Sorry for the delay. I wasn't satisfied with how I initially wrote this chapter, so I rewrote it.

As a reminder, I have a deviantart page and I upload characters images for Suikoden VI and VII every Monday. Feel free to check it out.

Thank you to everyone who voted in the Viktor poll! Here are the results:

Poll #2: Would you like to see Viktor have a romance subplot?

- Yes (9)

- No

I have a few candidates for who will be Viktor's OTP in this story, but once I decide on his partner I will integrate it into the story.

Chapter Three: Part Three

One day later…

Potsfurt

Brendan heard the commotion in the streets before the soldier hurried into the sitting room. "Y-Your Highness! Lady Norma has arrived!"

Damn. Brendan frowned deeply but set his cup of coffee down. "Send her in," he said.

Yasmine gave him a sideways glance from where she stood next to the couch, but she said nothing. The door opened and Lady Norma swept into the room, followed by Ernst, Ragna, and several people Brendan recognized as elite members of the Magic Guild. "Good morning, Lady Norma," Brendan said, rising from the couch.

"Good morning, Your Highness," Norma replied with a disturbingly sweet smile. "I'm here for Primrose."

Brendan raised his brow. He knew to expect this, but he hadn't expected it to be so soon. "Primrose is in custody—"

"Please, Your Highness," Norma said, holding out her hand. "I would like to read the list of her charges."

"Primrose is being held on charges of sedition," Brendan responded. "That is all you need to know, Lady Norma."

Norma held onto her smile, but her eyes narrowed very slightly. "You know I cannot accept that, Your Highness."

"The charge was filed by me, Lady Norma. That is all that matters."

"I have known Primrose since she joined the Magic Guild twenty-one years ago," Norma said, her tone turning sharper. "She is one of the best, and I personally vouch for her. She has never done anything that would disgrace the Magic Guild. The charges against her are not only an affront to the Guild, but they are an affront to me because I sent her here to assist Lady Dawa. For you to accuse her of sedition implies that I also have nefarious intentions. Is that what you're implying, Prince Brendan? After my decades of dedication and service to His Majesty the King?"

Brendan knew that detaining Primrose had been risky. He had done so to force Dawa into compliance, but he also knew that it would gain the ire of the Magic Guild. Facing it head on now though was a lot harder than he expected. "I meant no offense to you, Lady Norma," he said calmly. "But as you know, the accusation of a Reiser Royal has weight. The only person I need to justify myself to is His Majesty. Primrose has been charged—"

"Flissa," Norma called over her shoulder. Brendan bristled at being interrupted.

"Yes, Lady Norma." A young woman in her early twenties stepped forward. She had short and very curly dirty blonde hair with a green headband and green eyes. She wore a green dress and green fur-lined cloak. Her eyes averted respectfully in the presence of the Prince.

"You have worked with Primrose on several occasions, Flissa," Norma said to her. "Had Primrose ever acted inappropriately or treasonously?"

"No, Milady," Flissa said. "Primrose is one of best rune-users I have ever met, and her integrity knows no bounds."

Brendan clenched his jaw. "With all due respect," he said tersely. "My words carries the most weight here. And her charges stand."

Norma looked at him. "Your word may carry more weight than mine, Your Highness," she said. "But the Magic Guild is a necessity to Zelant. And Primrose is a necessary asset to the Guild. I cannot stand by while she is being accused of treason. I must implore you to release her to my custody."

"I cannot allow you to undermine me, Lady Norma," Brendan said harshly.

"And I cannot allow the reputation of the Magic Guild to be damaged," Norma responded. "Nor can I allow one of my allies to risk being fed to Bhayankar, as all are who are convicted of treason. Please, Your Highness—release her to my custody. I will keep her under house arrest at the Guild Hall—"

"Your duty is to serve Zelant!" Brendan snapped, finally losing his temper. "You do not tell me what to do!"

