Re:Zero - The King of Pride

The next morning, Crusch, Felix, Felt, Garfiel, and Rem all sat around the war table in Crusch's command tent.

"Damn it, Rem. Why didn't you fucking tell us?" Garf demanded smashing his fist down on the table.

"We could have brought Subaru home!" Felt yelled.

"I didn't tell you, Garf, because your 'plan' was idiotic," Rem said calmly, "If you had attacked the witch, you would both be dead right now."

Crusch was drumming her fingers on the table, "Your very heroic intentions non-withstanding, Master Garfiel, it is highly unlikely that your proposed course of action would have broken the enchantment this witch has placed on Subaru Natsuki," She said in a conciliatory tone.

Garf folded his arms across his chest with a scowl.

On a personal level, this whole mess might actually benefit me. Subaru Natsuki being captured or ensnared by the witch has got to be damaging to his potential appeal as king, if anyone believed it, that is. My scouts have been tearing the woods apart for days with little sleep and they've turned up nothing.

While the scouts have been scrupulously professional in their debriefings, there is also plenty of grumbling echoing up from the ranks. The mabeasts in the forests are all stirred up right now, possibly by the Witch Cult deliberately. The scouts are in considerable danger when they go out and they need to search in larger groups than I'd prefer in order to protect themselves. After days of frantic searching with nothing located, the scouts are beginning to wonder if this is some kind of snipe hunt. They've been told that Subaru Natsuki, the newfound hero of the land has been kidnapped by the legendary Witch of Envy, a storybook monster used to make small children behave.

I suppose I wouldn't believe it either.

"Did he give you any indication of where they were going?" Crusch asked Rem.

"I didn't ask," Rem replied carelessly.

Garf and Felt both scowled at her.

Interesting. Garf and Felt are desperate to get Subaru back but the blue haired maid appears happy to be shut of him. Some dissension in the ranks? Subaru's people always seemed fanatically loyal to him. This maid who seems to resent him is an abnormality. Perhaps she could be useful to me.

I wonder why she resents Subaru. She seems angry that he left with the witch but if he was bewitched then he had no choice, did he not? Or… does she doubt he was bewitched? Perhaps she thinks that Subaru Natsuki is working with the witch willingly?

That opens up a whole world of new possibilities and none of them are good.

"Have we received any word from Reinhard?" Crusch asked Felix.

"Nya, the fight is over for the moment. Reinhard and his foe did so much damage to one another that they were both sent flying. Reinhard eventually returned to the battlefield but his foe did not reappear. He's searching for him now but it's been close to two days since the fight ended and not a trace. Reinhard is most unhappy at our lack of success locating Subaru Natsuki. He's threatening to call off the search for the enemy and go look for his master himself if he doesn't pick up some sign of the Archbishop's trail shortly," Felix replied.

"A foe who can fight Reinhard van Astrea to a standstill. Terrifying," Crusch muttered rubbing her face, "Do any of you know anything about this threat?"

"Regulus," Felt and Garfiel said together.

"I'm sorry?" Crusch replied.

"This has to be Regulus," Garfiel grumbled, "The Captain told us about how dangerous and powerful he was."

"Was this one of the Archbishops that Subaru Natsuki believed that he had killed?" Crusch asked.

"Nah. The Captain says that he fought this guy to a standstill and they both wound up having to withdraw," Garfiel explained. "I saw Regulus rip up a whole forest with no effort at all at the Sanctuary and the Captain claimed that he was completely invulnerable to any kind of attack."

"Reinhard related a similar report, nya," Felix said. "He never managed to so much as wound his foe. I did a little digging. Someone matching Regulus's description was reportedly responsible for the destruction of the fortress city of Garkla in Vollachia about fifteen years ago. He slaughtered the entire city, the Vollanchian champion, and thousands of soldiers singlehandedly and emerged without a scratch."

Crusch stared at Felix.

Completely invulnerable to attack? Destroying one of the most fortified cities in the world singlehandedly? What madness is this? And Subaru Natsuki fought a foe to a standstill that Reinhard van Astrea battled for almost two days before the contest resulted in a draw? What does that mean? That Subaru Natsuki is as powerful as Reinhard? More powerful than Reinhard? And perhaps aligned with the Witch of Envy? Could that be why he is so powerful?

