Re:Zero - The King of Pride

Anri was sitting outside the crumbling farm house, waiting for some sign of her companions. Dawn wasn't far off and she'd seen nothing.

In the distance, she saw the portcullis rise. She watched closely. A moment later her hopes were dashed as it was just a large contingent of soldiers marching out of the city.

Anri's eyes narrowed as she realized that they weren't just patrolling. These soldiers were marching somewhere with purpose.

Her eyes widened as she realized that they were marching straight to her.

Did Subaru and Emilia betray-

No! Close off that thought, you ungrateful brat! They are your friends and they have risked their lives to help you. They will not sell you out now.

But regardless of the why, those troops are moving in this direction. I should get under cover.

And maybe not hide in the house. Just in case.

Anri fled back into the tree line, laid down on the ground and watched the marching soldiers closely.

The soldiers got close enough for Anri to pick out details of their appearance as they marched toward her hiding place.

The man in front was a knight of some kind. He had purple hair and a spotless white uniform.

This man is a member of the Lagunican Royal Guard. That means that he's a powerful fighter. The soldiers behind him look potent as well. These men are wearing the insignia of a noble. They're not just rank and file, they're some nobleman's personal guard.

Maybe they serve the Governor of Ganaks? Why would he send his own personal soldiers out here?

Subaru told me that his name is General Brendig but I don't know much about him. I never studied him since it seemed unlikely that we'd ever cross paths.

Anri watched as the knight and the soldiers came closer. Their path began to angle away from the farmhouse and Anri so she began to relax.

A sudden flash of movement caught Anri's eye.

One of the soldiers in the front rank had drawn a dagger. His fellows saw but they made no sign.

"Look out!" Anri screamed at the top of her lungs.

The knight jumped and looked behind him, barely dodging the dagger aimed at his back.

The knight quickly drew his sword but the soldiers were also drawing their weapons.

What is going on here?!

The knight fought with skill and fury but he was outnumbered thirty to one and the men tried to flank him.

Anri saw a soldier slip behind the knight with a drawn sword.

Anri picked up a large stone with her one good arm and flung it at the soldier.

The stone hit his nose with an audible crunch and the soldier went down, rubbing his face.

"Run!" Anri screamed at the knight.

The knight looked at her and his mouth tightened but he saw that he was outmatched and he broke into a sprint toward Anri.

The soldiers pursued but they were dressed in heavy armor and it slowed them down.

Anri grabbed the knight's hand. "This way!" She shouted, leading him down a specific rough trail through the woods.

"Where are we going?" The knight demanded.

They heard the sound of the soldiers breaking through the woods at an angle trying to cut them off. Then there was a serious of howls of pain followed by thuds and much cursing.

Anri grinned at the knight. "Away from my traps!"

As Anri and the knight sped away, Anri was glad that she'd decided to keep her hands busy while she waited.

Anri and the knight fled through the woods. The sound of the soldiers crashing through the underbrush became steadily more distance.

"My lady," The knight said as they moved through the brush. "I am forever in your debt for your timely intervention."

"Think nothing of it, Sir Knight," Anri replied by rote. "I was merely grateful to have been able to offer aid to you in a time of need."

The knight nodded. "Your courtesy is most becoming, my Lady. Might I have the privilege of knowing your name?"

Anri sighed. What difference does it make? "I am Kairei vas Sirosse an Ithil."

The knight started. "The missing princess?"

The knight would have fallen to his knees but Anri grabbed the startled knight and held up upright. "We don't have time for that!" She snapped, forcing him to keep moving.

"Over-trained, perhaps," The knight admitted. "My name is Sir Julius Juukulius of Lagunica."

"It's wonderful to meet you," Anri replied as she fought her way through the thick woods, looking for someplace that they could hide. "You can call me 'Anri.' Any idea why those soldiers would want you dead?"

"I am completely perplexed, your Highness-"

"'Anri' will be fine," Anri grumbled.

"…Anri," Julius said after a moment. "Those soldiers were assigned to me by General Brendig himself. I couldn't imagine that anyone would be capable of subverting his entire personal guard."

Anri looked at him incredulously. "You're right, Sir Julius. I can't imagine that either. It's close to impossible," She said as if speaking to a small child. "Which means that you should be asking why Brendig wants you dead."

Julius frowned. "Are you suggesting that the General might have ordered them to attack me?!"

Anri sighed. "I'm not suggesting it, Sir Julius, I'm saying it flat out! It's the only possible explanation! Nobody can bribe thirty men and expect them to all keep their mouths shut!"

Julius looked aghast. "I am… shaken to my very core."

"Why? Were you two close?" Anri asked.

"Not at all but still, I can't imagine why the General would plot against me. Especially in times such as these."

"Such as what?"

"Those soldiers and I were ordered to march out and delay the Gusteko soldiers coming to lay siege to Ganaks," Julius explained.

Anri blinked. "Come again?"

"House Griest has raised a new army-"

"I know that part," Anri said, looking at Julius with a baffled expression. "But Sir Julius, that army is for finishing off my people at Siros."

"Please call me 'Julius,'" He replied. "And Lady Crusch has reason to believe that House Griest and its allies seek to expand hostilities with us. They sent the Sages' Council a list of demands just this past week."

Anri shook her head. "Look, Julius," She sighed. "Don't get me wrong, I have more reason to hate Malcolm an Griest than most but he's not a fool! He's not going to pick a fight with Lagunica! He'd get crushed! He was probably just blowing smoke. Beating his chest for the other Houses," She paused. "What demands did he send you anyway?"

"As I understand it, House Griest and Voivode were demanding the return of Ganaks and much of northern Lagunica as reparations for a cowardly attack at Iruk by the villain Subaru Natsuki and his Witch."

Anri sighed. "He's worse than a fool. He's a liar."

"My fellows and I were sent to investigate the charges," Julius admitted. "His claims of substantial damage to Iruk were nothing but lies. However, a liar may speak the truth, even if only by accident. I faced Subaru Natsuki today and can attest to the strange and dangerous powers he possess."

Anri grabbed the startled Julius. "What do you mean? You fought Subaru? Is he alright?! What about Emilia?!"

Julius stared at her baffled. "What is this to you?"

"Just answer the question!" Anri growled.

Julius's face darkened. "Yes, I located Subaru Natsuki this evening. He defeated me in combat then fled the scene before he could be arrested. His power has wounded my connection to my loyal spirit companions and drastically reduced my strength at a most inopportune time. I have no idea what happened to him after that. He had not been apprehended when I departed the city. I have had no contact whatsoever with Subaru Natsuki's witch."

Anri grabbed her temples and grit her teeth. "What do I do?! I should go back there and try to help them."

"'Help them?'" Julius repeated incredulously. "My lady, Subaru Natsuki is a rogue and a possessor of strange unnatural power. I remain uncertain if it is his witch or he himself who is the greater danger!"

Anri gave Julius such a piercing look that he actually took a step back. "Sir Julius," Anri said imperiously. "I will thank you not to speak so in my presence! Subaru Natsuki and Emilia Half-elven have saved me from danger time and time again at great risk to their own lives. They have offered me succor and protection and kindness when I was lost, alone, and scared. I have the very great honor of considering them both to be good friends and I hope to have the privilege of hosting them in Siros. Thus, in accordance with the rules of chivalry, I must insist that you not insult them in my presence."

Julius's jaw almost hit the ground. He was nothing but flabbergasted. It had been years since anyone had felt the need to correct his manners and now he was being chastised for rudeness by a girl several years his junior. Julius didn't know how to react. "As your ladyship commands," He said in an unsteady voice.

Could she perhaps have been bewitched as well, Julius wondered.

"My lady, are you aware of Subaru's bewitch-"

"Nobody has been bewitched," Anri said dismissively, as she paced back and forth trying to think.

"And how are you so certain of that?" Julius asked coolly.

"Because I've spent time with them. Because I've listened to them fight, argue, and scream at each other. None of these things would have happened if Subaru was under some kind of spell," She said, barely paying attention to Julius's words as she focused on trying to decide what to do.

Julius frowned. "Perhaps," He admitted after a moment's thought. "Do you know where the witch-"

"Emilia!" Anri snapped.

Julius hesitated. "E…milia," Julius said awkwardly. "Do you know where she is at this time?"