Norma's smile slipped fully into a frown. "Leave us," she called over her shoulder. The members of the Magic Guild quickly filed out of the sitting room, save for Ernst. Ragna wanted to linger, but Ernst shook his head at his grandson, and the boy quickly ran out of the room.

"If you are to become King someday Your Highness, then you need to understand how pivotal it is that you keep your allies close," Norma said when they were alone. "Because that is what I am—I am your ally. I am a proud Zelantan who faithfully serves the Reiser Royal Family. But I'm not going to pretend that there's any validity to the charges against Primrose."

"Excuse me?!" Brendan rasped.

"I sent Primrose here to help Lady Dawa because of her skills, but also admittedly because I'm a sentimentalist," Norma said. "Lady Dawa was your sister's assist, so I have no doubt that she hasn't been taking the…current events well. From the whispers I've been hearing—and the notice you sent out—things have been tense between Lady Dawa and you. So I cannot help but feel that there is absolutely no weight to the charges against Primrose, and that they are merely a tool for you to keep Lady Dawa in line."

Brendan could barely contain the anger inside of him. "It would be best for you to stop talking, Lady Norma."

Ernst shifted at the obvious threat to his tone, but Norma moved forward. "Release Primrose to me please, Your Highness. Your sister is undoubtedly on her way here to "save" Lady Dawa. Holding Primrose is no longer necessary. I know this is not easy for you, and I know you to be a man of integrity. I call upon your reputation to please allow Primrose to leave Potsfurt and return to Honigmilch with us."

Brendan did not immediately respond. "I'm already stepping out of line," Norma continued. "But I know that Lady Dawa is your sister, and I truly believe that you would never act intentionally to hurt your kin. Even with everything being said about Lady Dawa's former charge, she is also still your sister as well."

Norma was deliberately refraining from referring to Astraea by name. Brendan knew that she was choosing her words carefully because King Franz made it clear that he did not want her to be called a princess any longer.

"We both know, Your Highness," Norma said. "That you did not arrest Primrose because you actually suspected her of committing treason."

Brendan did not respond. "Nor do I believe that you want anything to happen to Primrose," Norma continued. "But I know you realize that if you keep up this pretense of her treason, then there will be far greater consequences than hurting Lady Dawa. So please, Your Highness—allow me to take her away."

Brendan's hands clenched into fists at his side. This wasn't something that he relished. If he wanted to be King, then he needed to make hard decisions. Make necessary sacrifices.

Again.

It was an involuntary thought, but the word made him flinch slightly. He looked at Yasmine briefly before looking back at Norma. "Come back inside," he called out.

The members of the Magic Guild filed back into the room. "I am releasing Primrose to the custody of Lady Norma," Brendan said. "You will receive a notice in due time when the investigation into her charges is complete. Until then, she is your responsibility, Lady Norma. You will be held personally responsible if she does anything. Do you understand?"

Norma nodded and saluted. "I understand, Your Highness."

The rest of the Guild saluted as well. "I will go with you to personally release Primrose to your custody," Brendan said. "Will you be leaving another mage from the Guild here to give aid to Lady Dawa?"

"Of course, Your Highness."

As they left the residence, Brendan couldn't shake the feeling of…relief he felt that he had been eased of this burden. Dawa had forced his hand, which is why he threatened Primrose. But he hadn't actually wanted to bring any harm to the woman.

Hopefully Dawa will learn from this to not cross me.

On the front steps of the residence, Brendan turned to Yasmine. "Go to Dawa's residence and bring her to me."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Yasmine quickly took off. Though she looked stoic as she always did, deep down she felt as relieved as the Prince did.

He didn't want to hurt her. But because Dawa didn't cooperate with him…he may have been forced to do something drastic against Primrose.

She arrived at the residence, but she felt something…off immediately. She saw guards on duty, but they wore strained expressions. When they saw her approached, they both jumped as though they had seen a ghost. "M-Miss Yasmine!" one croaked. "What brings you here?"

