The 5 polls for the second Suikoden plays for 1-5 will be ending on 12/31, so you still have plenty of time but make sure to vote before then. If you cannot vote in the polls leave your vote in a comment and I will count it towards the total.

I'm feeling much better, so to make up for last week I'm planning on doing 3 chapters this week.

Chapter Two: Part Two

"So it was sent to everyone?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Albert said with a respectful bow. "I had messenger birds sent out before your meeting with your remaining heirs. All of the lords and ladies across Zelant have heard of Princess Astraea's…treason."

King Franz nodded. "They can't kill her. They must bring her back alive. She can't die until I get the True Wind Rune."

"Understood, Your Majesty. If Her Highness is smart though…then she will avoid Triona."

King Franz frowned deeply and ducked his head. "She must think me a monster. But I HAD to do what was necessary. Sarka obviously cannot know of this. If she does…" he shook his head and looked up at Albert again. "Astraea must be the last, Albert. I cannot kill any more of my children. I will manage however I can with Sigrun and Denzel, but…" he gritted his teeth. "There must be no others after Astraea!"

"I understand, Your Majesty." Albert bowed again.

"That will be all for now," King Franz said. "You've been working too much. Go and spend time with Darya and my grandson."

Albert's mouth quirked slightly. "I won't protest spending time with my wife and son, Your Majesty."

Albert departed the king's private offices. He headed in the direction of his apartments, but as he idly glanced out the window he paused. It was nighttime, but in the gardens below he saw Prince Kion and Gwenette. The Prince was lying on his back on a garden bench, his arm still in a sling and his eyes closed. He looked like he was taking a nap. Gwenette was standing over him, her back to her charge and watching her surroundings.

Albert stared down at them for a few moments before looking for a set of stairs. He descended down to the first floor and entered the gardens. Gwenette was at the ready; her body taut for a brief moment. But then she relaxed when she saw him. "Sir Albert," she said, saluting. "Good evening."

"Good evening, Gwenette," Albert told her. "Congratulations on braving the Crypt for seventy-two minutes."

"His Highness spent the same amount of time down there, Milord," Gwenette replied. "It was no fascinating feat."

"Staring down Bhayankar is always a great feat," Albert said. He looked down at Kion. "The Prince is not overdoing it, is he?"

"He is briefly resting," Gwenette reassured him. "He wants to nap for an hour before we go back to work."

"You both should go back to bed when he wakes up. The work will still be there tomorrow. Tell him I said so."

Gwenette looked like she wanted to protest, but she said nothing. "Have a good night," Albert said, turning to walk away.

"Sir Albert?" Gwenette called out softly.

Albert stopped but did not turn around. "I—I saw Bhayankar," Gwenette said. "In the Crypt."

Albert turned around to face him. "Not every day that you see a Sarcosuchus, is it?"

Gwenette nodded stiffly and fidgeted slightly. "I…noticed that Bhayankar has a…brand on him—"

"Enough," Albert interjected, gesturing. "I cannot stop you from telling His Highness, but I must ask that you keep this observation to yourself."

Gwenette looked startled by his proclamation, but after a moment she nodded. "I…understand, Sir Albert."

"Good." Albert nodded and headed towards his apartment without another word. But his mind was working…as it always did.

She does not know what the "brand" is. That's good. And as for Princess Astraea…there is no where for her to hide in this country.

Astraea saw the glint of the dagger in the hallway light as it quickly descended towards her heart. Before the blade could reach her, her right hand glowed and a blast of wind erupted from her hand. Sarka screamed as a gust struck her in the chest, sending her flying backwards and into the open doorframe. She was still in armor, so the impact of her body caused a considerable amount of damage.

Astraea frantically fumbled for her belt, but her knout wasn't there. She knew she hadn't taken it off. She then spotted it on the dresser across the bed and scrambled across the bed towards it. She snatched it up and took a stance. "W—What are you doing, Sarka?!" she screamed.

Sarka responded by throwing the dagger at her. Astraea ducked, but in that moment Sarka unsheathed her guntō and lunged at Astraea. "Haaa!" she shrieked, stabbing the blade forward.