Anri shook her head. "She went into Ganaks to try to rescue Subaru."

Julius jumped and looked back through the dense trees in concern as if he thought that he could see signs of the city in flames.

Subaru and Patrasche raced through the city at top speed. The bells were clanging everywhere and the city was in an uproar.

My only saving grace is that, so far, the guards seem more worried about the fires burning in the pit than they are about me. This is probably the first time in years these authorities cared about what was going on in Lowtown. I guess since fires rise, they're worried that the smoke and flames might reach the home of somebody 'who actually matters.'

Oh shit. You know that they're going to blame me for this mess! This is just more rope for them to hang me with!

'Subaru Natsuki attempts to burn Ganaks to the ground!'

Good thing Anri is willing to take us in, at least for a while! We aren't going to be welcome in Lagunica any time soon!

"Subaru!" A voice called.

Subaru snapped his head up and reined Patrasche in. He saw Emilia standing on a city level above him. Her hair glowed silver in the moonlight and Subaru thought she had never looked more beautiful.

"Emilia?" He gasped. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Rescuing you!" Emilia said, leaping down onto a house's roof and then springing lightly onto the street.

Subaru gave her a baffled look and then shook his head. "Well, as little as I like you risking your life, if you have a plan for how we can get out of here I'm all ears!"

Subaru helped Emilia climb up on Patrasche.

Emilia bit her lip. "I'm thinking, Subaru. I'm not sure if we can get out the same way that I got in…"

Subaru looked around. "Alright, let's get under cover while we think our way out of this mess."

In a small clearing, Anri paced back and forth while Julius stood there awkwardly.

"My lady," Julius said. "Forgive me, but I really do need to be getting back to the capitol. Especially if war is in the offing."

"Hey! I'm not the one keeping you here," Anri retorted, her hands folded behind her back and her face twisted with concentration. "But I can assure you that nobody in Gusteko is looking to fight Lagunica right now. I don't know who's giving you this 'intelligence' but they're either wrong or they're deceiving you."

Julius flushed. "Be that as it may, I need to return home. Is there… any way that you could assist me?"

Anri looked at him and rolled her eyes. "Julius, Subaru has my sword. I came here on Subaru's dragon and my only hope of trying to keep my people from slaughter is the possibility of Subaru and Emilia's assistance. I am absolutely helpless right now to help you, my people, or even myself and I absolutely hate it!" Her voice raised in a frustrated shout.

Julius looked at Anri in sympathy. "I would remind you, my lady, that just a few hours ago you singlehandedly saved my own life, at considerable risk to your own."

Anri sighed. "Thank you for the reminder, Sir Julius. But it's not much comfort right now. Not only are my people still in grave danger but my dear friends are as well and once again, I sit here able to do nothing to help them but offer up my thoughts and prayers!" She said bitterly.

Julius thought for a moment then bowed his head. "My loyalty to the Lady Anastasia is absolute, Anri. Regardless, I owe you a great debt and I am confident that my Lady Anastasia would not see it otherwise. My obligations to Lady Anastasia must remain dominant but if there is any way that my sword could be of use to you, I offer it freely."

Anri gave him half a smile. "Thank you, Sir Julius. Your reputation as 'the Finest of Knights' precedes you in the north as well. I see now that it is well deserved."

There was a stirring in the brush nearby. Anri stiffened and Julius drew his sword.

A moment later, dozens and dozens of soldiers wearing Gusteko uniforms marched slowly out of the woods.

"Lady Kairei," The officer said with a knowing smirk.

Anri gaped.

Julius made a quick calculation and grabbed her hand. "Run!" He shouted as the pair fled deeper into the forest with the soldiers in pursuit.

Subaru and Emilia hid in a beautiful park in Hightown near to the town hall. They sat in a protective grove of the rose garden with Patrasche sitting nearby.

This is either brilliant or idiotic. Maybe both. I'm hiding in a park next to the city hall where they already saw me.

Well, nobody has found us here so far so I guess it's not completely idiotic.

"I was here earlier," Subaru murmured. "I thought it would be a great place to come on a date but this isn't the romantic evening that I had in mind."

"Subaru, what happened in here?" Emilia asked.

He sighed. "Well, I did our shopping and then I sent Anri's letter. I was about leave the city when guess who I ran into? Julius Juukulius!"

Emilia frowned, searching her memory. "Reinhard's friend? The one serving Lady Anastasia?" She asked uncertainly.

"That's him. I just randomly bumped into him in this very park and he challenged me to a fight."

I'm shocked that she doesn't remember him more vividly. I was ready to drink his blood after the way he was trying to monopolize Emilia's attention at that party. Funny that he made so little impact on her.

Emilia sighed. "Subaru, we have the worst luck."

"Yeah. Anyway, I ended up fighting him which was a desperate affair but I managed to fend him off. Then I tried to leave town only to discover that old war horse General Brendig had sounded the alarm and sealed the city! I hid out in Lowtown for a bit then I went to Miss Lilian's to try and locate Victoire's contact. He wasn't there and he wasn't on the employee roster. The guy I talked to was pretty vague about his employees so I'm not sure if the guy just moved on or if he's another Shadow that Griest somehow killed. But you know who was at the restaurant tonight? Lye!"

Emilia gasped. "Subaru! Are you alright?!" She shouted.

"I'm fine, Mili," Subaru said, gesturing for her to keep her voice down. "Lye didn't even raise his hands. We actually had what probably qualifies as a friendly conversation in his warped mind."

"What did he say?"

"Well, he told me that Capella and Regulus still really want me dead," Subaru began. "He also told me that somehow I pocketed Roy's Authority after I killed him-"

"What?!" Emilia gasped.

Subaru shrugged. "I don't understand it either. If I do have it then I don't think I'm compatible with it. Anyway, Lye wanted me to give it to him. I told him I'd be willing to if he could meet my price."

"What's that?"

"I wasn't specific. I'm not sure I really want to give it to Lye anyway but I wanted him to think that we could make a deal so I offered to trade him the Authority for something of equal value."

Emilia bit her lip. "Subaru, maybe you should have just given it to him," She murmured.

Subaru looked at her incredulously. "What?!"

"Subaru, it's obvious that your own Authority is already damaging you when you call on it! Do you really think that you can contain two?! You should just give it to Lye."

Subaru sighed. "Look, Mili, I think that giving Lye anything that could theoretically make him stronger is a really bad idea. Beyond that, even if I wanted to give him the Authority, I don't have a clue how to do it!"

Emilia gave him a miserable look.

Subaru shook his head. "Anyway, I talked Lye into telling me about a way out of the city: a mining tunnel that leads outside."

"Really?!" Emilia's face brightened.

"Yeah but don't get your hopes up. The soldiers… they blew it up," Subaru sighed.

Emilia looked confused. "How did they-"

"Doesn't matter right now," Subaru shook his head. "What's important is that we can't use that route and we better get out of town quick or this box is just going to keep tightening on us. Hey, how did you get in here anyway?"

"I climbed the waterwheel," Emilia answered.

Subaru stared at her in horror.

"What?" Emilia asked.

"Emilia," Subaru said, clearly fighting for patience. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?!"

"You were in danger, Subaru," She reminded him.

"I don't care! I don't want you to be risking your life for me!" Subaru protested.

Emilia stared at him for a long moment and then rolled her eyes heavenward with a sigh. "Subaru, you can be amazingly stupid," She said.

"What?! What did I say?!"

"Never mind," She sighed. "But when you and I get out of here, we need to have a very long talk."

Subaru tried to ask another question but Emilia shook her head. "Later, Subaru. Did Lye say anything else?"

"Actually yes. He claims… that the Witch Cult doesn't know much of anything about curses and doesn't use them. He claims that they didn't put the curse on you."

Emilia's face grew downcast. "Do you believe him?" She whispered.

"I don't know," Subaru admitted. "I mean, I don't think that he was lying but Lye isn't that bright either so you need to filter everything he tells you through the fact that he doesn't pay much attention to anything except his appetite. And frankly, Emilia, the fact that the Witch Cult might have been the ones to put this curse on you wasn't much of a lead anyway."

Subaru coughed. "Lye, also told me one more thing. He told me that he wanted me to take my seat… in the Witch Cult as the Sin Archbishop of Pride."

Emilia stared at him in shock.

"I declined, of course!" Subaru added hastily.