Yasmine pressed her lips together before she could ask the obvious question. She already knew what the answer would be.

Dawa is gone.

Two days later…

Blutkrieger

"Has there been any updates about Dawa?" King Franz asked.

Albert shook his head from where he stood in front of the King's desk. "Per the notification Prince Brendan sent us, she seemed to have timed her departure from Potsfurt to coincide with the Magic Guild's arrival."

King Franz shook his head in disgust. "We sent her away from Astraea so she couldn't protect her during the ambush. Now she abandons her duty as Lady of Potsfurt for Astraea. Taking her mother as a mistress was a grave mistake! I only seem to have a knack for choosing idiot women, who make idiot children!"

Albert smiled thinly. "Darya's mother was a fine woman though, Your Majesty."

"She was one of the few to produce a sensible bastard for me," King Franz agreed, shaking his head. "Send a message to Brendan to let him know that I hold him personally responsible for this misstep. His carelessness has left one of our most important port cities without a Lady during a time of war!"

"Of course, Your Majesty. Would you like me to summon Lady Norma to court?"

King Franz shook his head. "I will deal with her after we win in our conflict against the Bianca Alliance. I need her too much at the moment. Once we win though, I will have her deposed as the leader of the Magic Guild."

"Excellent idea, Your Majesty. As for Prince Brendan's punishment, I would recommend we reduce his royal allowance by 2,000 Potch."

"Make it 3,000 Potch," King Franz said. "And tell my idiot son that if he makes one more mistake then I will be removing Yasmine as his assist."

Albert arched a brow. "I…would advise against that threat, Your Majesty."

"That boy is lucky I didn't remove her for his disgraceful behavior when he challenged me to Royal Combat four years ago," King Franz spat, slamming his hand against the desk. "He is my eldest heir but he is weak in spirit! He inherited too much of Genevieve's sentimentality!"

Albert glanced towards the door and then looked back at King Franz. "It is good that you not speak that way about Her Majesty the Queen—peace be with her—in front of your heirs. But I must advise that you exercise caution, Your Majesty. Especially if Prince Kion were to be within earshot."

"…You are correct," King Franz said quietly. "And I do not mean to speak ill of Genevieve. I only wish that she was not intent on a seventh child."

Albert decided that it would be wise to change the subject. "If we may move on, Your Maesty—"

"What's the situation in Honigmilch?" King Franz asked, also looking eager to change the subject.

Albert sighed heavily. "Lord Richard really left the city in a lurch. Some of the Brigades took it upon themselves to carve out "territories" throughout the city. They seem more interested in that than engaging in the tournament for the new mayor."

King Franz scrubbed a hand over his face. "Richard—! He acted like an idiot, but he's one of the greatest swordsmen this country has ever seen! I don't ever want to face him battle! He kept Honigmilch under control, but now those mercenaries are turning it into a cesspool!"

"The Brigades need to occupy themselves, Your Majesty," Albert said in a bland tone. "We should start taking things further with Princess Astraea."

"You want me to put a bounty on her?" King Franz asked.

"There are rumors circulating that Lord Richard lost his post as mayor of Honigmilch to swear allegiance to the Princess," Albert explained.

"'Swear allegiance'? To what? That little girl?!" King Franz scoffed. "She's running and hiding with my two other idiot children she turned against me! To what end would Richard throw his support behind her?!"

"She may be preparing to challenge you, Your Majesty," Albert said. "To Royal Combat."

King Franz stiffened, and his eyes widened slightly in shock. "That would be the most beneficial move for her after all," Albert added. "She has been branded an enemy of the state after all. But if she were to become Queen then SHE would be the state—and thus no longer an enemy."

King Franz looked away. It was clear to Albert that the King had not prepared for this probability. After a moment he regained his composure. "She won't do it."

"You are certain?"