Of course! What else could offer Subaru such incredible power? He must have formed an alliance with the Witch of Envy…

Good Gods. What did he promise her in exchange?!

Crusch shook off her reverie and drummed her fingers on the table, "Then it seems we have two problems: The released Witch of Envy and this Regulus person. We need to locate both of them."

"Reinhard has been searching for any trace of Regulus for the past two days but he's found nothing, nya," Felix replied.

Crusch sighed, "Very well, then we must concentrate on Subaru Natsuki and the Witch of Envy. Did any of you get any impression of the witch's goals while she was with you?"

Felt shook her head, "Well, for the most part, we avoided her as much as we could. All she seemed to do was sit there looking sad. The witch seemed willing to do whatever the boss asked without question."

Crusch stared hard at Felt, Isn't that interesting. Even if Subaru Natsuki was working with her by choice, shouldn't the witch be the one giving orders? If Subaru was the one giving orders…

Things might be far worse than I dared to imagine.

I better not tip my hand about this yet. This needs to be phrased carefully…

"Alright," Crusch said calmly, "Let's assume that Subaru Natsuki is the one making the plans in their group."

"What?!" Garfiel scoffed.

Crusch spread her hands in a placating gesture, "I am more aware than most of Subaru Natsuki's remarkable intelligence. Perhaps the witch is attempting to leverage this brilliance by allowing him to make the plans for her. She may be using magic to… instill certain desires in him and then just standing back and letting him carry them out."

Felt and Garfiel looked thoughtful while Rem simply stared straight ahead, stone faced.

"I remember that the boss did start talking about 'dragon blood' after we escaped the Sanctuary," Felt remarked.

"Dragon blood?" Crusch replied.

"Yeah, I don't remember him ever bringing it up before but since we left the Sanctuary, he mentioned it several times. He claimed that he had promised to get the dragon blood for the witch but I don't know why," Felt explained.

Crusch got a sinking feeling in her stomach but she pushed it aside, "Interesting but not terribly useful at the moment. I don't think Subaru Natsuki is likely to find a dragon while he's wandering around in the woods. Can anyone think of anything else?"

"The Captain was mostly talking about trying to fix everyone's memories," Garfiel added.

Fix them? Isn't the whole story about memories being modified just a pretext to try to confuse his allies? Why would he be so committed to the notion once it was apparent that no one believed it?

It's a ridiculous strategy anyway. If Subaru simply claimed that the girl was under his control and never mentioned anything about memories being modified, it is more than likely his companions would have believed him. Why even talk about modified memories? It just put the thought into everyone's mind that Subaru had been bewitched and didn't realize it. For a tactician of Subaru Natsuki's caliber, this is a very clumsy mistake.

If nothing else, maybe this is a sign that the witch really did affect Subaru Natuski's mind. Subaru would almost certainly have a better plan in place even if he was thrown off balance by the Witch Cult's attack at the Sanctuary. However, even if the witch is supremely powerful, maybe she's not all that clever. Maybe she initially made the mistake of using her magic to give Subaru Natsuki a plan to follow instead of setting the goal and letting him develop a strategy on his own.

"Hm," Crusch muttered, "Perhaps we should adjourn for the time being. We have much to think about and we'll doubtlessly all think better on a full stomach. The cooks are already preparing breakfast."

As Crusch expected, the thought of 'food' got Garfiel's immediate attention and he left the tent without comment. Felt followed him but cast a suspicious look back at Crusch.

Crusch opened her mouth to try to speak to Rem but the maid deliberately turned her back on Crusch and left without a word.

"Nya, this is crazy, Crusch," Felix said quietly.

"It might be even worse than we think, Felix," Crusch said staring at the map spread out before her with a dark expression.

"What do you mean?"

"It bothers me that everyone claims the witch is following Subaru's lead," She said.

"But I thought you said-"

"That was just a ruse to keep them quiet," Crusch replied, "If I suggested that Subaru Natsuki was not bewitched but was working with the witch by choice, Felt and Garfiel would have stormed out and left. Worse still, they would have told Reinhard that I couldn't be trusted and he's our only hope against this 'Regulus' if he emerges again."