"Why did he want you to do that?!"

"I'm not sure. I got the impression that Lye… actually likes me," Subaru said awkwardly. "I think in some strange way he just wants his… 'buddy' to work with him…"

Emilia stared at him in disbelief.

Subaru chuckled. "Yeah. I feel the same way." He made a face. "Well, we're not going to accomplish anything just sitting here until we get caught. We need to find a way out of the city."

Emilia nodded.

Julius and Anri hid in the woods as the Gusteko soldiers searched for them.

"How did they find me?!" Anri demanded in a harsh whisper.

"I have no idea, Anri," Julius admitted. "These soldiers are technically invaders in Lagunica now, are they not?"

Anri rocked her hand back and forth. "Debatable. The kingdoms have never really agreed on where the border is. For all I know, we're already on the other side. And I still want to know how they found me. Nobody knew where we were hiding except for Subaru and Emilia and even they don't know where we were hiding in the woods."

"Perhaps by sheer chance?" Julius suggested. "If nothing else this does tend to add veracity to the claims of House Griest making territorial ambitions on Ganaks."

Anri gave Julius a skeptical look. "You keep saying that, Julius, but I still think that it's crazy. Malcolm an Griest is many things but he's not an utter fool! He doesn't have the strength to fight Lagunica alone and he knows it. He's not going to start a war unless he's certain that he has all of Gusteko behind him. If he was making those kind of alliances, I would have heard about it."

Julius just stared at her.

"What?"

Julius cleared his throat. "Lady Kairei," He said formally. "I wonder if it has dawned on you that perhaps he considers those alliances fait accompli.

"What are you talking about?"

"Your dispute with House Griest is purely an internal matter in Gusteko, is it not?"

"I suppose so."

"But now, Malcolm an Griest has evidence that you have recruited Subaru Natsuki, an asset from Lagunica to assist you. A person high ranking enough that he could be considered a voice for Lagunica's politics," Julius said, his voice growing chill as he mentioned Subaru.

"He doesn't have any evidence! He has hearsay!" Anri protested.

Julius hesitated. "But if Lagunica admits to Subaru Natsuki's wrongdoing in an effort to disavow him…"

Anri stared at him in horror. "You're right!" She whispered. "By working with Subaru and Emilia, I played right into Griest's hands. He'll have no trouble convincing the other Great Houses to view me as a quisling and a traitor. I've sentenced my people to death!"

Julius winced. "Lady Kairei, please. You mustn't-"

There was a rustling in the surrounding undergrowth. More than sixty Gusteko soldiers emerged.

They were completely surrounded.

"Subaru, look at that!" Emilia gasped.

As the pair rode Patrasche discretely through Hightown, they saw a line of crystal lanterns on tall poles, bathing Hightown in a luminescence brilliance.

"That's so amazing," She whispered.

"Yeah, that is pretty cool," Subaru agreed as he guided Patrasche down the street.

Holy shit! This is awesome! They have magic street lights here.

…Isn't it weird that I find this impressive? I mean, back home every street had street lights. I guess I've finally gone native or something.

Huh. I wonder if I could make some lights like these for the village. The place would look beautiful with a little illumination. I bet I could make power lines and light bulbs with a little help from the spirits. We could decorate those enormous trees like my neighbors used to do at Christmas.

Actually, I really like that idea, although I'm not sure why. Maybe… just trying to find a way to contribute to the village? If it's going to be our home then I need to find some way to keep myself busy and help the people once they've been defrosted.

…I really shouldn't put it that way. It makes them sound like microwave dinners.

"There he is!" A shout came from behind them.

Subaru and Emilia spun around and saw a group of city guards on riding dragons patrolling the streets. At their head was General Brendig.

"Kill them!" The General roared.

"Shit!" Subaru shouted as he kicked Patarsche into a sprint.

"Subaru! I think I know a way out of here!" Emilia screamed.

"Fabulous!"

"But we need some big jugs of water!"

"Jugs of water?! What would we do with-"

"No time! We need to find water!"

Subaru triggered Reason and Judgment. He cast his mind back to a man that they had seen while hiding. He'd been slowly driving a heavy wagon loaded with enormous jugs of water to fight the fire in Lowtown. Subaru contemplated where the man had been last, his speed and the direction he must be going in to reach Lowtown to calculate his current position.

Subaru left Reason and Judgment and pulled Patrasche to the left as they raced back that way while avoiding the General's riders.

"Mili!" He shouted. "There'll be a wagon full of water jugs coming up! We can't slow down so grab them as we ride past, OK?"

"Right!"

"How many do we need?" Subaru asked.

"…Four, I think?" Emilia said.

Oh man. I am developing serious misgivings about this plan…

The pair raced around a corner and Subaru saw the wagon right where he predicted. The driver jumped as Patrasche pounded by his wagon, close enough to touch. Subaru and Emilia both grabbed an amphora in each hand.

Subaru tried to pick up both heavy water jugs at once with a mighty heave. He felt like his arms were about to fall off, especially the weakened left one, but he managed to grab them both.

"OK!" Subaru yelled, trying to hold the jugs and Patrasche's reins. "Now what?"

"Up there!" Emilia shouted, pointing at a ramp that led up.

Subaru guided Patrasche and the dragon raced up the ramp onto the outer ramparts. General Brendig and his men followed close behind. Subaru took a quick look around, growing more concerned. "Mili! We're trapped! There's no way down except back that way!"

"Subaru! Do you see the water wheel?"

Subaru looked straight ahead and he did see the colossal waterwheel, turning ponderously in the almost dawn. "Yes…," He said in a sick voice.

"Ride straight toward it!"

"Mili! I don't like-"

"Subaru, trust me!"

Subaru sighed. "You just had to put like that, didn't you?" He whispered to himself.

Subaru directed Patrasche to charge toward the waterwheel at the edge of the wall. The riding dragon quickly turned and looked at Subaru incredulously and Subaru knew his expression must have been just as staggered when he looked back at the dragon.

Patrasche sighed and continued to thunder toward the edge.

"Subaru! When I say now, we need to throw these jugs toward the waterwheel as hard as we can?"

"What?!"

"Ready?!"

Subaru bit his lip and nodded.

"Now!" Emilia shouted throwing her jugs forward with her great strength.

Subaru bit off a curse and triggered Indomitable. Rather than punch the jugs, he placed both palms flat against the jugs and pushed them away as hard as he could. They both went flying out past the ramparts.

Emilia raised her hands and the four water jugs shattered. The water exploded out of the jugs and froze in mid air. Emilia's magic forcing the water to make a thin bridge of ice from the rampart edge to the waterwheel.

"Oh fuck!" Subaru whispered.

"Keep going!" Emilia screamed.

Subaru winced as he urged Patrasche on and fought the urge to close his eyes.

Patrasche raced out onto the frozen bridge which steadily cracked under the dragon's weight but she managed to reach the edge.

"Jump!" Emilia cried.

Subaru had no idea how to tell Patrasche to do that but in this case, the dragon needed no prompting. Patrasche leaped off the edge and landed on a water wheel paddle that was climbing toward the apex just as the ice bridge shattered.

Patarsche landed solidly on the waterwheel but the paddle had already started to tilt up behind her. Her claws struggled to find purchase as the paddle grew more steep.

"Mili," Subaru hissed in a tense whisper.

Emilia waved her hands and a thin stream of water broke from the massive waterfall and flew toward them and landed between the paddles where it froze to ice. It created an curved ramp between the two paddles just as the one they stood on started to pitch vertically.

Patarsched slid down the ramp and onto the flattening next paddle.

Subaru sighed in relief just before the three were pounded by a raging torrent as the paddle brought them under the waterfall and the riding dragon was driven to her knees by the force of the falling water.

The falls passed a moment later, leaving them all gasping for breath and Patrasche crying out in affront. The dragon slowly regained her feet but they were all soaking wet.

Subaru spat out some water. "Now what?" He asked Mili, panting for breath.

Emilia shrugged and gestured down.

Subaru looked at the paddle they were on started to tilt down and the soaking wet Patrasche simply slid down the paddle and jumped the last ten feet to hand heavily on her claws on the soft dirt.

Behind them, they could hear Brendig screaming in fury.

"Emilia," Subaru gasped. "Are you OK?"