Astraea jumped away, but Sarka kept the pursuit, moving quickly on her feet and doing rapid thrusts towards Astraea. Astraea scrambled across the bed to get away from her, but tripped on the comforter. She rolled, and narrowly missed Sarka slicing down with her guntō. The blade was sharp; slicing straight through the blankets where Astraea had tripped.

"I'll kill you," Sarka rasped, raising her sword. "I'll KILL YOU, YOU BITCH!"

Astraea ran for the open door and burst into the hallway. She gasped in shock as she saw the other bedrooms doors were wide open and she heard shouts and the sounds of fighting.

"DIE!" Sarka stabbed towards her head, but missed Astraea's left ear by millimeters. Astraea spun around and scrambled back, trying to create distance to allow time to attack. But Sarka was faster; her usually calm face was bright red and full of rage. "DIE, YOU BITCH!" she screamed, swinging the guntō down again.

Astraea jumped out of the way, and the blade became embedded deep into the rail. She tried to pull it out but it didn't immediately become free. Astraea took the opportunity to swing her knout over her heads and towards her half-sister. Sarka cried out as the whip lashed across the side of her head and she collapsed to her knees, pressing both hands to her head.

Astraea heard the shouts from the bedrooms and abandoned fighting Sarka. She entered the first one—the room Denzel had chosen—to see Musashi and Denzel fighting three of Sarka's guards. Astraea swung her knout and cracked one of the guards in the back of the head. "Astraea, are you all right?!" Denzel exclaimed.

"Yes I am!" Astraea responded, her tone shaky.

Musashi glanced at her, and tossed something to her. "Antidote!" he called to her. "If you're fine, give it to the others!"

Astraea caught the bottle and looked around the room. "Will you both be okay?"

"We're fine, go help Sigrun and Ferdinand!" Denzel kicked, giving a nearby guard a roundhouse kick.

Astraea raced to the second bedroom where she heard fight, which was the bedroom Sigrun had chosen. Four guards were in this room and though Ferdinand looked lucid, Sigrun had a dazed expression and swayed where she stood. Two guards tackled Ferdinand forcefully to the ground and the other two lunged at Sigrun. "THE SHREDDING!" Astraea shrieked, raising her right hand.

The True Wind Rune's symbol rose into the air, and the powerful and violent wind swept through the room. No piece of furniture was left intact, and the spell also impacted the window, creating a hole exposing the room to the night air. By the time the spell dissipated, the four guards lay in a heap on the floor. Astraea wasn't sure if they were alive.

"T…Thank you, Your Highness," Ferdinand said, quickly climbing to his feet. Sigrun stumbled into his arms and her caught her. "We were drugged! Our host…she violated hospitium!"

"Here," Astraea said, fumbling with the bottle. She helped Sigrun drink it and offered it to Ferdinand. The kobold shook his head at her. "The dose I was given wasn't strong enough to fully incapacitate me."

"Astraea." Sigrun came back into clarity and grabbed her youngest sister's arm. "Astraea, are you all right?"

Astraea almost said yes but instead she slowly shook her head. "Sarka…she drugged us."

"For what you did to my baby brother…I should have poisoned you."

The three immediately took stances at this voice. Sarka stood at the doorway, breathing heavily. Blood was gushing down the right side of her face, no doubt from the blow Astraea had dealt her. But she still looked determined to fight. Her jaw was clenched and her eyes blazed with hatred. She raised her guntō, but there was a sharp 'CLANG' as a kunai impacted the blade. Sarka jumped backwards, raising her guntō to block as Musashi suddenly materialized in front of her. He stabbed another kunai forward, aiming for her throat, but she blocked it just in time with her guntō.

"Disgraceful creature," Musashi hissed at Sarka. "To offer hospitality as a cover to assassinate…you are without honor!"

"Are you guys okay?!" Denzel exclaimed, running into the room. His eyes were wide with shock. "That drug was odorless and tasteless!"

"This is my fault," Sigrun whispered, shaking her head. "I was the one who suggested we come here!"

"It's not your fault," Astraea reassured her, but Sarka's scream interrupted her. She ran into the hallway and saw Sarka sitting on the floor; a kunai in her left thigh. Musashi raised two more. "You will die for endangering the Prince," he rasped.