"I don't get it, nya. Why would Subaru Natsuki be working with the witch? What could she offer him? The throne?" Felix asked.

"No," Crusch shook her head, "He was likely to gain that at a walk all by himself. Subaru Natsuki isn't going to jeopardize a sure thing with an alliance with a witch for something he could accomplish all on his own."

"Then what did he want, nya? Besides, what could he possibly offer the witch to gain her assistance?"

Crusch thought for a moment, "Let's imagine that Subaru somehow made contact with the Witch of Envy. Let's say that he was able to offer to free her from her prison. After four hundred years imprisoned, I'd guess that freedom is what she really wants. What if they signed a contract enforced by magic: Subaru frees the Witch of Envy from her prison and in exchange, she works for him. She uses her magic to make him emperor of the entire world."

Felix's eyes grew wide, "But how could Subaru have possibly set the witch free?"

"Who knows? More to the point, who cares? We know that she's back and wandering the world. How she got out really isn't relevant right now," Crusch replied.

"If she got free, nya, I'd expect her to immediately kill her ally. Why would she accept being in a servile position to Subaru Natsuki once she didn't need him anymore?" Felix said.

"Perhaps that's part two of her plan," Crusch admitted, "We don't really know anything about their relationship so we can't say for sure what the balance of power is. Maybe things are not as they seem and Subaru is the one following instructions. Maybe their alliance is enforced by magic that neither can break or maybe Subaru is threatening to re-imprison the witch if she disobeys. Or," Crusch paused meaningfully, "Maybe she's still too weak."

"Too weak?"

"The ice spell that Felt described, the frost flowers that tried to eat her alive, sounds absolutely horrifying. I shudder to even imagine it. But on the scale of sorcery belonging to world destroying monsters? Those frost flowers are just a parlor trick," Crusch said.

"Maybe she was holding back for some reason," Felix said.

"Maybe," Crusch allowed, "But maybe she wasn't. Maybe what they saw was all that the witch is currently capable of because four hundred years sealed away have caused her magic to wither. Hence the dragon blood."

"I don't understand, nya."

"The dragon blood is reputed to be able to heal any ailment. In extreme cases it's said to be able to restore the dead to life. Do you think it could possibly be used to revivify the powers of an ancient witch?" Crusch asked.

Felix looked horrified.

"If this theory is true," Crusch mused, "Then Subaru Natsuki is not merely a political threat or even a threat to the safety of the nation. He's a threat to the entire world."

"But, Crusch," Felix murmured, "If Subaru needs the dragon blood for the witch to complete their bargain then why is he wandering around in the woods seemingly aimlessly? How does that advance his plan?"

"Perhaps it doesn't," Crusch shrugged, "Remember, Felix, no plan long survives contact with the enemy. Even Subaru Natsuki's luck was bound to run out sooner or later. Maybe his plan went awry and he's now attempting to improvise because everything went wrong," Crusch paused, "We don't know very much about the Witch Cult. Few members will surrender even to save their own lives and fewer still will disclose any information about the Cult under questioning or even torture. The little information we have suggests that there is a large schism in the order between those who worship the Witch of Envy and those who fear her. The Witch Cult has been quiet for years but right before the witch reappeared, the Cult showed up in numbers never seen before and armed for battle.

"Perhaps Subaru crossed a line with the Cult when he tried to actually free the witch. Maybe all this fighting is because they're trying to hunt down Subaru and the witch before they get too powerful. The Witch Cult caught all of us by complete surprise so it's not impossible to imagine that they took Subaru off guard as well. Perhaps Subaru wasn't prepared for the Cult to attack the Sanctuary when they did and he had to abandon his original plan and start improvising. On a hunch, he probably wanted to keep the Witch in seclusion, hiding her from the world while she was still weak. The Sanctuary would have been a perfect place to do that. But then the Witch Cult attacked and made that plan impossible so Subaru had to get the witch out of there quickly before the Cult could kill her. Unfortunately this meant that a bunch of people saw her and things spiraled out of Subaru's control."

"Crusch!" Felix gasped, "We need to warn everyone!"