Emilia lay slumped against his shoulder. Subaru felt her nod. I'm alright, Subaru," She whispered. "Just… very tired…"

The trio panted there for a moment then Subaru nudged Patrasche into a run. "Come on, girl. Let's not give them time to come down here and start chasing us again!"

Patrasche took off and just as the sun rose, Subaru guided her toward the farm house where Anri waited.

"Emilia," Subaru sighed. "That was absolutely insane! I don't think I've ever been that scared in my entire life!"

Emilia slowly caught her breath. "Don't worry, Subaru… I wouldn't… let you fall…"

"I wasn't worried about me, I was worried about you! Please don't put yourself in danger that way again. My heart stops when I think that something might happen to you."

Emilia actually chuckled. "Welcome… to my life."

Julius drew his sword and stood protectively in front of Anri.

Anri counted heads. There were at least sixty soldiers ringing the clearing and more were appearing behind them.

"Princess Kairei," The officer in command mocked. "How lovely to see you again. Prince Malcolm has been simply worried sick during your absence."

"I can only imagine," Anri said in a clipped tone.

"The prince offers you his hospitality in what must be a most difficult time for your people," The officer continued.

"And what if the princess chooses not to accept your 'hospitality?'" Julius snapped.

The officer thought about it for a moment, stroking his chin. "I think that I'd really have to insist."

Julius drew himself up straight. "I am Julius Juukulius, 'the Finest Knight' of Lagunica. I shall not permit you to offer offense to Lady Kairei's person. My skills as a combatant are feared throughout the kingdom. I will not hesitate to fight your entire brigade and I shall emerge victorious."

Maybe he could normally, Anri thought. But he told me that his magic has been crippled and I'm not sure how much of it he has. Worse, this officer looks he's never heard of Julius anyway and thinks he's just bluffing.

Anri shut her eyes. There's no point. I did my best but I lost the game. My life is forfeit anyway but there's no reason for Julius to die too. If surrender maybe they'll let Julius live. Maybe they'll even show mercy on the people of Siros. If my House is extinct then Griest should have no quarrel with my people…

Mother, forgive me, but I'm almost glad that you're not here to see this…

After four centuries of pride and valor for House Ithil, I will oversee its final dissolution…

"Captain!" Anri's voice rang out. "If I surrender, will you permit this knight to return to his home?"

"Princess!" Julius objected.

"You're hardly in a position to negotiate, Princess," The officer said skeptically. He thought for a moment. "Then again, this knight means nothing to me. If you surrender, I will spare him."

Anri took a deep breath and nodded.

She held her head high and began to walk toward the officer.

Julius grabbed her arm. "Princess! We can fight our way out!"

Anri gave him a sad smile. "Sir Julius, your courage is staggering but I'm afraid that I have my doubts that even you can win this fight. There is no point in both of us dying today. I have often been a very foolish girl, Sir Julius. I have led my people to disaster but I am still a princess and I am not afraid to meet my end. Would you perhaps do me a favor, Sir Julius?"

"Name it, my Lady!" Julius swore.

"If you should see Subaru and Emilia again, please assure them this was not their fault. I know them well enough to be certain that they will blame themselves. Also please extend my apologies that I will be unable to assist them in breaking the Lady Emilia's curse."

Julius's mouth moved but he said nothing.

Anri flashed him half a grin. "You're a good guy, Julius," She said informally, "I really wish that we'd had more time to get to know one another better."

Anri shook off Julius's grip and she walked over to the officer with her her head high. She made no sound nor flinched when the officer put her unbroken arm in chains.

The officer looked very pleased with himself. "Seize the knight," He commanded indifferently.

The soldiers moved toward Julius.

Anri started. "But you said-!"

"I lied," The officer shrugged. "My, you are an innocent one. A Lagunican knight's presence is confirmation of your treachery and your dealings with the decadent southerners. My Prince will be most pleased when I present the two of you to him."

"Julius! Run!" Anri urged.

Julius scowled at the men but he didn't resist when they seized his sword and bound him in chains.

"Julius, why-" Anri continued.

"Because I would have hurt you in retaliation," The officer said in a bored voice. "You really have no comprehension of how the world works, do you? I truly feel sorry for whomever tried to follow your lead."

Anri took that comment like a slap in the face.

Julius was marched up to the princess in heavy chains, his face was grim but it had no accusation in it.

Anri bowed her head as the soldiers marched them both away.

Subaru and Emilia rode up to the abandoned farm house.

"Anri!" Subaru shouted.

No one answered.

Subaru and Emilia shared a worried look.

"Anri?!" Subaru raised his voice louder. "We should really get out of here right now!"

"Subaru, look over there," Emilia pointed to a spot of disturbed dirt not far from the house.

Subaru triggered Reason and Judgment and scanned the area. "There was a fight here," Subaru muttered. "Many men attacking one."

"Anri?!" Emilia gasped.

"No! No, not Anri," Subaru reassured her. "The tracks are much too big."

Subaru studied them. "They go this way," He mused, nudging Patrasche forward along the trail. "Here. These are Anri's tracks."

"What happened to her?" Emilia demanded.

"I think that… Anri tried to rescue whoever was being attacked."

"That does sound like her," Emilia mourned. "The two of you both really need a stern talking to…"

Subaru followed the trail and found… bodies. Dozens of bodies all wearing Lagunican uniforms.

"Anri!" Emilia gasped.

"She's not here, Mili!" Subaru cut her off quickly. "We still need to find her."

Subaru kept following the tracks, slipping in and out of Reason and Judgment to keep on the trail. "Looks like they ran this way?"

Patrasche slowly pushed through the brush and entered a clearing. Subaru reined in and studied the markings. "Anri and whoever were here for a while," He said. "Anri was pacing around. I'm guessing that she escaped her pursuers and didn't know what to do next."

Subaru's gaze followed the tracks and he nudged Patrasche into motion.

A few minutes later they broke into another clearing. "OK, more pacing," Subaru said. "But this time there are a lot of tracks. I'm guessing that her pursuers found her again. She and her buddy ran… this way!"

Subaru lightly kicked Patrasche and the dragon burst back into the woods, following the trail.

They entered into a large clearing that was carpeted with moss.

"Oh shit," Subaru grumbled.

"How are we going to find tracks in this?" Emilia asked.

Subaru shook his head. "We'll have to check the entire underbrush until we find some!"

Anri and Julius were marched north, surrounded by soldiers and her spirits felt as heavy as lead.

Don't break down, Anri. Don't give into despair. They don't deserve the satisfaction.

"Captain," Anri said. "Would you mind satisfying my curiosity?"

"You're going back to Prince Malcolm's army which is currently marching toward the Valley of the Winds," The captain smirked. He'd been patting himself on the back ever since he'd captured Anri.

"Yes, very interesting," Anri replied in a bored tone. "But that wasn't my question. I wanted to know how you found me."

The captain laughed. "I'd guess inside help. Apparently, some of your people are a bit dissatisfied with your leadership. Prince Malcolm has been getting very accurate information about everything Sanshi is doing as well as your own activities."

Anri frowned. "That's not possible," She shook her head.

The captain snorted. "Why? Because your people love you so much that they would never turn against you?" He asked sarcastically.

"No, it's because I haven't had contact with any of my people in weeks," Anri replied. "You must have gotten the information some other way."

The captain looked annoyed. "All I know is that the the Prince told us where to find you," He growled. "I don't know how he knew. We followed our instructions and there you were."

Anri turned away. How is that possible? Everyone I've had contact with in the past few weeks is dead! The only survivor is Victoire. I'm not going to act like there's no way that Victoire would ever betray me, I don't know her all that well and royalty can't afford to have those kind of blind spots anyway. But even if Victoire did turn on me, how did this work? Victoire thought that Subaru, Emilia, and I were all going to Ganaks. If she had sold me out she would have told them to look in Ganaks not at the farmhouse.

Subaru and Emilia wouldn't have had any chance to turn me in even if they'd wanted to. And they're the only ones who knew that I was hiding at that farmhouse.

Wait a second. This gets even weirder. They didn't look for me at the farmhouse. They found me in the middle of the gods-forsaken, trackless woods! Nobody could have told them that I'd be there at such and such a time. I didn't even know that I'd be there!

The only person who could have told any of Griest's soldiers where I was was Julius and he never had a chance!

