that wrong. That last letter was an S.
Walos.
Wait, that wasn't right. The O looked too skinny, what other letter could it be? I?
Walis.
Or maybe…
Footsteps behind the door startled Tobias out of his thoughts. He instinctively thought to morph, but then remembered that one of his arms was still partially morphed. Even if he hid, those few extra seconds of wet bone crunching would give him away. The blades in his wrist and elbow pulled into his skin as the door opened to reveal the "first-mate" standing in the hallway.
The man stilled, his eyes wide in shock. "Who are you?" he asked. Then, in a rougher voice, "How'd you get in 'ere?"
Tobias, arms locked behind his back, stood as tall as he could in front of the table. The light from the window set his dirty blond hair aglow while letting a shadow cover his cold expression. He could see the man reaching for something at his waist, but the boy kept himself still.
"I'm Louise's familiar. I used the door."
The deadpan delivery made the supposed pirate raise an eyebrow. "A human familiar? You expect me to believe that?"
"You're the one playing a pirate, Wellington."
A rasp of metal echoed in the small room. Tobias made no movements as the cold steel was pointed at his neck. He let the scales of a hork-bajir develop unseen on his hidden forearms. If his gamble was wrong, than the man was likely to underestimate him just long enough for him to lunge forward get at least his arms fully morphed.
Thankfully, the sword was whipped back into its sheath. "When the young lady said that she had summoned a human familiar, I was skeptical. Now I see that you two truly are cut from the same cloth." The man dipped his head and introduced himself, "Colonel Arthur Wellington, at your service."
"Tobias. Familiar of Louise de la Valliere."
Wellington stepped back and motioned for Tobias to join him in the hallway. In a surprising show of trust, he led with his back to Tobias. Confident in Tobias's allegiance, or that Tobias wasn't a threat? The musing did not give Tobias any satisfactory answers, so he demorphed to be fully human and followed the man through the ship. Other members of the crew gave him curious glances, but none moved to stop him.
Colonel Wellington knocked a much more decorated door before announcing, "We have one more for you, boss!"
Tobias followed the man inside. The tension in his body relaxed as he met eyes with Louise. He could almost ignore the shocked expression on Wardes's face.
"TOBIAS?"
"Yes, Louise?"
"What—how, but you were—!"
Tobias watched in amusement as Louise floundered in voicing her thoughts. His attention gradually shifted across the room. Wardes had already reigned in his surprise, and nearby a handsome young man had only briefly glanced upwards before returning to reading a letter with a sad smile. The man's face wasn't recognizable, but still felt vaguely familiar.
"Tobias, while it may not be often you see royalty, you should see to the needs of your master first," Wardes noted, with the faintest hint of scorn.
Tobias wanted to ignore the viscount, but his advice was correct, even if backhanded, as per usual. "What is it, Louise?
"Where were you?!" she exclaimed. "You had me worried sick! I thought those thugs had got you! Or that you had gotten lost. You're absolutely hopeless on your own. And you were following me the whole time and couldn't even tell me?!"
Tobias blinked. "I was tired. When I got on the ship, I went straight to sleep," he lied. "When I woke up, we were invaded by pirates, so I hid again. Then I found out the pirates weren't actual pirates so… here we are."
"You couldn't have let me know you were still around?"
"I figured that it would be a bad move to distract you when I thought you were in danger," Tobias replied.
"How did you manage to get on board without anyone noticing?" Wardes asked.
Tobias was more than capable of reading between the lines. "Fouquet was good at break-ins and escapes, but I was able to best her at her own game."
"I see."
Heh. Tobias kept his expression blank as satisfaction warmed his heart. Cunning as the bastard may be, Tobias was far too experienced to fall for such a bait. His non-answer was curt as usual, gave enough details to appear to answer the question, and would lead Wardes to come to his own conclusion.
A melodic laugh brought the trio's attention to the blond-haired prince. "Princess Henrietta has sent quite the delegation," Prince Wales said merrily. The letter in his hand was neatly folded. How long he had been observing them, Tobias couldn't say.
"I apologize for our lack of propriety, your highness," Louise was quick to say, her cheeks flushed as she realized that they had blatantly ignored the prince over the course of their conversation.
"There is no need to be so formal, Miss Valliere," Prince Wales assured her. "A friend of Henrietta is a friend of mine."
"We are honored, your grace," Wardes said with a bow.
Tobias nodded along, only briefly wondering what propriety was supposed to be. Moments like these showed him the gap of knowledge between himself and Louise.