"Warn them of what?" Crusch sighed, "This fever dream of mine? We have no evidence, Felix. Like it or not, Subaru Natsuki is the hero of the land right now. Worse yet, he's my political rival. If I denounce him it will just look like a slander campaign. Any accusation against Subaru Natsuki will need to be supported not just by evidence but by overwhelming evidence. Otherwise it will just look like a desperate, childish attack from a struggling foe. Most of my own officers are profoundly skeptical that the Witch of Envy is free at all, much less that Subaru Natsuki has been kidnapped by her. If I tell them that I suspect he's become her accomplice, they'll call me delusional."

"What if we convinced, Felt, nya? If she denounced him then people would-"

"People would wonder what I gave her to make her betray her lord," Crusch dismissed, "That's all that they would wonder."

"How are we going to get evidence then, nya?"

Crusch rubbed her face, "Let's try to think like him for a moment," Crusch mused, "If I was in Subaru Natsuki's shoes, what would I do next?"

Felix thought about it, "I think I'd use my original plan, nya. I'd try to find a safe place to hide the witch for a while and then come back claiming that I escaped her. Or maybe claim that I'd killed her? I'd look like a hero and the witch could rest in safety until I got the dragon's blood to restore her, nya."

Crusch glanced at Felix, "That is a very shrewd plan, my friend."

"I had a good teacher, Crusch," Felix smiled.

"OK, so assuming that is what Subaru Natsuki does, how can we counter it?" Crusch asked.

Felix looked awkward.

Crusch sighed, "I fear we may be once more out of our depth, Felix."

Late the previous night, Subaru and company had marched south while deep in the woods. They were no longer following the road. Subaru knew that the army was likely to be sweeping through the forest shortly so he urged them all to move quickly and continue on without rest as they hid deep in the forest moving more or less south toward Arlem.

They found a running stream and Emilia and Subaru quickly refilled the water gourds that Rem had placed in their pack.

Subaru heard a growl and quickly glanced up. Across the river were three wolf-like animals with spikes running down their spines and glowing red eyes.

Subaru felt a chill. He'd read about creatures like this: mabeasts. Creatures formed long ago from witchcraft. Creatures that existed to torment and slay living beings.

"Emilia, watch Puck and Beatrice," He muttered slipping Beatrice off his shoulder and stepped forward, placing himself between the mabeasts and his family.

"Subaru, maybe we should get out of here!" Emilia urged.

Subaru triggered Reason and Judgment.

Hm. Only three. If they live similar to wolves back home that's a very small pack. Scouts? Probably not, wolfs don't usually hunt that way and if they are scouts then why have three traveling together?

Two of them have slight injuries. Have they been fighting? Were they driven out of their pack for some reason? Or did some animal not go down quietly?

Regardless, running is a very bad idea. They have slender lanky bodies. These animals are built for chasing prey and running them down. They really want us to run so they can wear us out and finish us off when we're exhausted. No, against animals like this you take a stand. You ask them if they're willing to bleed for their next meal. Animals that make that calculation will probably back off, especially if they don't outnumber or outweigh their prey.

Subaru restarted time.

"You guys want to start something?!" He yelled stepping forward with a raised fist.

The mabeasts growled but they didn't try to cross the shallow stream. They looked at each other, their canine faces both angry and reluctant.

Subaru was coldly furious. The stress, fear, and exhaustion of the past few days came to a head and he found himself hoping that they would try something. Indomitable would let him smash the mabeasts easily and he would finally have a foe that he could actually fight instead of one he had to run and hide from. Or one that cut him with words in ways that might never heal.

The mabeasts growled a bit but then they turned and walked away from Subaru, casting him many looks of loathing from burning red eyes. As the distance between them increased the mabeasts went from walking to loping to running and then they disappeared over a hill.

Subaru sighed, uncertain if he was relieved or disappointed, "Alright, let's keep going," He muttered to the others. He lifted Beatrice back onto his shoulder.

"This is an odd place to find wolgarm, in fact. Betty wonders what they were doing here," Beatrice said as they resumed their trek toward the south.

"Why? Is this not wolgarm territory?" Subaru asked. "It seems like they'd do fine in the forest so far from any towns. There should be plenty of animals to eat."