And yet they found me twice, as easily as if I'd lit a signal fire.

Anri continued to march, her thoughts chasing one another in circles.

In a way, she was grateful. It was a good distraction from wondering what Malcolm an Griest would do to her.

By lunchtime, Patrasche had broken through from the forest and was thundering north along a road.

Subaru saw a valley in the distance. The valley was large, broad and shallow. The woods ended by the valley edges and the valley was carpeted in a vast ocean of tall grass, much of it nearly six feet high. There was an army camp being assembled in one of the few areas of the valley clear of tall grass.

The pair raced to the edge and dropped down on their stomachs to avoid detection. They peered down into the valley.

"Anri!" Emilia whispered pointing down into the camp.

Subaru looked down and saw Anri being marched in chains through the camp, accompanied by a tall man in a hood.

"Subaru, she's already reached the enemy army," Emilia whispered in a dead voice.

"We're too late," Subaru sighed.

"Princess Kairei," Malcolm an Griest said in oddly dolorous tones when Anri was presented to him in his command tent. "What a wonderful, unexpected surprise."

Deann sipped her tea. "Honestly, Father, it makes the entire matter of bring all of these men out to fight seem somewhat redundant, does it not?"

"True," Malcolm admitted. "But it serves as proof of the power of our House."

"Tell me, Prince Malcolm, what precisely makes you think that it is a good idea to attack Lagunica with this army?" Anri asked.

Malcolm stared at her incredulously. "What are you talking about?"

"Apparently, several members of the armed forces in Lagunica have come to the conclusion that this army is aimed at their throat."

Duncan stared at Anri in horror. "My lord, what if your actions were misinterpreted?! If Lagunica thinks that we truly mean to attack-"

"Cow chips!" Malcolm snapped. "Lagunica won't respond as long as we do not cross into their territory. I expected more from a Princess of the realm than such ludicrous stories!"

"Why does no one ever believe me?" Anri sighed to herself.

Deann gave Duncan a worried look. "Father, what shall we do with her?" Deann asked finally.

"Canmore is unbetrothed," Duncan suggested quickly.

Anri gave a mirthless laugh. "He was a good boy when last we met. He must be nearly seven now, yes?"

"Almost ten actually," Deann replied. "I agree, Father. It would be the easiest way to end this war. And it would clearly establish Griest as dominant over Ithil."

Malcolm scratched his black and gray beard. "No," He decided. "I have higher aspirations for Canmore than this. One day he shall be Holy King." Malcolm's face became grave. "I'm afraid that you have caused too much trouble, Princess Kairei. You have undermined the natural order in Gusteko-"

"I have threatened your hegemony, you mean!" Anri said with a defiant shake of her head.

Malcolm glowered at her and sighed. "Princess Kairei, you have conspired with Lagunica to weaken our nation! Your House is a disgrace to Gusteko and this can not be borne. Unfortunate though it may be, I require that your House become extinct. But I will show mercy on the people of your province. This is the best that I can do."

"What about Gael?!" Anri said sharply.

Malcolm hesitated.

"Prince Malcolm," Anri said desperately. "You know that Gael is no threat to you! He will never enter politics and he is likely to never have a child to continue his line. Let him have a peaceful life away from all of this!" Anri almost begged.

"I agree, Prince Malcolm," Duncan added unexpectedly. "Gael is no threat to you and you will gain much more respect for showing mercy in this case than completing a bloody victory against someone who can't fight back."

Malcolm sighed. "Very well then. Gael will be permitted to live. Tomorrow we will continue our march to the border and make our threats against Lagunica. Following the completion of this mission, this we will lay siege to Siros and demand Regent Radu's surrender. Then you will be executed."

Everyone in the room seemed somewhat morose at that statement.

"Tomorrow, Father?" Deann asked in surprise. "Isn't it… rather very early in the day to make a camp for the night?"

Duncan shrugged. "We've already made camp to wait for the Princess, Lady Deann. I must admit that I do not relish the idea of breaking down the camp, marching another two miles and then setting up camp again for the night."

Deann made a face. "Good point."

"Moreover, we're still expecting the remaining forces of Brokvar, Hilde, Craite, and Voivode. We told them that we would await them here," Malcolm reminded her.

Deann nodded.

Malcolm gestured to the soldiers guarding the princess. "Take the Princess away. Guard her well."

"I will bring her back to her cell," Duncan volunteered.

Malcolm nodded and waved dismissively.

Duncan took Anri's chain and gently lead her out of the tent.

The two walked in silence to another tent not far away. Duncan led Anri inside to where they found a large cage. Julius was locked in a similar cage next to hers. The knight glowered at Duncan but he said nothing.

Duncan opened it and Anri stepped inside without a word.

Duncan locked it behind her.

Duncan stared at Anri, his face twisted in dismay. "I… I don't quite know what to say, Anri."

Anri didn't respond.

Duncan shook his head. "I will continue to speak to Prince Malcolm tonight," He promised. "I will endeavor to make him see reason. Your marriage to Canmore is the only sensible end to this mess!"

Anri gave a tired chuckle. "Do you think there is any chance that he will listen to you?" Anri asked archly.

Duncan bowed his head in sorrow.

"Duncan," Anri said slowly. "After I… die… I am very worried about Gael. He'll… need someone to watch over him."

Duncan nodded fervently. "You need have no fear for Gael. I will keep him safe from all harm and he will die of a ripe old age. Even if it costs me my life!"

Anri sighed. "Thank you, Duncan. That is a great comfort to me," She murmured.

Duncan bit his lip. "Anri, I… I never wanted things to come to this…"

"I know, Duncan," She sighed. "I hold you blameless for this end. Nor do I begrudge you your loyalty to House Griest."

"Is there… anything I could bring you?" He asked plaintively. "Something to make your evening more comfortable?"

Anri thought for a moment. "There is one thing," She admitted.

"Name it!"

Anri silently pointed to a table nearby that had a small knife resting on top of it.

Duncan's face twisted in horror. "No, Anri!"

"Princess!" Julius gasped.

"Duncan," She said kindly. "I am already dead. All the forces of Siros couldn't rescue me from an army this size. Let me die my way. Don't let me be led back to Siros in chains and publicly executed to break whatever is left of my people's spirits."

Duncan's face was mournful and his body trembled as he slowly took the knife and handed it to Anri.

Anri smiled at him. "Thank you, Duncan. I depart this world in good conscious, knowing that you will see to my brother's safety."

Duncan's eyes streamed tears. "You should… wait a while," He whispered. "Wait until everyone goes to sleep or someone will certainly find your bleeding body in time to heal you…"

Anri nodded. "Thank you, Duncan. You've always been a good friend to my family."

Duncan's face twisted, a dozen different emotions playing over his face. He searched for the right words to say and couldn't find them. Finally he snapped a salute and turned around, exiting the tent, his eyes streaming tears.

The pair looked down into the valley and their hearts sank.

"We can't just give up, Subaru!" Emilia said. "We have to help her!"

Subaru shook his head. "There have got to be ten thousand men in that valley," Subaru whispered.

Emilia watched Subaru looking all over the valley, deep in thought. His eyes seemed to flicker.

Emilia looked away, staring at the forest behind them and she stiffened.

She sprang to her feet and dashed into the forest in a blur.

Subaru's head snapped around. "Emilia!" he shouted.

He heard a struggle in the woods and he drew his rapier, running after her.

As they approached, Emilia stepped out of the woods, effortlessly holding a struggling person. He was barely more than a boy and he was wearing a brown uniform.

"Well well," Subaru muttered, slashing his rapier through the air. "What have we here?"

The boy clenched his lips, symbolizing that he wouldn't talk.

"I want to know about that camp, kid," Subaru growled.

"Hold fast!" Another voice shouted as dozens of men in the same uniform emerged from the forest with swords drawn. The leader was a grizzled old man with a bushy mustache.

Subaru and Emilia drew closer together. She summoned her ice sword but she didn't release the struggling soldier, holding him with one arm.

"Listen, buddy," Subaru growled. "I am going to rescue Anri and you really don't want to get in my way. So tell me everything you know about that camp or I'll start cutting the information out of the lot of you, bit by bit!"

The leader looked confused and Subaru raised his rapier before the officer's eyes so that he could look at it. "I'm not kidding and I don't have much time to waste here. Tell us about the camp!"

