Here we are at Chapter 19. Yukitsuki has been kidnapped. Now her friends and family must find her. I do not own Code Vein. They belong to Bandai Namco. I only own my OCs. Here's chapter 19. Enjoy.
Chapter 19: Saint
It is chaos at the Royal Academy. Soldiers arrived to secure the scene. People who got injured are being tended to while the others are being questioned. But one question remains unanswered: where is Yukitsuki? Iris explained what happened to Anelia and the mage was beside herself.
"This is my fault. If only I had gotten here sooner," Anelia is in tears.
"The blame lies not with you, Anelia. I had underestimated our opponents. I was here, but I couldn't protect Anelia," Iris laments.
"The blame doesn't lie with either of you," they look to see Princess Iris approach with a squad of knights. "Whoever attacked the school; they are the ones responsible. For now, let us focus our efforts on finding Yukitsuki. We'll the blame for later. Let's start by figuring out who those assailants were,"
"Well, I'm sure the people who attacked me while I was making my way to the academy are involved with the ones who attacked the school. They were sent to kill me, or at least, buy time. Thankfully, Iris and Fuyumi trained me in close combat in case I ever found myself in such a situation," Anelia recounts.
"They all used holy magic, except for that one swordsman. He was a wolf beastman and used fire magic. Though, his flames were blue unlike Hiei's. He was strong. I was able to handle him myself in terms of swordsmanship, but the outside interference from his cohorts. They were well-prepared," Iris says.
"They were after Yukitsuki specifically. Why though? She's the daughter of a duchess, but there was also Lady Sophia who is of the same rank. There was also me, Anatolia's princess, but they never even tried to come after me. If this was an attack against my family or some kind of ransom, they would've gone after me. But, they didn't," Princess Iris says.
"Could it be someone with a grudge against our family? I'm sure we made a few enemies due to our contributions during the war," Iris wonders.
"Perhaps it was someone with a grudge against Fuyumi. But, considering how powerful she is, going after her directly would be a fool's errand," Anelia shakes her head.
"So, they went after Yukitsuki instead?" they turn as Sophia joins them. "I sent a messenger to my family, petitioning my father for support in the investigation. I can't let what happened here go unpunished. Especially after what happened to Yuki,"
"What of your family, Ser Iris?" Princess Iris asks her knight.
"Fuyumi, Elane, and Hikaru are outside the country on a personal mission. During the incident back in the forest during that one field trip, Yukitsuki displayed powers she didn't show before. We thought it might have something to do with her origins. Yukitsuki had no memory of her past before Fuyumi took her in. We wanted to see if there was a connection. May found out that Yukitsuki originally came from Theodosia. Fuyumi and her group were going to link up with her and continue the investigation there. To think this attack happened while they were gone. I don't believe that's a coincidence," Iris explains.
"Whoever attacked knew that Fuyumi wouldn't be here. They're afraid of her strength. But that can only mean..." Anelia trails off.
"That those attackers have someone on the inside, feeding them information. Somehow, they learned of Fuyumi's departure and picked this as the perfect time to strike," Sophia figures it out.
"A traitor amongst our people. Despicable. We must find out who, and fast," Princess Iris declares.
"How is Hiei?" Anelia asks.
"Hana is looking after her. She'll recover... but mentally, she's must worse," Iris sighs.
As they talk, the woman with the pale blonde hair watches from the shadows. She overhears their conversation before leaving the scene of the crime, careful not to be spotted just yet. As she does, she spots what appears to be a woman looking around before walking away from the school. The pale blonde girl narrows her eyes and decides to follow. The woman she's following moves away from the school and approaches a waiting carriage. The woman gets inside her carriage and closes the door. The moment she feels she's safe, the woman sighs and relaxes in her seat.
"My, my, and where are you off in such a rush to?" the woman jolts and sees the pale blonde girl sitting across from her. "Why don't we chat for a bit?' she smiles while the other woman pales in fear.
...