"Astraea is an emotionally weak girl," King Franz said dismissively. "Out of all my heirs, she is the least suited for power. She would buckle under the pressure. Not only that, but I am physically stronger than her. I defeated Brendan and Sigrun; she would be no match for me as well."

"Don't forget she has a True Rune, Your Majesty," Albert reminded him.

"Which she cannot use in a duel," King Franz retorted. "Her pathetic little knout and her "dancing" will not stand a chance against my sword and my might. I would crush her and take her Rune—which is what I intend to do anyways." He waved a hand. "Prepare the bounty and send it to Honigmilch. Use Astraea's, Sigrun's, and Denzel's trusts to fund the bounty. The Brigades will quickly mobilize against her. Hell, the bandits in this country will mobilize against her! She will truly have no allies now!"

"I will get the bounty notice prepared straight away," Albert said. "Is there anything—"

"Pardon me, Your Majesty." A soldier knocked and then entered the room. "Prince Vahan has arrived requesting an audience with you."

King Franz furrowed his brow at the guard. "Tell Vahan to come back tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?!" Vahan demanded incredulously. "I've already waited three days to speak to him!"

"I-I am sorry, Your Highness," the guard said. "But that was His Majesty's exact words."

"Let it go, Vahan," Philomena told him. They stood together in the corridor leading to the King's office with their assists. "Father has a lot to do and we have nothing to present him yet."

"You have nothing to present him," Vahan retorted. "But I need to speak to him! To be dismissed like this is insulting!"

Philomena rested a hand on his arm. "Please don't talk to me like that. We're supposed to be working together. But you haven't been working with me, Vahan. You've been spending all your time in the Intelligence Bureau—"

"Then you should join me," Vahan interjected. "While I'm in there, Kion has been healing and overseeing the cleanup of the Great Hall. What exactly have you been doing, Philomena?"

Philomena narrowed her eyes at him. Aravine however glared, and Kerime glared at Aravine. "Fine," Philomena said after a moment. "I'll join you in the Intelligence Bureau. Take me there now and show me what you've been working on."

Vahan clenched his jaw, but after a moment he nodded. "Let's go."

"How is your arm?"

"Healing," Kion said, his tone flat.

Dr. Louyse tested his arm with a slight squeeze. Kion could not help but wince. "You still need some time to heal, Your Highness," she told him.

"Use a rune spell to speed up the healing," Kion demanded.

"I have done so, and your healing has been sped up as much as it can be." She looked at Gwenette over her shoulder. "Ensure that the Prince does not return to combat until I give clearance."

"Ah—" Gwenette began.

"You can speak to me, Doctor," Kion said sharply.

Dr. Louyse gave him a dark look. "And you can show me proper respect, Your Highness."

Not many dared to speak to Kion like that. Not even Gwenette spoke to him like that. But Dr. Louyse was a skilled doctor and she held a lot of influence. Kion knew that he would recover as quickly as possible because of her. And…in a way he felt indebted to her. So he let her impudence slide. "How much longer would you say, Doctor?"

Dr. Louyse shook her head as she helped to put his arm back into a sling. "It would be wise if I refrain from giving you a timeline at this time. That way you can focus on your recovery without pressure."

"I—"

"—Really true?!" a random voice was heard outside the room.

"Yeah!" was the reply. "Prince Brendan's allowance was decreased by 3,000 Potch!"

"That's a little harsh, isn't it?"

"His Majesty said—"

The voices faded away before they could hear more. Kion's brow rose in shock. Brendan has really enraged Father this time.

"I should go," Dr. Louyse said, gathering her things. "Please heed my warning and not do anything physical until I clear you, Your Highness."

"…Understood," Kion said after a moment.

When the doctor left, Gwenette turned to face Kion. "Why do you think Prince Brendan was punished so harshly, Your Highness?"

"He lost track of Dawa," Kion said, standing up. "Now Dawa will join Astraea and cause more problems for us."