The officer gasped. "Where did you get that rapier?!" He demanded.

Subaru frowned, thrown off step. "It was given to me by a friend whom I intend to rescue so you had better tell me everything you know about your camp right now!"

The officer just stared at Subaru in confusion.

"You're troops from Siros, aren't you?" Emilia asked.

The officer hesitated then finally nodded. "We were accompanying a caravan of forty wagons bringing goods south to Ganaks to trade for supplies on the orders of Regent Radu. One of my scouts reported a large detachment of men in this area and we came to investigate and confirm if the area was still safe for us to pass through."

"Listen," Subaru urged. "We're here to rescue Princess Anri! Can you help us?!"

"Anri?" The officer repeated in confusion. "Wait. You mean Princess… Kairei?!"

Subaru closed his eyes with a sigh. "I fucking hate Gusteko names. Yes! Whatever. She's down there in that camp and I want to save her!"

"The princess has been captured?!" The officer gasped.

"Is there any way that you can bring reinforcements here quickly?" Subaru asked. "Maybe enough for a night raid? If we could catch them by surprise then we might have a chance."

The officer slumped and shook his head. "There's nobody else for at least a day's march. I only have fifty men and we are not warriors. We've been sent to escort goods to Ganaks! We weren't expected to engage in a fight!"

"Fighting would be fairly futile in any case," Emilia muttered, letting go of the boy who stumbled away from her. "As we're outnumbered about two hundred to one."

"Officer…" Subaru prompted.

"My name is Captain Antilles," The grizzled officer answered.

"What kind of goods are you transporting? Anything useful?" Subaru asked.

The captain thought for a moment. "Our cargo consists of two hundred pounds of wassabi, four hundred yards of silk, three hundred pounds of ginger, three thousand gallons of sesame seed oil, four hundred pounds of frankincense, and six hundred pounds of cinnamon," The officer said, sounding slightly embarrassed.

"Nothing useful then," Subaru sighed.

"Why are you carrying so many spices?" Emilia asked.

The captain looked at Emilia askance, noting her hair and ears, but ultimately he said, "The trade routes to Kararagi have been closed for some time but we managed to sneak some goods over the border and through the enemy lines. Regent Radu commanded us to bring the goods to Lagunica where spices fetch a high demand and we can bring back a substantial amount of food to Siros in exchange."

Subaru sighed. "Perhaps we could offer Malcolm an Griest seasonings for his supper in exchange for Anri's life," Subaru muttered.

"Subaru, that's not helping," Emilia chided.

Subaru thought for a long moment.

"Captain," Subaru said finally. "Will you help us try to rescue the Princess?"

Antilles hesitated. "Our lives are pledged to House Ithil," He said finally. "If by my life or death I can save the Princess, I will do so. But I require some possibility of success. I won't order my men to throw their lives away for a lost cause."

"Fair enough," Subaru nodded.

"Might I know your names?" Captain Antilles voice was not quite friendly and Subaru struggled to ignore the way that he was looking at Emilia with raw suspicion.

"This is my fiancee, the Lady Emilia," Subaru said quietly.

Emilia gave a slight curtsy.

"I'm Subaru Natsuki," He finished.

Captain Antilles recoiled. "The Butcher of Arlem?!"

The soldiers around them trembled.

Emilia scowled at Antilles and Subaru face-palmed.

"Separate conversation!" Subaru said quickly. "Look, the whole Arlem thing is a bullshit story that got blown way out of proportion! Right now the only thing I want to do is to rescue the princess. I think we can all agree on this?" Subaru asked with an edge in his voice.

Emilia nodded immediately, Antilles and his soldiers nodded more slowly but they did nod.

"Captain, come and take a look at the camp. Maybe some strategy will present itself."

Subaru, Emilia, and Captain Antilles looked over the edge into the shallow valley. The other soldiers hid in the forest nearby.

"This is not just a Sanshi army," Antilles murmured. "I see flags from House Craite, House Brokvar, House Hilde, and even House Voivode!" He said in astonishment. "Those freaks of nature drink the blood of the dead!"

"I don't really care about their eating habits right now," Subaru muttered.

"I sense spirits down there," Emilia whispered. "Powerful spirits."

Once Emilia had mention it, Subaru noticed several tiny balls of light drifting through the camp.

Antilles nodded. "Gusteko magic is heavily spirit arts based. We use spirits in combat the same way as Lagunica relies on elemental spell craft."

Subaru frowned. "Can anyone guess where Anri would be being held?"

"There," Antilles said with authority, pointing at a large tent.

"How are you so certain?" Emilia asked.

Antilles gave her an unsettled look. "Prison tents always have guards. That is the only tent with guards standing at post."

Subaru nodded. "Good point," He murmured, staring at the tent. "Well, it's pretty close to the edge of the camp, surprisingly."

Emilia frowned. "We might be able to sneak in there and rescue Anri," She said dubiously.

"Maybe," Subaru admitted. "If we had a distraction. We'd need to persuade anyone patrolling the perimeter to be elsewhere for us to have a chance."

"What about the guards at the tent?" Emilia asked.

"Hopefully, we wouldn't even need to deal with them," Subaru replied. "It's a tent. You can make a door anywhere you want with a sharp knife."

"Regardless," Antilles interjected. "I think it would be naive to assume that an alarm will not be sounded quickly."

Subaru nodded. "There's some very tall grass in this valley. That should provide cover for us to sneak up to the camp. It might even cover our escape."

"I doubt that you will be so fortunate," Antilles disagreed. "Look there!" He pointed.

They all looked and saw a group of people standing outside the largest tent. Most of them were grizzled old men with the demeanor of senior officers. Three of them were wearing red capes and looked like nobility. There was an enormous man with a short black beard, a slender young woman with dark hair wearing a green robe, and a heavily muscled young man.

"Those are three of the Acolyte Knights," Antilles whispered.

"The what?" Subaru asked.

"The elite warriors of Gusteko," Antilles said grimly.

Subaru frowned. "Are those like the equivalent of Royal Knights?"

"Essentially, yes," Antilles replied.

Subaru sighed. "Alright. This complicates matters. I don't want to have to fight three 'Juliuses.'"

"Fight what?" Antilles asked in confusion.

Subaru shook his head. "Forget it. Alright, so if we can distract the guards long enough to grab Anri and make a break for it, we'll almost certainly have an alarm sounded before we can clear the valley."

Antilles nodded. "Indeed, and this is a problem. One Acolyte Knight would be capable of smashing through my men all by themselves."

Subaru frowned. "Well, that's just great!"

"The 4th and 5th ranked Acolyte Knights are in that valley," Antilles said. "I can see Prince Malcolm an Griest, his daughter Lady Deann, and her 'student' Duncan."

"Student?" Subaru asked, picking up on the way the word was emphasized.

"Sir Duncan is not technically an Acolyte Knight," Antilles explained. "He has been an apprentice of Lady Deann for nearly a decade. The reality is that he could end his studies at any time and he is already more formidable than most Acolyte Knights. However, he is in love with Lady Deann. Prince Malcolm will not give his approval for their marriage so they maintain their teacher-student relationship to allow them to remain together."

"Clever," Subaru admitted.

"Sir Duncan is called 'the Unshakable,'" Antilles continued. "He specializes in a highly defensive style of fighting. He's been known to wade into whole crowds of foes and then calmly walk out without a scratch," Antilles continued. "Lady Deann is an incredible sword fighter who uses twin short swords in combat. She claims to be able to slice a man to ribbons before he even realizes that she drew her sword. Prince Malcolm is the strongest Acolyte Knight of those here assembled. He is able to draw a vast amount of power from his spirit partners to enhance his own strength and speed."

"Spirit partners?" Subaru said sharply.

Antilles looked at him puzzled. "Yes, Acolyte Knights draw their magic from the spirits. They're all Spirit Knights."

Subaru frowned and thought hard.

"Subaru, what is it?" Emilia murmured.

Antilles was shaking his head. "Unless we can deal with the Acolyte Knights, the power of the army is irrelevant and escape would be impossible."

"Captain," Subaru said slowly. "Let's… just assume for the moment that I can handle the Acolyte Knights…"

"Do you think you can?" Antilles said in surprise. "I've heard that you're called 'the Invincible' but can you truly take on such odds?"