In a medical room, Hiei is resting in a bed while Hana sits next to her. Anelia already healed her injuries, but Hiei had suffered a heavy blow in her fight against the wolf swordsman. She hasn't regained her full strength yet. Healing magic heals injuries, but not the stamina that was previously lost.
Hana sighs, "How could this have happened?" she shakes her head. Hiei groans as one eye slowly opens up. "Hiei, are you feeling better?" she asks her friend.
"Hana... where's... Yuki?" Hiei asks.
"I'm sorry. We have no idea where she could be right now. They're still cleaning up the mess here at the school," Hana explains.
"I failed her... again," Hiei cries.
"No, you have not. Why? Because you're still alive. Which means, there is a chance to save her. Remember, they wanted her alive and relatively unharmed. Whatever plans they may have for her, they need her alive to fulfill them. That will give us time," Hana tries to be optimistic.
"I have to... find her," Hiei slowly gets up, but Hana holds her back.
"Whoa, easy now. Your injuries may have been healed, but you still have not regained your full strength. You need to rest a bit more at least!" Hana says.
"We don't have time for that! Even if they want her alive, who knows what exactly that plan is. Or what they could be doing to her right now. I can't begin to imagine what they intend to do with her. I cannot wait!" Hiei pushes against her.
"Will you slow down a moment?!" Hana slaps Hiei across the face, which does the trick. "I'm worried sick about Yuki as well, but rushing in blindly without a plan is just stupid. We WILL find her, but when we do, there will be opposition. They trounced us before. We need to be ready for when that moment comes," Hana says.
After really listening to Hana's words, Hiei takes a breath and calms down, "You're right... I'm sorry, Hana,"
"Hey, it's okay. Come on, if you're that adamant about getting out of bed, let's go see if the others have come up with anything," Hana helps Hiei up and out of bed and get changed before going to join the others.
...
Meanwhile, in an unknown location, Yukitsuki sleeps on a large, white bed. The dress she wore to the dance had been removed and replaced with white and gold robes like that of a priest or priestess. Yuki groans as she slowly awakens from her slumber. She glances around, noticing her surroundings are completely different from before.
"What... happened?" Yuki wonders before the memories of the night before return to her and she bolts up in her bed. "Hiei, the others!"
She remembers the dance, the hooded figures ruining it, her friends getting hurt, and then she felt something hit her in the back of the head before everything went black.
"Good morning, Your Eminence," Yuki looks to see two women in white female robes for sisters of the church of the goddess, bowing their heads to her. "We hope your rest was a pleasant one," they speak together.
"Who are you? Where am I?" Yuki asks, feeling on edge.
"Please be at ease, Your Eminence. You are quite safe here. We have been tasked to be your servants. Should you require anything, you'd need only ask," the second one says.
"Where am I? Where are my friends? What happened to the people who attacked me?" Yuki demands answers as she gets out of the bed.
Considering what happened the night before, she's in no mood for games.
"We understand your confusion, Your Eminence. Please, if you would kindly follow us. The Cardinal will explain everything to you. Now, this way," the lady servants open the doors of her room and gesture for Yuki to follow them.
While Yuki could just blast her way out of there, she has no idea where she is. She needs answers first before she can make any other moves for the time being. Yuki follows the two girls, which she dubbed as 'Servant 1' and 'Servant 2', as thy guide her down a hallway. Yuki realizes she was taken from her home, but this isn't what she was expecting. The hallway is nice and clean, rather than made of old stone like in a dungeon or cavern. A few windows show a sunny day outside. She doesn't recognize the outside, so she's not in the capital at least, nor is she back in Crystalglove City.
"Am I still in Anatolia?" Yuki wonders.
They eventually stop at a pair of double doors.
"This way, Your Eminence," the two servants bow before opening the doors for her.
When the doors open, Yukitsuki finds a large circular table before her. Sitting directly across from her is a man with a graying beard, glasses, and wearing white robes like her except they have red straps of cloth over his shoulders. Yuki remembers learning about that in her studies. Those in the church who wears outfits like that are supposed to be ranked high up in it.