A flicker of sadness crossed Gwenette's expression. It angered Kion but also made him feel solemn. He focused on solemn. "She needs to be held accountable. They all do. You understand that, right?"

Gwenette nodded stiffly, wringing her hands a little. "Yes, Your Highness."

She didn't. Kion knew that Gwenette was fond of Astraea. His assist hadn't been able to help herself. But she had a good heart. Though it made her soft, it also made him feel grounded.

…But.

"I'm not my brother," he said without prompt.

Gwenette jumped, her eyes widening slightly in shock. "I'm not my brother," Kion repeated himself. "And I'm NOT going to make the same mistakes he did."

She was visibly taken aback by his words. Kion waved to her with his left arm. "Come. I need to make myself useful here."

"Ah—yes, Your Majesty."

I'm not going to make the same mistakes Brendan made. Or any of them. I'm going to do better…and Astraea will finally pay for everything.

"…I forgot about this," Astraea said, her tone quiet.

The group had reached the furthest southeast corner of the island. At this corner of the island, Zelant's second and smaller island could be seen three kilometers from the coast. There had once been a stone bridge connecting the two islands. Called "Giant's Passage", hundreds of people once crossed the bridge every day on foot and on horseback.

But as the group stood at Giant's Passage, they saw a once mighty bridge in ruin. Whole sections of the bridge had collapsed into the sea. Pieces were still sticking out of the water. Other sections were whole, but covered in salt crust from the water and moss. They could see the South Island on the other side of the bridge, but it was impossible to pass.

"Yeah," David said quietly. "Viktor and I wanted to go over there once, but…" he gestured to the destruction before them. "This is too harrowing to attempt to cross."

"I knew Giant's Passage had been destroyed, but I thought we could have climbed over the debris," Astraea sighed, shaking her head. She looked at the others. "I'm so sorry, everyone."

"Astraea, did you want to go to the Old Capital?" Sigrun asked her. Astraea nodded.

"The Old Capital?" Dr. Tieling asked.

"The first capital of Zelant was built over there," Richard explained, pointing towards the islands. "Anyone who wanted to go to the Capital and see the King had to cross this bridge. Ultimately however, the Reiser Royal Family moved the capital to the main island. Now the new capital is Blutkrieger."

"Yeah, our great-great-great-great—" Denzel waved a hand. "The last King of the Old Capital was called a coward for "hiding away" on that island. So our ancestor moved inland to prove that we weren't cowards."

"The Old Capital," Ferdinand said, looking out over the South Island. "That was where you wanted us to go while you prepared for Royal Combat, Princess Astraea?"

"Ah, yes," Astraea said, looking at the island with a somber expression. "But as it stands…"

"This bridge is impossible to cross," Viktor said, stepping forward. With all the healing spells he had been given he was able to finally walk on his own. But he was still clearly recovering. "I don't think any of us should even attempt to cross." He looked at Astraea. "So Princess—do you have any other ideas?"

Astraea looked at him. She opened her mouth, but she was at a loss as to what to say. Where can we go? I don't know…

David moved closer to her. "Your Highness—"

"Ah-CHOO!"

The group screamed in shock as a sudden flash of light burst behind Astraea. Astraea swiftly turned around, grabbing for her knout. There had been no one standing behind her just a moment ago. Now there was a black-haired teenaged girl dressed in white and clutching a long staff. The girl looked to be a in gaze; her blue eyes glossy and she stumbled a little bit. "W…What?" she said breathlessly. Her head tilted towards the sky. "Where's the forest?"

"Wait!" Viktor shouted, stumbling forward. His eyes were wide and he jabbed his finger at the girl. "You! I know you! That ditzy teleporting girl! You're Viki!"

"Viki?!" David looked at Viktor in shock and then looked back at the girl. "That's Viki?!"

The girl—Viki—turned towards them. She blinked several times and her vision cleared. She gasped loudly and ran towards Astraea. "You there! What country is this?"