Subaru hesitated. "Let's just pretend for a moment that I can," Subaru murmured. "I think that I might have a plan."

"What is it, Subaru?" Emilia asked eagerly.

"Hang on, give me a minute to polish it," Subaru replied. "Captain, if our idea has hope to rescue the princess, are you willing to help us?"

Antilles nodded slowly. "I'll want to hear your plan first," He said pointedly. "But if it is sound then my men and I are prepared to risk our lives to save the Princess."

"If I've got this right, nobody in your unit needs to risk their lives," Subaru replied. "Can you give me and Emilia a few minutes to polish this idea?"

Antilles nodded, standing up and brushing the dirt off his clothes. "I'll go brief my men."

Subaru and Emilia watched him slip away.

Subaru gestured back toward the forest. "Let's talk where we won't be overheard."

Emilia nodded and they walked a few hundred yards back into the trees.

"What's the plan?" Emilia whispered.

"OK, so I learned a new trick today… yesterday… Fuck, I don't know any more. Mili, when was the last time that we slept?!" Subaru mourned.

"Later, Subaru," She said firmly. "What's the plan?"

"OK. So when I was fighting Julius, I discovered that my Pridebreaker ability can do more than control mabeasts. It can also control spirits!"

Emilia's eyes widened. "No wonder the spirits always panicked when you used it!"

"Yup. That's probably why. Anyway, when I fought Julius, I took away his spirits but I couldn't figure out how to use them."

"Did you ever use Beatrice's magic?" Emilia asked.

"Um. No, not really," Subaru admitted. "If magic needed to be used, she basically just did it herself. I thought of Beatrice as more of a little sister than a partner in combat."

Emilia nodded. "When things settle down, I'll have to give you a few lessons in spirit arts."

"Worry about that later," Subaru said dismissively. "Anyway, if these three are all spirit knights and if I take their spirits away, they should be crippled."

"With Indomitable, you should be able to defeat them easily," Emilia nodded.

Subaru winced. "Um. Emilia, that's the other thing. Apparently, while I'm using Pridebreaker to control the spirits… I can't use Indomitable."

"What?!"

"Yeah, I was pretty upset to find out too," Subaru replied. "Also, remember that I was in a fight when I figured this out."

"But if you couldn't use Indomitable then how did you fight Julius?" Emilia said, looking aghast.

Subaru sighed. "I think dumb luck had a lot to do with it," He admitted.

Emilia shook her head in disbelief. "You tried to fight one of the best duelists in the kingdom and you didn't even have any magic?!" She asked incredulously.

"It wasn't my idea!" Subaru protested. "Look, the point is that if I use Pridebreaker on them, they won't be any good for fighting."

"But neither will you!" Emilia reminded him.

"Hey! I beat Julius, didn't I?" Subaru reminded her.

Emilia did not look reassured.

Subaru sighed. "Look, I might not even have to deal with them in the first place. If my plan works then we'll panic everybody and they'll run for the hills."

Emilia folded her arms across her chest. "Alright, so what is this plan?"

Subaru sighed. "So first, we're going to need a distraction."

Emilia shook her head. "There are only fifty soldiers, Subaru. I don't think that would be much of a distraction."

Subaru snorted. "It wouldn't be any kind of distraction! Any competent commander would realize that nobody is going to attack ten thousands men with fifty! They'd know it was just a distraction and start looking everywhere for the other shoe to drop. And that's even ignoring the fact that none of the men who formed our distraction would survive!"

"Then what's our distraction?"

"We'll head back to the forest and gather up the mabeasts that I… tamed or whatever you want to call it. We'll bring them back here and use them to menace the camp. A horde of mabeasts will attract a lot of attention from the soldiers. I'll tell them to play cat and mouse and try to lure the soldiers out."

"Alright," Emilia nodded.

"While that's going on, you and I will sneak into the camp from the rear and rescue Anri. Then we'll flee into the tall grass and make our escape, hopefully before anyone sees us."

Emilia looked dubious. "I don't know, Subaru. This plan seems like it will take an awful lot of luck."

Subaru nodded. "I know. That's why we're going to have to assume that the army will be hot on our heels. While we're gathering up the mabeasts, I'm going to tell the soldiers to start painting the tall grass in the far part of the field with sesame seed oil."

Emilia blinked, looking confused.

Subaru smirked. "Sesame seed oil makes a ton of smoke when it catches fire, Mili. My mom used to cook with it from time to time. Usually badly," He added. "We'll have Antilles's men standing by to ignite the field with fire arrows as soon as we get clear. When the sesame seed oil burns, it will start to smoke intensely. The fire probably won't spread very much, I doubt that grass is really dry enough to burn and sesame seed oil isn't much of an accelerant but the soldiers in the field are going to be disoriented and gasping for breath and dodging brush fires. They'll give up the chase and we can get away!"

Emilia thought it over and then slowly nodded. "That makes sense, but what about the Acolyte Knights? Do you really think that we can lose them that easily?"

Subaru shrugged. "If we can't then I'll use Pridebreaker on them and then I'll fight them."

It's going to be three on one without Indomitable. Can I actually win this fight…

"We'll fight them," Emilia corrected.

Subaru blinked. "What?! No!"

Emilia stared at him incredulously. "Excuse me?! Subaru, I am not going to let you fight three powerful knights all by yourself!" Emilia said.

Subaru just stared at her for a long moment. "Emilia, you can't fight these guys! These are trained warriors! Killers!"

Emilia blinked in surprise and then her expression turned outraged. "I fought the Bowel Hunter!"

"And you almost died!" Subaru remind her.

"You nearly died fighting her too, if you recall!" She retorted.

Subaru took a deep breath and fought for calm. "Emilia. You don't have any training at fighting."

Emilia threw up her hands in exasperation. "Neither do you, Subaru! Since when did you let that hold you back?!"

Subaru sighed. "Look, Emilia-"

"Subaru, if you're going to try to tell me to just sit back and watch while you fight three knights alone and without your magic then you can just save it!" Emilia snapped.

Subaru thought for a moment and took a deep breath. "Emilia, listen," Subaru said in a placating voice.

"Subaru," She said firmly. "You are about to go into a fight with your life on the line. Yours and Anri's! You can't really expect me to just sit by and watch!"

"Well, what if I get flanked or something?" Subaru asked uncertainly. "I'll need someone to stay behind and watch my back!"

Emilia's face was stony. She folded her arms across her chest. "Subaru. Please don't tell me that you really thought I was dumb enough to fall for that."

Subaru threw his hands in the air. "OK, fine! I'm trying to protect you. I'm trying to keep you out of the fight because I'm afraid you'll get hurt again," He said earnestly.

Emilia scowled at him. "I can take care of myself!" she protested. "I'm not just… baggage that you have to carry around!"

Subaru sighed. "Mili!" Subaru said in exasperation. "I don't have time for this! We're working against the clock here! We'll have to talk about this later. We don't-"

Emilia cut him off. "I'm just as competent in a dangerous situation as you are, Subaru!" She said with a defiant toss of her head.

"Mili-"

Emilia wasn't listening. "Maybe better! I'm stronger, faster, and have more endurance than you! And that's not even counting my magic. And my magic doesn't have a five second time limit!"

"Mili-"

"Ever since we left the Sanctuary, I've been pulling my own weight, Subaru! And I want you to acknowledge that!"

Subaru slapped his palm against his forehead. "No, you haven't been, Mili!" He shouted. "Alright?! I'm not sure if this ever dawned on you but every time you try to fight, you just make things worse! Remember cursing me and Felt when you tried to fight Lye? Remember almost dying to Elsa and making me and Anri go find medicine to save your life?! Every time that you try to fight you just make a bigger mess for me to clean up!"

Emilia looked Subaru full in the face. Her anger had faded and in its place was an expression of such surprise and hurt that it nearly stopped Subaru's heart.

Subaru clapped a hand over his mouth in shock.

Emilia shook her head. "You… really don't respect me at all, do you, Subaru?" She whispered.

Subaru looked horrified at himself. "Emilia. I didn't mean that," He swore.

Emilia glowered at him. "Yes, you did. You were finally honest with me about how you really feel. For once!" Emilia snapped, her face livid.

"Emilia, I'm sorry," Subaru said fervently. "I was angry and I wasn't thinking and I didn't mean what I said!"