"Musashi, no!" Astraea cried out, but Musashi still raised his arms. Denzel stepped. "Wait, Musashi!" he shouted. "Sarka is our sister!"

Musashi paused then, and glanced at Denzel. "I don't care that this woman shares your blood. She tried to kill you under the banner of hospitium. This is an offense punishable by death."

"YOU DON'T DESERVE IT!" Sarka shrieked. She yanked the kunai out of her thigh and threw it at Musashi. The ninja was forced to dodge and Sark scrambled to her feet with her guntō. She raised her sword, loudly seething. "The King wants you alive, but the bitch who killed my brother won't leave his house alive!"

Astraea exhaled sharply in shock. After everything that had occurred in just the past few minutes, it didn't surprise her that this was what Sarka believed. But it still broke her heart to hear it.

She believes I killed Milo!

"Sarka, that isn't true!" Sigrun protested, stepping forward. "Astraea is innocent! We told you that—"

"Do you honestly expect me to believe that OUR FATHER killed his own children to start a war?!" Sarka shouted. "I've never heard anything so stupid in my life!"

"But it's true!" Astraea cried out. "I was there, I survived it! And I heard Father—"

"You were there because your PART OF IT!" Sarka snapped.

"I WASN'T!"

"Then why do you have a True Rune?!"

Astraea stiffened, and ice formed in her throat. Sarka raised her sword high. "The Royal Guard is coming, but I'll tell them I had to kill you all."

"We have disabled your troops," Musashi said, raising his kunai. "We outnumber you."

Sarka laughed humorlessly, and tears abruptly spilled down her cheeks. "Do you think that's going to stop me? After you took away my Milo? My baby brother?!" She lunged forward.

Musashi and Ferdinand stepped to the front of the royals and readied themselves to engage her. But Astraea pushed herself between them. "Milo told me!" she shrieked. "He said—He said he was sorry for driving Horatius away!"

Sarka froze in her tracks, her arm in mid-swing. Her eyes went wide, and her mouth hung open in shock…and horror. "W…What?" she breathed. After a moment her guntō slipped from her hands and clattered to the floor.

At that moment, the front doors downstairs blew off their hinges. Thunderous footsteps filled the house and Astraea and Denzel looked over the rail. Two dozen soldiers had marched straight into Sarka's house. "Lady Sarka!" someone shouted. "Are you all right?!"

Sarka did not say anything; her face now pale. She took a step forward, but yelped in pain and clutched at her injured thigh as she collapsed to her knees once more.

"Lady Sarka!" the soldiers raced up the stairs in two menacing lines. Ferdinand and Musashi readied their weapons again but Astraea raised her right hand again. "The Shredding!"

"So now what?" Denzel asked. They were huddled in a small grove of trees southwest of Arbeit Manor.

After Astraea used her True Rune again, they were able to take advantage of the chaos and flee. Sarka did nothing to stop them, though Astraea didn't know if it was because of her injuries…or because she had gotten through to her half-sister.

"Astraea," Sigrun said, grabbing her arm. "How do you know about Horatius?"

She didn't know about Horatius, or whatever his relationship to Sarka had been, but tears blurred her eyes and her throat burned. She shook her head. "I don't know," she whispered. "That—Those was Milo's last words."

Sigrun quickly gave her a hug. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. She looked at the others. "Everyone, I'm sorry. It's my fault we're in this mess."

Denzel shrugged. "This probably would have happened no matter which city we went to."

"I should have been more careful," Musashi said. "I dose myself with antidotes daily as a precaution, but I somehow missed this drug. This is my first experience with a hospitality violation by a host, but…" he shook his head. "I should have been prepared for the worst."

"Let's dwell on regrets and blame later," Ferdinand said. "We need to get out of Triona."

"Where will we go?" Astraea asked.

"Anywhere but here is a good start," Denzel said with a smile.

Soldiers were roaming the street looking for them. It was deep in the night and most people were resting. Thankfully they knew the alleyways from having snuck around Triona earlier, and retraced their steps. Astraea felt sick but kept her head ducked and moved quickly with her siblings and their assists.

Where can we go? What can we do? Oh God…what can we do?