"Mabeasts don't hunt out of hunger, in fact. They are nourished by ambient mana and do not require food. They hunt because they enjoy killing, I suppose. The mana in this forest is very weak. Wolgarm are known to live in areas without strong magic but they make up for the deficit in their diet by killing people and draining their mana. There are no people near this area. If the mabeasts lived here for any length of time then they should starve to death, I suppose."

"Well, they didn't look starving and if they had been starving I don't think they'd have backed down that easily. Maybe they're not from around here?" Subaru asked.

"Hm. Maybe the Witch Cult is using them to hunt us, I suppose," Beatrice muttered.

"Oh no," Emilia whispered.

"I doubt it, Beako," Subaru replied, "If they're scouts then I doubt they'd go off in sets of three. Maybe they were driven out of their territory and are now looking for new homes?"

"Driven out by what, I suppose?"

"I don't know," Subaru shrugged, "There was that huge battle up north. It certainly spooked me, maybe it spooked the mabeasts too. If that battle is still going, or roaming all over the area the mabeasts might have decided to get out of dodge."

Beatrice frowned, "It's possible, I suppose."

"Subaru, if that's true," Emilia frowned, "Then we might run into more mabeasts on our way south."

"Yup. Because that's how our luck goes: anything that can go wrong, will go wrong," Subaru said with a weary laugh.

Subaru was exhausted and his legs felt like rubber but he kept on marching, carrying the spirits on his shoulders.

They marched most of the night only pausing to sleep when clouds swept in from the west, hiding the stars and making it impossible to be certain which way they were going.

The group had collapsed in exhaustion in a glade of soft moss, Beatrice and Puck using Subaru as a pillow while Emilia lay nearby but not so close as to make the spirits uncomfortable.

"Subaru," She whispered quietly staring up at the cloudy sky, "Are you alright?"

He gave a weary chuckle, "I'm pretty tired, Mili," He admitted.

"Me too. But I meant… are you alright after what Rem said to you?"

Subaru glanced at her, "I was actually about to ask you the same question. I mean… you're the one she called a witch."

"And you're the one that she called a betrayer," Emilia replied calmly.

"Wow. We're really nefarious, aren't we? Maybe we should do the whole Bonnie and Clyde thing."

"Who?"

Subaru chuckled, "They're a famous pair of criminals were I come from. A pair of lovers who robbed their way across a nation. They were kind of a romantic icon, I guess. Two people who were absolutely obsessed with one another even though the whole world was against them. I mean, they were really just crooks but people romanticized them and their love story until they became folk heroes," He said quietly so as not to wake the spirits.

"What happened to them?"

Subaru coughed, "Um, I think the law finally caught up with them and killed them."

"Sad," Emilia murmured.

"Yeah, sorry I brought them up," Subaru muttered.

Emilia lay on her back watching the clouds roll by and the stars come out overhead, "Subaru, did what Rem said hurt you?"

Subaru hesitated, "Well, yeah a little. But it also made me pretty angry."

"I can understand that. Rem was doing her best to hurt you."

Subaru was quiet for a moment, "Well, yeah, I was angry at Rem but… I think I was also a little angry at myself. I didn't like the fact that she called me out and I didn't have any real response."

"What do you mean, Subaru?"

Subaru sighed, "Rem accused me of being willing to sacrifice her and the others to protect you."

"It was a horrible thing for her to say; a very cruel lie. I can understand why it would bother you so much."

Subaru opened his mouth and debated his words for a long moment, "…Yeah," He said weakly. He changed the subject, "What about you, Mili? How are you feeling?"

Emilia gave a tired laugh, "Don't worry about me, Subaru. Rem is far from the first person to call me a witch."

"She might be the first person you thought was a friend doing it though," Subaru paused, "Although for some reason I do remember calling you 'Satella' a lot the day we met. Still not sure why I did that."

Emilia giggled and cover her face with her hands, "Oh Gods, I still don't know why I told you that."

"In hindsight, it was kind of funny though," Subaru chuckled, "When I blacked out after Elsa almost sliced me in half, I was worried that I was going to die without knowing the name of the girl I'd died trying to save. That would have been lame."