Emilia just shook her head, grinding her teeth. "Everything," She snarled. "It was all for nothing! I might as well have not have even bothered to try!"

"Emilia! I'm sorry!" Subaru begged, reaching out for her.

Emilia pushed him away. "Don't touch me! Everything that I've done since we split up in the capitol… it was all for nothing. It was a waste of time. Roswaal… was right about everything!"

Subaru blinked. "Roswaal?! What does Roswaal have to do with anything?"

Emilia whirled on Subaru, blazing fury in her eyes. "Roswaal convinced me to separate from you because he said that was the only way that I could convince you that I could do things for myself! He told me that you saw me as helpless and pathetic. I believed him. I went with him when we left the capitol to try and prove that I could be more than that!"

Subaru frowned trying to puzzle out what Emilia was trying to say.

Emilia looked away and her face grew morose. "We were trapped in the Sanctuary and I just… I wanted to die. Everyone could see how worthless I was. How helpless. I couldn't do anything to save hundreds of other lives. I couldn't do anything even to save my own life," Emilia whispered to herself. She turned to Subaru and gave him a look of contempt. "Then you told me that you believed in me. You said that you knew that I could do it," She sneered. "But it was just words, wasn't it? You never really believed that I could do anything! You're just like Daddy!"

"What are you talking about?!" Subaru said, completely lost.

Emilia turned her face away, snarling very bad words under her breath.

He shook his head violently. "Emilia! I… I don't understand! What are you trying to say?"

Emilia took several deep breaths and finally she turned to glower at Subaru. "Subaru, I went to the Sanctuary to show that I was someone who should be respected. I fought through those horrible trials to try and prove that!" She snapped.

Subaru hesitated. "But you are! Emilia, you did complete the trials! You saved everyone in the Sanctuary! I know that people's memories have been twisted but as soon as we fix that, everyone will remember you. They'll all know that you really are a hero! They'll all think of you as someone worthy of respect and admiration. I promise!"

Emilia shook her head violently and stamped her foot. "Subaru, you are so incredibly stupid!"

"What did I say?!" Subaru asked helplessly.

"Subaru! I wanted you to respect me! That's why I did all of this! I wanted to prove that I was someone worthy of your respect!"

"I do respect you, Emilia!" Subaru protested.

"No, you don't, Subaru! You don't think that I can handle the dangers in our lives. You don't see me as a equal or a partner! You're just like Daddy! You don't think that I can do anything!"

"That is not true," Subaru refuted immediately. "I know how much you can do. I watched how hard you worked every day since we met. I watched you talk to people who thought that your ears and hair made you a devil and convinced them to give you a chance. I watched you fight your way through the Sanctuary trials. I watched you endure the loss of Puck and all our friends. You are a hero, Emilia. You are the person I most admire in two worlds and I'll never see you as any less than that," He said firmly.

Emilia gave him a hard look. "But you still won't let me fight with you."

"No."

Emilia bared her teeth at him.

Subaru spread his arms wide. "Look, Emilia, I refuse to feel guilty about this! I love you! I want you to be safe! It's not a bad thing that I'm trying to protect you. I want you to be safe even if I can't be. I want you to get away even if I can't," He paused. "I want you to be happy even if it means that I can't be there to share it with you," He said quietly.

Emilia's scowl faded just slightly. "How could I ever be happy without you?" She muttered.

Subaru shook his head. "Emilia," He began.

Emilia raised her head imperiously. "Subaru, if you won't let me fight beside you, I'll interpret it as you saying that you never really loved me," She said in a deathly whisper.

Subaru flinched and stared at Emilia wide eyed. "What… How… How could you even say that?" He whispered.

Emilia took a deep breath. "Subaru, I need your respect," Emilia said firmly. "If you can love me but not respect me then I don't want either one. I'm looking for a partner in my life not just another caretaker. I don't want a husband who feels like he aways needs to protect me. I want someone who knows that I'll always be there to help and support him the same way as I want him to help and support me."

Subaru hesitated and took a deep breath. "Mili, you fighting in this battle will put you in incredible danger! Can you even imagine how I would feel if something happened to you?!"

Emilia stared at him in astonishment for a long time and then she clenched her teeth and rolled her eyes skyward. "Subaru! You are so unbelievably selfish and stupid!" She screamed.

"Excuse me?!"

"Of course I can imagine it, you dummy!" She snapped. "I have imagined it. I imagined it when you fought the troll and when you battled the Archbishops. I imagined it when Elsa attacked you and when we faced the Snow Blight. I imagined it when Roswaal tried to make you his slave and when the Black Water nearly killed you. I've been imagining it since the day that we met and you never even noticed!"

Subaru frowned. "That's… I mean, that's… different…" He said lamely.

Emilia shook her head. "Subaru Natsuki, you are nothing but a spoiled child," She said in a voice of contempt. "Your whole objection to me fighting is that you don't want to have to worry about the person you love getting hurt. I've been worried about that since literally the day that we met and you never gave it a second thought! Now, after just a few days of worrying about me, you're already prepared to cry quits! Does that sound fair to you?!"

Subaru hesitated. "Well, no…" He admitted.

Subaru struggled to put his thoughts into words. "I… Look, Emilia," He whispered, reaching out to take her hands. She reluctantly allowed him to take them, her face still sullen. "You are everything to me! I can't handle even the possibility of losing you. If you died, I'd have nothing to live for!" He said earnestly.

Emilia just rolled her eyes. "Well, you'd still have more than me, Subaru!" Emilia snapped, without an ounce of sympathy.

Subaru blinked.

"Without you, Subaru, I have nothing! Especially if Anri dies too. There is no one, literally no one on this entire world who can love me or call me friend. If something happened to me, you would still have Puck and Beatrice, Reinhard and Felt, and even Garfiel, Rem, and Ram. If you died, I would be all alone. Forever."

Subaru just stared at her.

"We are planning to be married, Subaru," Emilia said intently. "But I will not be your house pet. If I'm going to be your wife then we will face every challenge side by side. I don't care how dangerous it is. If you're in danger than I'm going to share that danger with you. End of discussion."

Subaru swallowed hard. "What if… something happens to you?" Subaru murmured in a frightened voice.

Emilia sighed. "Subaru," She said in a more conciliatory tone, "I need you to trust me right now."

Subaru shook his head. "Emilia, I trust you with my life."

"Do you trust me with mine?"

"Huh?"

"Subaru, you don't want me to fight with you because you're afraid that I'll get hurt. I don't want you to fight alone because I'm afraid that you'll get hurt."

Subaru hesitated.

"Subaru," Emilia said, stepping closer to him. "If we are going to have any chance at all in curing my curse and reuniting our family, it is going to be extremely dangerous. It will be dangerous even with both of us working together. It would be impossible for you working alone. That's why I need you to trust that I can help you and that I won't let you down in a dangerous situation. I need you to trust that, no matter what happens, I can protect myself and be there to watch out for you. The same way I trust that you can protect yourself and that you'll look out for me."

"I do trust you, Mili," Subaru assured her.

"No, you don't, Subaru! You're trying to keep me here safe and out of the way because you don't trust me. I'm not talking about trusting me not to betray you. I mean trusting me not to mess up when it matters the most. You feel that you can't trust me to be able to help you when things get desperate or even to be able to protect myselffrom danger so that you don't have to do it. You think that I'm more of a hindrance than help.

"You don't trust me. And I understand why! I've let you down so many times! It was my fault that Roswaal separated us, it was my fault that Felt and the others turned against us, and it was my fault that Reinhard found us and took the spirits away! I know that you have no reason to trust me right now. I am the most pathetic failure of a woman on the face of this world!" Emilia said, bowing her head with tears standing in her eyes.

Subaru's jaw dropped but he didn't know what to say.

Emilia sighed and raised her head. She looked Subaru square in the eye and said firmly. "But I'm also the woman who killed the Bowel Hunter. I'm the woman who fought the stormcrow to protect you. I'm the woman who fought the Snow Blight at your side. I'm the woman who pulled you out of the icy lake and brought you home safely. I'm the woman who got us out of Ganaks and who freed the Sanctuary. I did all of that because you needed me to!" She proclaimed in a loud voice. "Subaru, I need you to have faith in me just one more time! I need you to believe in me when I say that if the man I love really needs me to succeed then there's no way that I'll fail!"