"Ah, Your Eminence, Lady Yukitsuki, I'm glad you could join me. I do hope your rest was a peaceful one. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Cardinal Gregor Entore, just a humble follower of our goddess," Gregor bows his head to her.
The doors close behind her, leaving just the two of them, "I want answers," Yuki says.
"And I can provide them. Please have a seat," Gregor gestures to the table.
Yukitsuki sits down, silently planning out her escape.
...
Back in the capital, everyone gather all the intel they've compiled in hopes of fingering out who took Yukitsuki, where they went, and why. Unfortunately, they haven't come up with anything concrete. As they speak, Emilia walks into the school.
"I came as soon as I heard. Is it true?!" Emilia looks beside herself.
Iris sadly nods, "It's true, Emilia. Yuki has been taken. I'm sorry I failed to protect our daughter,"
"It's not your fault, Iris. You were here when she needed you. I was not, and even if I were, I'd be of little help. Right now, we must find her. I sent a message to Hikaru. Hopefully, it'll intercept her as she's making her way back to Fuyumi and the others. As soon as they get the message, they'll rush right back to aid us," Emilia says, hugging Iris.
"If only we had some solid information to go on. But, what we do know is barely useful," Anelia says.
"Perhaps I can be of assistance," they hear and look... just in time to see a woman, bound in rope, tossed to the floor in front of them. Standing over her is the pale blonde woman. "This woman might be of use to us,"
Everyone gathers around Emilia and Sophia notices the woman on the ground.
"Wait, Professor Tiana!" Sophia gasps.
"Is she a teacher here?" Iris asks.
"She's an etiquette teacher. Yukitsuki is in her class as a first-year," Hiei explains.
"Before that, who are you exactly?" Hana asks.
The pale blonde woman bows to them, "A pleasure to finally meet you all in person, everyone. My name is Veronica Blackwind, a humble traveler who dabbles in all kinds of affairs," Veronica smirks.
"Blackwind... I'm not familiar with that name. From what house do you hail from?" Emilia asks.
"An old house, but one that has long since fallen from grace. There's nothing of it left, basically. But, enough about me. The woman on the floor is the one you should ask questions of. She has quite the tale to tell," Veronica glares down at the professor.
"D-Don't listen to her! She's a monster! Please, help me!" Professor Tiana begs.
"Let's take this somewhere else," Iris suggests, and the others agree.
...
Back with Yukitsuki, her conversation with the Cardinal continues.
"Why were my friends and I attacked, and I kidnapped?" Yuki is in a bad mood.
Gregor sighs, "I deeply regret what transpired at the Royal Academy, Your Eminence. That was not supposed to happen. We wanted you to come with us peacefully, and of your own volition. Not by force. That is not how we wish to build our relationship with you," he explains.
"And who exactly is 'we'?" Yuki cocks an eyebrow.
"You see, we suffered terrible loses in the war with the Empire. And some of those loses were because of our own foolish actions. But, some of them were because of the empire and those monsters they unleashed upon the land," Gregor says, fixing his glasses.
Yuki starts putting the pieces together, "You're from the church of the goddess,"
"Yes, we are. We who serve the goddess as her loyal followers, and were cast low during that terrible conflict years ago due to our own arrogance," Gregor shakes his head in slight dismay.
"So, what? Is this some form of payback at my mother for her actions during the war. You wanted her to become your 'angel of the goddess' but really, you wanted her to become your puppet. When she refused, you sent assassins after my family, and then your people fought against her during the war. After that battle was over, during the peace negotiations, she played a part in your nation losing its status as a 'holy' nation, not to mention losing your influence in that country and within the church itself. I wouldn't be surprised if you all bore a grudge against her for that," Yuki says.
"Admittedly, we did at first. But, time has a way of healing old wounds and helping people to see what truly matters. Let me be clear, we did not come to you to seek revenge against Fuyumi Kusanagi. That would be a fool's errand. We came for you, Your Eminence," Gregor replies.