She looked down at her right hand. She stroked the back of her hand with her left. The True Wind Rune…it saved me again.

They reached the market, where all the shops were. They went down the alleyway between the armor shop and item shop, but paused at the mouth. Ferdinand motioned for them to stay put, and moved towards the mouth of the alleyway. He quickly looked out onto the street, and then ducked back down the alleyway towards them. "Ten to the north, twelve to the south," he whispered.

"Damn," Sigrun fumed. "Did His Majesty send the who Army here?!"

Musashi looked between the two buildings. "Two stories," he said. "I could scale the walls to the roof. We could escape via the roofs."

"That's a great idea, but how would we get onto the roof?" Denzel said, his tone slightly teasing.

"We could use my knout as rope," Astraea offered.

"It wouldn't be long enough," Musashi said, shaking his head. He looked towards the roofs again. "I think I can—"

The side door to the item shop opened behind them, and a figure stepped out. The group gaped in shock as the owner, Pete, casually stood in the doorway and lit a cigarette. He blew a stream of smoke skyward, but as his head tilted to the side he caught sight of them. He choked loudly on smoke, dropping the cigarette and clutching at his throat as he coughed loudly.

Musashi drew his kunai, but Astraea moved forward towards Pete with her hands raised. "Please, Sir," she said. "Could you please help us?"

Pete coughed for several moments, his eyes wide. From the street behind them, loud conversations reverberated from the soldiers to the south. Pete quickly stamped out his cigarette…and waved to them. "Quick!" he whispered. "Before they see you!"

The five raced into the side door, which opened to a spacious item shop. Pete closed and locked the door behind them. "Away from the front!" he hissed frantically. "I have storefront windows in the front!"

Everyone darted behind two shelves; Astraea, Denzel, and Musashi on one side, and Sigrun and Ferdinand on the other. From their vantage point they could see Pete's storefront windows, and no sooner did they duck behind the shelves then the group of soldiers from the south marched up the streets. "Don't forget the alleys!" someone shouted outside.

Astraea exhaled softly and turned to Pete. She bowed deeply. "Thank you, Sir."

"It's not every day that I have two princesses and one prince outside my shop," Pete said. "Especially a princess who we all thought was dead one minute—and the next everyone is saying is a traitor."

Astraea tensed in alarm but Pete shook his head at them. "I have no interests in your politics. I'm from Dunan, and came here looking for something new. Plus the official story floating around sounds so ridiculous that I can't believe anyone would believe it."

"We appreciate that, truly Sir," Sigrun said.

"Pete is fine," Pete responded, raising a hand. "I don't feel comfortable hearing royals defer to me. But no matter what I think, you guys are serious trouble. It's not safe for you to stay here—either for you or for me. They're probably going to start searching buildings any minute now for you lot."

"Right," Musashi said, looking around. "Does your building have roof access?"

"Sure—from my bedroom window. But you have to climb out of it to access it."

"Which way does your bedroom face?" Ferdinand asked.

"Thankfully not towards the main street. We should probably move this upstairs while we're at it."

"Is there anyone else here, Pete?" Denzel asked.

"Yes, Your Highness. I have two friends staying with me."

"Are they dangerous?"

Pete choked on a laugh. "One of them is."

"How dangerous?" Ferdinand asked warningly.

"Well—"

"Who are you talking to, Pete?"

Astraea turned. She noticed for the first time that there was a hidden door to her left. A burly man in his fifties stood there; black hair shaggy and his face unshaven. He wore a yellow shirt and dark pants. He had a sword strapped to his back The man left the doorway and approached, his eyes narrowing at Astraea. "Why do you look familiar?" he asked.

"That's Princess Astraea, Viktor," came a new voice behind the man—Viktor.

Astraea peered around Viktor and saw a small stairwell beyond the doorway. A young man wearing a dark trench coat descended the stairs. Unlike Viktor he was more well-kept; his dark-hair looked combed, at least. Viktor stepped to the side as the young man reached the first floor. "Well," he said, his eyes darting around the room at the faces until they settled back on Astraea. "It looks like we're all in trouble."

A long silence followed his proclamation, broken by Viktor's barking laughter. "Birds of a feather, eh?!"