"As for the letter you seek, I'm afraid we'll have to wait until we reach Albion before I can retrieve it."
"You don't have it with you?" Wardes asked.
The prince shook his head. "Such a sensitive document is kept secured in Newcastle. I couldn't afford the risk of having incriminating evidence on my ship."
"You might not want to have letters in your name on the ship either," Tobias stated.
"You went through the prince's personal letters?!" Louise shrieked.
"I was investigating."
"The lad called me out by name while standing in front of a table full of classified documents," Wellington commented from the side of the room. Tobias had almost forgotten the man was there. "Looked me straight in the eye and didn't flinch when I brandished my sword either. I've never seen a lad look so terrifying while near naked."
Clearly the stress of the situation had gotten to Louise, because only then did she ask, "Where are your clothes, Tobias?"
"Back at the inn."
"Why didn't you get them?"
"Didn't have time. Besides, it's easier to move without them."
That statement brought an exasperated expression on Louise's face and drew confusion from the men in the room.
"I'm sure the crew can find a cabin boy uniform that will fit him well," Prince Wales offered.
Tobias spent most of the ride to Newcastle on the deck, keeping an eye on Wardes and Louise. The view was also amazing, he had to admit. While he had been on an airplane several times back on earth while being shuffled between his aunt's house on the east coast and his uncle's house on the west coast, there was difference between sitting in a plane and standing on the deck of a physics-defying ship. Wardes's griffon was relaxing on the upper deck. Apparently levitating a sleeping griffon aboard the ship was as easy as waving a magic wand.
The ship's crew still wore their pirate clothes but dropped the act, behaving like professional sailors. Tobias could see them bustling about, keeping an eye on everything around, above, and below the ship. Out in the distance he could see a fleet of ships hovering aside a city built on top of a cloud.
"I see why they call it the White Country," he remarked under his breath.
Wales's ship, The Eagle, dipped under the sea of white that surrounded the landmass. The mist of the clouds blinded Tobias, making him wonder how the crew were able to navigate with no visibility.
'Must be magic,' was his logical conclusion.
Tobias could barely feel the ship rise as it gently ascended through cloud curtain into a large room with a towering ceiling.
"Are we underground?"
"Indeed."
The response came from Colonel Wellington, who had appeared beside Tobias once they passed through the cloud cover. Magic, it had to be magic. No one should be able to navigate across a ship with white mist blocking everything further than their nose.
"The Fortress of Newcastle is located near the edge of Albion, where the land is thinnest. Which means it's capable of having a secret port built underneath the fortress itself."
Tobias stared at him. The words made practical sense, but the logic was… strange. Then again, magic.
The colonel took his lack of response in stride, laughing to himself as he led Tobias off the deck and onto—relatively—solid ground.
"Here is the letter you require, Miss Valliere."
They were in the prince's personal chambers. Why he had invited them inside instead of simply retrieving the letter and giving it to them elsewhere, Tobias didn't know and wasn't going to ask. The sooner they got this over with the sooner he could move on to a more pressing matter.
Louise took the letter gingerly. It was well worn, but not crumbled, like someone had held it a hundred times with tender care. "Thank you, your highness."
The prince smiled, but Tobias noticed that his expression didn't reach his eyes. "There is no thanks to be had. But if you could do me one last favor—"
"Of course!"
Prince Wales started at the sudden agreement, but then his smile widened into something more genuine. "Please, deliver this to Henrietta as well." He reached into his breast pocket and withdrew a second letter. The paper was fresh white, and the seal was still glossy.
"It would be my pleasure, your highness."
"Again with the formalities, Miss Valliere? You are my guests. Have your rest here for the night. Tomorrow The Eagle will sail you back to Tristan."
"We couldn't impose that much!" Louise protested. "Without your ship, how will you get supplies or evade the Reconquista?"
"We won't." The prince kept a smile and calm voice, but there was finality in his statement. "The supplies from our last run will ensure that we can survive another week. I suspect the Reconquista will decide to finish us off by then."
Tobias blinked. That was the most casual way of acknowledging approaching death that he'd seen in this world.
Louise's reaction was more vocal. "Surely you don't mean to die yourself, do you?"
The prince sighed. While he appeared to be twenty years old at most, when he relaxed his body, Tobias could see the lines of stress and exhaustion that framed his face. "The forces of Newcastle number 300 fighting men. The estimated force of the Reconquista fleet is 50,000 strong. The only reason we have survived this long is because they wished to take out our smaller outposts one by one, to ensure that the final battle would wipe out the entirety of the Royalist forces of Albion."