"You keep calling me that. What are you talking about?" Yuki asks, confused.
"I understand your confusion. You never knew how special you truly are, Lady Yukitsuki," Gregor replies.
...
Back at the school, the gang managed to get a private room to themselves so they can discuss what's going on.
"Alright, care to explain what's going on here, Miss Veronica?" Emilia asks.
"Well, you were all wondering who those goons managed to get inside the school grounds, and how they knew when Fuyumi and company would be gone from the country, giving them the opening they needed, right? Well, this one has the answers to those questions," Veronica's gaze drifts down to Professor Tiana, still bound in rope.
"You must listen to me. I have no idea what she's talking about! Please, you have to help me!" Professor Tiana begs.
"Enough! Spirits of water, drown my foes... Aqua Prison!" Sophia uses her magic to encase Tiana's head in a water ball. "I'm tired of this. You were bothering Yuki by telling her to end her engagement with Hiei and that she had to marry a man and give birth to an heir because it was her 'noble lady' duty. You've always had an issue with her because she doesn't have noble blood in her veins and because she doesn't act like a typical noble lady. How we're supposed to be no better than objects to possess and produce heirs. Like a brood mare. No more lies or games. Tell us the truth, now!" Sophia yells.
She releases the water sphere and Tiana takes deep breaths as she had almost drowned in that aqua prison. She looks up, a last-ditch effort for aid, but none is seen.
"Talk, Professor Tiana," Emilia demands.
"...At first, I was asked by Duke Defoster to try and convince Yukitsuki to pursue a marriage with his son, Alan. But, it was more like my family and I were forced to. A marquess's power cannot match that of a duke. I had no choice. Apart of me hated her, and you, Lady Emilia, for choosing paths not befitting ladies of noble stature. I did not like it," Tiana's words upset the women in the room. "However, then they came. Men in white cloaks. They never showed their faces to me. But, they said they could help my family get out of our predicament. They would offer support, and they managed to convince me they could actually do so. They wanted Yukitsuki. I did not ask why. I overheard Yukitsuki's conversation with her friends and she mentioned that Fuyumi Kusanagi had left the capital on official business. So when I told them about that piece of information, they gave me new instructions. I was to create an opening for them to enter the school during the dance. After they had Yukitsuki in their position, they would then uphold their end of the deal and get Duke Defoster to leave my family in peace. They also wanted me to deal with Professor Vaunklief and Captain Cruz. I slipped a sleeping drug in their food and dumped their bodies in a supply closet so they wouldn't interfere," Tiana explains.
"That would explain why I didn't see them at all during the battle in the ballroom," Iris notes.
"Yes. You must now, I never thought they would do something this extreme. I thought they would simply convince Yukitsuki to go with them willingly or even take her, but not all of this! I swear I didn't know!" Tiana cries out for mercy.
"You imbecile! Do you have any idea what you have-," Iris looks like she was about to slug the woman, only for Emilia to beat her and slap Tiana across the face.
"I would normally never act in such a manner, but for you I will make an exception. You will answer for your crimes, Lady Tiana. Be prepared," Emilia takes a calming breath before turning to Princess Iris. "Forgive that display, Your Highness,"
"It is quite understandable, Lady Emilia. On to the next step," Princess Iris turns to Veronica. "Now then, care to explain your role in all of this, Veronica? Who are you exactly?"
"Well, might as well start from the beginning. My name is Veronica..." Veronica snaps her fingers and a blur flows over her body before her horns, wings, and tail appear from thin air. "And I am a demon princess who seeks the child of the goddess."
...
"Lady Yukitsuki, Your Eminence, the truth is you are the child of the goddess. The one destined to become our Saint," Gregor says
Yuki can only look on in stunned silence, "...Huh?"
And that's the chapter. Yuki finds herself kidnapped and begins to learn the truth about her origins. Meanwhile, her family meet Veronica. What is the truth of Yukitsuki's past? Until then, please Read and Review.