Astraea stammered, and the group murmured in confusion. Richard however looked a little amused and let out a laugh. "Wow! She looks the same as I remember her!"

"Ah…this is the Kingdom of Zelant," Astraea told Viki.

"Zelant? OH!" Viki immediately perked up and threw her arms around Astraea's shoulders. "Rhiannon! I've missed you so much!"

Rhiannon? Astraea looked at her siblings in confusion and then looked at Viki. She gently pushed the other girl away. "I'm sorry, but you have me confused with someone else. I'm Astraea Reiser. My name isn't Rhiannon."

A dark blush quickly covered Viki's face. Suddenly she covered Astraea's mouth. "Forget I said that!"

"What? The name 'Rhiannon'?" Denzel asked.

Viki slammed her hands over her own ears. "LA LA LA—I CAN'T HEAR YOU—LA LA LA—YOU DIDN'T SAY THAT NAME—LA LA LA!"

"She sounds mentally unwell," Musashi said.

"No, she's just really ditzy," Viktor said.

"Uh—what year is it?" Viki asked, lowering her hands.

"IS 486," David said.

Viki laughed loudly. "Oh thank God! I moved forward again!"

Moved forward? Again? Astraea looked at the others again and then looked at Viki. "Who are you really?" she asked.

"I—Ah-CHOO!"

Viki suddenly sneezed, and Astraea suddenly found herself enveloped in light. Her feet momentarily left the ground. Just as quickly though the light evaporated, and her feet settled upon the ground. She blinked several times in confusion, holding a hand to her head. "W-What just happened?"

"ASTRAEA!"

Sigrun screamed her name, but Sigrun sounded very far away. Astraea looked around in confusion, and she realized that the bulk of the group was gone. The only people who were with her were Viki and David. "W-Where is everyone?!" she exclaimed.

"There!" David said, pointing across the sea. Astraea quickly looked across the wreckage of Giant's Passage, and she saw Sigrun, Denzel, Viktor, Ferdinand, Musashi, Richard, and Dr. Tieling on the other side. Astraea gaped at Viki in horror. "W-What did you do?"

"I'm sorry!" Viki wailed. "I-I—when I sneeze, sometimes the Blinking Rune acts up! I-I must have teleported us across the bridge!"

Astraea quickly looked around. She realized in that moment that their surroundings didn't look at all familiar to her. "W-We're on the South Island! How did you do that?!"

"I heard about her," David said, gesturing to Viki. "She has a one of a kind rune—the Blinking Rune. She can teleport you anywhere with that rune."

"Wow, really?" Astraea moved closer to Viki. "Could you help us?"

"Y-You want my help?" Viki asked. She rubbed a hand through her hair, but after a moment she nodded. "I—okay. I also need your help. I don't know anything about this place."

"Stick with me and I'll keep an eye on you," Astraea said, offering her a handshake.

Viki managed a small smile and accepted her handshake. "Thank you, A-Astraea."

"She's a Princess so you should refer to her appropriately," David said.

"Oh, right Your Majesty!"

Astraea didn't correct her. "Can you teleport us back across the bridge, Viki?"

"Why don't we hold off on that for now?" David asked. "Let's make our way to the Old Capital and get a feel for the place."

"I've never been to this island before," Astraea said. "I don't know what sorts of monsters are—"

"Where have you been?"

The trio jumped at this unfamiliar voice. Viki let out an 'eep' and Astraea turned. Her insides went cold as she saw a man wearing massive black armor stood before them. The armor looked…almost demonic. The horns on his helmet didn't help the perception. His complexion was pale, and she could not see his face. His black hair obstructed his eyes, but he appeared to be…smirking?

"Um…umm…" Viki hugged her staff to her chest and trembled violently.

The man stepped forward, his attention clearly on Viki. "I could not follow," he said. "Why could I not follow you?"

Viki stammered, not giving a proper response. The man turned around in a full circle, as if observing his surroundings. Then he focused back on Viki. "Where is he?"