"But if you die, then the line of Albion will die with you!" Louise protested.
"I will not flee and leave my people to die alone," Wales stated calmly. "If Albion is to fall, then I will fall with it."
"Prince Wales…" Louise hesitated, and then glanced at Wardes, and then Tobias. The viscount's expression was calm yet pitying, as if he expected such a development and was sympathizing with Louise's plight. Tobias's face was rooted in its default glare, but he gave her a small shrug.
"Prince Wales," Louise began again. "Princess Henrietta cares a lot about you. Whenever she speaks about you her face lights up in a way it doesn't for anyone else. And I can tell you care for her, even more than a cousin would."
Tobias blinked. 'They were cousins?'
"Do you love Princess Henrietta?"
'What.'
"I do."
'What?'
Oblivious to her familiar's inner screams of confusion, Louise continued, "If you love her, then return with us to Tristan. Albion may be lost, but Henrietta will welcome you!"
"She is to be married to the king of Germania," Wales pointed out. "Our relationship is not well known, but if it is discovered that she is sheltering me while engaged to another man, the emperor would be disgraced. Besides, as I said before, I cannot abandon my country. I will stay here until the day I die."
Tobias visibly winced at the defeated look on Louise's face. "I can't accept that," she said.
"But that is how it must be," Prince Wales said softly. "Listen, miss Valliere, you have kind and honest eyes. Such honesty is not good for an ambassador."
Tobias blinked, wondering why the sudden mood whiplash. Yes, it was good advice, but still?
"However, to a people who have no future, and hold nothing besides their honor, honesty and kindness are a welcome comfort. We will have a feast tonight; a final celebration to end the last of Albion."
"We would be honored," Wardes answered for the group, seeing that Louise was still parsing through her emotions and Tobias was imitating a statue. "Come, my dear, let's go to the mess hall. It's been a long day, after all."
Wardes threw a backwards glance at Tobias, who only gave him a nod. Curious, but not overly so, Wardes led Louise out the door, closing it softly behind them. Tobias turned his gaze to Prince Wales, who still carried that annoying defeated smile on his face.
"Is there something you wanted from me?" the prince asked.
"Yes. There's something I need to do before we return to Tristan, and I doubt I can handle it on my own."
"And what is that?"
Tobias's first thought was to say "Kill Wardes" as bluntly as possible, but he held himself back. Prince Wales didn't know him, and as far as the royal was concerned, a reputed noble was probably more trustworthy than an unusual human familiar.
"I noticed some unusual things on our trip here," Tobias began. "Bandits ambushed us right before we arrived at Port Rochelle. The trap was well laid. If it wasn't for the lack of animal sounds, I probably wouldn't have noticed the unusual shadows behind the rocks. But when I thought about it later, the road was a terrible place for bandits to target. While it had a convenient ambush spot, it was too close to a large city for bandits to regularly come by and rob travelers blind. The city would've sent guards to capture them long ago so that they wouldn't lose profits."
Tobias's eyes narrowed. "The same group of bandits showed up again at our inn, which was strange, because Wardes had left them trapped in Earth Magic and none of them were mages. He was also supposed to tell the city guard to arrest them once we got to the city. Attacking us was stupid, because they had badly lost the first time, and there was little chance they'd be able to escape from inside the middle of a major city. On top of that, they were being led by Fouquet of the Crumbling Earth, who I had personally helped capture not too long ago."
The prince's smile became brittle. His eyes hardened in a way that Tobias instinctively knew was matching his own. "You were being followed."
"Worse. I… asked Fouquet some questions and threatened to kill her if she lied to me." Tobias noted that the prince looked surprise to hear that Fouquet was a woman but nodded for Tobias to continue. "She said that she was being blackmailed by Viscount Wardes to distract me so that he could isolate Louise and deliver her to the Reconquista."
Prince Wales was now frowning. "Such an accusation—"
"Is unreliable when coming from an infamous international thief, I know," Tobias cut Wales off. He knew that the interruption was rude, but he needed to prove his point before the prince shot it down entirely. "I did some investigation on my own, quickly, since Wardes and Louise were trying to find a ship to Albion. Wardes tried to abandon me as soon as the attack happened. Even when we reunited, he's been occupying Louise's time. As far as he knows, we don't get along, so I haven't bothered trying to stop him. However, this showed me a pattern.
"When we first left Tristan, Wardes wanted to travel on his griffon with Louise, leaving me on horseback. During breaks he spent time flattering Louise, while giving me backhanded comments about knowing my place. Since I ignored him most of the time, I suspect he thinks his insults flew over my head. And the one night I did have an actual talk with him—"
Tobias paused, trying to find the best way to describe that experience. "I saw behind his mask. He is not a person to be trusted."
Prince Wales was quiet for several seconds after that. Tobias remained silent, unnaturally still as he watched the young man's microexpressions. Finally, the prince sighed. "It seems I misjudged you. I thought you were a serious young man, but now I see you are a soldier. No, something else. You have little care or understanding for social niceties, but your mind and body are wired for analysis and combat."
"Combat is a weak point of mine. Otherwise, I would've killed Wardes myself."
"You are convinced that he is a traitor who has been sabotaging your journey since the beginning?"
"Only five people in Tristan knew of our mission," Tobias replied. "The three of us, Princess Henrietta herself, and the princess's guard captain. Henerietta wouldn't sabotage herself. Louise is loyal to Henrietta. I'm loyal to Louise. Wardes is supposed to be loyal to the Royal Family and is Louise's Fiancé, but I see more ambition in him than loyalty."
"And what about Henrietta's bodyguard?" Wales asked. "You didn't mention her."
"She wanted to stab me for being disrespectful to the princess and an unknown threat to the mission."
"You sound… oddly pleased by that?"
"She's got steadfast loyalty and the steel to follow through. I don't think we'll ever be friends, but it's hard not to respect someone like that," Tobias replied nostalgically.
The prince gave him a slow nod. It wasn't quite hesitant, but it wasn't in agreement either. "While I understand your reasoning, that still doesn't give enough evidence to execute him," he said.
"He's literally the only person who could pull this off."
"That you know of," Prince Wales added.
Tobias glared. "Is there anyone else it could be?"
"Do not think that I am dismissing your words," Wales assured him. "I cannot, in good conscious or authority, execute him without irrefutable evidence. What I can do is have my guards stationed around the area. If he tries to flee with Louise, we will intercept them."
"If you can keep them indoors that'd be better," Tobias remarked. "Unless Wardes can teleport, the only way out of here is by flying."
"Tela-port?"
"Never mind," Tobias said dismissively. "Who do I have to kill to stop the Reconquista?"
The non-sequitur caught Prince Wales off-guard yet again. "I beg your pardon?"
"You're insisting on dying here like an idiot as if going down in a blaze of glory makes a difference," Tobias said flatly. "Who needs to die so you can come up with a plan that doesn't end with 300 corpses being scattered across Newcastle?"
"You are… quite brash in your speech."
"Now you see why some people want to stab me?"
"Indeed." The prince made a sound that was almost a snort. "Normally, I'd say your rudeness was an offense, but as I told your master, honesty is a comfort to those with nothing to their name." He gave Tobias an appreciating look. "Are you older than you appear, or did you age faster than you should have?"
"A bit of both, believe it or not."
Wales grimaced. "Unfortunately, I do. However, I still cannot put this burden on you. It is my men and my war. I'd rather not have anyone else's blood on my hands."
"I have no interest in dying," Tobias stated flatly. "Louise has decided to ban me from getting myself killed like an idiot."
Wales couldn't help but chuckle. "And you wish to honor her desires?"
"Yes. But that doesn't mean I'm going to sit around," said Tobias. "If I can cripple the head of the operation, the war won't stop, but it's better than doing nothing."
"Again, I can't condone this."
"If I can cut this snake off at the head, it'll at least slow them down," Tobias argued. "Let's face it. Albion is as good as captured if you're stuck at these odds. Tristan is a weak country with even weaker leadership. As much as I respect Henrietta, she's still a teenager in way over her head. If the Reconquista conquer Albion without a single significant loss, they'll see no reason not keep up the momentum by conquering the next easiest country. This entire situation is messed up, and I'll take any advantage I can get to level the odds." Tobias leaned forward. "Give me a target."
The prince sighed. "You're stubborn, aren't you?"
"No one survives war without a healthy amount of stubbornness."
"Heh, I suppose you have a point." The prince reached into his desk and pulled out a small stack of papers. "Here's a copy of our intelligence on the enemy commanders. We don't have information on everyone, but we at least have the identities of the major players." He handed the files to Tobias, who immediately stopped at the first page.
"This is the guy in charge?" he asked.
"Yes, Oliver Cromwell. It's quite surprising. The man seemed so unassuming, but now he leads the Reconquista with the fervor of a man possessed."
"So, he's the best target."
The smile fell from Wales's face. "I would not advise trying to kill him," he said. "He's aboard the enemy flagship, which they stole from our royal fleet. There is no way to assault it. And he is a powerful mage."
"As strong as you?"
"He's also triangle class, but he specializes more in politics than combat, so I'd suspect that I'm the stronger of us two. Even then, the risk is too great. Most of the important officials are also triangle class mages. You might be able to harm their supply convoys if you target another—" The prince moved to turn the page, but Tobias slammed his hand down over the picture of Cromwell's face.
"I'll go for him."
"I can't send you to your death for a fight that is not yours," Wales stated.
Tobias was silent for a moment. Privately, he thought that already made Prince Wales a nobler leader than anyone he'd seen in Tristan. "I already told you I have no plans on dying."
"Whether you plan it or not, it's still suicide to assault the enemy commander on his own flagship."
"I managed to sneak onto your ship."
"His ship is three times the size and has ten times the crew. How do you expect to reach the ship unnoticed? Let alone kill him?"
"I can assassinate him with a three-minute window," Tobias stated. "Worst case scenario I make a messy escape."
The prince pinched the bridge of his nose. "I cannot allow you to do such a foolhardy plan. How do you even expect to reach the ship unnoticed?"
"Won't be a problem."
"There are other commanders—"
"None of their deaths would have the same impact as killing the leader," Tobias cut him off.
"And you can kill him before anyone notices you? With what spell?"
"I'm no mage, but I'm pretty experienced at killing."
"No good at fighting or magic, but experienced at killing," Wales said wryly. "Tobias, familiar of Louise de la Valliere, tell me this: what are you trying to prove?"
"I have nothing worth proving."
The look the prince gave Tobias unsettled him. He had expected disbelief, scorn, or maybe anger. But Prince Wales had that annoyingly sad smile, with an expression full of pity. It twisted a knot in Tobias's gut.
"Give me a cover story for Louise, would you?"
Prince Wales looked Tobias in the eyes. Tobias stared back at him. The princes sighed and acquiesced, "I will, but you must return alive."
"Believe me, even if I fail the mission, I will be back tonight."
Chapter 12.5: Poor Prince First Impressions
A Non-Canon (Alternative Timeline) Omake
"Princess Henrietta has sent quite the delegation," Prince Wales said merrily.
Upon closer inspection of the prince's face, Tobias's expression soured.
Noticing this, the prince was quick to apologize. "I'm sorry if that sounded condescending, I meant no offense," Wales said sincerely.
"I'm not offended."
"Then why do you look at me that way?"
"I don't like your face."
"Tobias!" Louise screeched. "You're being rude to the prince!"
"Ah, right. Sorry, your highness." Tobias's deadpan tone left his sincerity in question.
"This is the first time I've heard someone dislike my face. Or be so upfront about it," Wales remarked after recovering from his confusion.
"He had a similar reaction to me," Wardes offered in a show of camaraderie. "I wouldn't think much of it."
"Please excuse his behavior," said Lousie. "He's bad with people."
"I see." It was hard to tell if he was lying with the polite smile glued to his face. "Though I am curious, why don't you like my face?"
"You remind me of someone."
"Who?" Louise was the one to ask.
Tobias looked at her, deadpan. "He's blond-haired, blue-eyed, and a pretty-boy. Who else do you think I'm comparing him too?"
Louise stared blankly.
"A certain womanizing pest?" Tobias tried.
Louise's eyes widened as she realized who he was referring to.
"They look like they could be brothers."
"N-n-no!"
"If you put them side by side—"
Louise ended up resorting to physical means to silence her familiar, all while frequently apologizing for his careless and rude behavior.
The final scene with Wales is one I've been planning for a looong time. But the problem with planning out things in advance is that the little details tend to change on the way there, so it took a lot of revision to keep my idea for scene while making sure it flowed. Wales is a nice guy. I want him to live, but his situation and mindset make it hard for him to avoid death flags.
Anyway, Tobias is showing off his intelligence and guts. A lanky teen in a loincloth can be pretty off-putting. Now to see if he can successfully assassinate a triangle class mage aboard a fully-crewed flagship.
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