Emilia didn't respond right away, "Subaru, please stop talking like that."

"I guess you don't see the humor in that situation?"

"Subaru, I have a hard time seeing the humor in any situation where you could have died. Especially if it would have been all my fault," She replied.

"If I had died that night, I'm pretty sure we both should have blamed Elsa," Subaru said.

"No, it would have been my fault. You wouldn't even have been there if not for me. You almost died trying to help me," Emilia muttered, "And now everyone is trying to track us down because they think I'm a witch. Even Rem wants you dead."

"For the record, Mili, Rem wants me dead again. So really this is just coming full circle for the two of us."

Emilia was quiet for a moment, "Subaru, I keep imagining someone attacking us. The Witch Cult, the Lagunican army, our friends, even just a mob of angry peasants with pitch forks. I couldn't bear it if anything happened to you or Puck or Beatrice because of me."

"Nothing is going to happen to us," Subaru scoffed, "We just breezed right through the main army camp! We're running rings around all of our opponents. Sure, all this tromping through the forest isn't exactly fun but we're making do."

Emilia took a deep breath, "Subaru, I think maybe… I should go."

"Go where?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe back to the forest?"

Subaru gave her a warning look, "Emilia, that's one hell of a walk from here and you'd have to go back through the army camp. I don't think you'd have much luck sneaking back on your own," He said in a calm tone.

"Subaru, I'm stronger than you think."

"I know that," Subaru agreed, "That doesn't mean I want you to go off alone when it seems like everyone in the whole world is coming after you. We're staying together because I think it's safer for all of us that way."

She was quiet for a moment, "Subaru, they're only after you and Puck and Beatrice because of me. If I left, you'd all be welcomed back with open arms. I keep imagining something horrible happening to one of you, and it would be all my fault."

Subaru sighed, "Mili, can you please do something for me?"

"What is it?"

"Stop taking credit for what terrible people do!" Subaru snapped.

"What?"

"Look, Mili," Subaru sighed, "Elsa tried to kill me and, yeah I guess she wouldn't have been doing that if I had never met you, but that's what makes her trash, not you. You're not responsible for what Elsa did or what anyone else does. The fact that people behave badly when you're around isn't your fault and you don't have to feel guilty for it," Subaru explained.

Emilia paused, "Subaru, do you honestly think that I could watch one of you die and not blame myself?"

Subaru sighed, "No. I guess I'd do the same thing. But you walking away alone isn't the solution. Because if you did sneak off, I would just follow you no matter where the trail led and we'd both be more vulnerable because when we ran into serious trouble we wouldn't be able to deal with it together."

Emilia didn't reply and a few minutes later Subaru fell asleep.

Subaru woke up the next morning and saw Emilia sitting there with her arms wrapped around her knees, staring off into the distance.

Subaru gently shook the spirits awake.

Beatrice yawned, "Betty misses having a bed, I suppose," She muttered.

Subaru kissed the top of her head, "Maybe we could get you a gem like Puck uses," He twitted.

"Good idea! It's actually pretty comfortable once you get used to it, Betty," Puck agreed.

"Betty believes that she will pass," Beatrice grumbled as Subaru took some dried fruit out of the backpack. He ate some and then handed the rest to Emilia.

"It looks like we're running low on food," Emilia murmured.

"Yeah, but I'm hoping to solve that problem today. I think we'll reach Arlem early this afternoon."

"OK, Subaru," Puck asked settling on his shoulder, "What's the plan when we get there?"

Subaru sighed, "Well… honestly, Puck, I'm not sure. We'll need to feel things out. Hopefully we can get a good view of what's going on down there without revealing ourselves or maybe find a villager we can trust. After that… we'll just have to wing it, I guess."

"Subaru, not to criticize, but I really miss your old plans. They were much better thought out," Puck grumbled.

"Can we stop at the manor on our way," Beatrice asked, "Betty misses her library, I suppose."

Subaru wrapped his arms around her, "I'm sorry, Beako, I just don't think that we can. Fredericka is definitely still at the manor and you know that she'd report us. And that's the best case scenario. Garf and the twins might be there too. Even if Fredericka was alone, she'd rat us out and we'd have an army on our trail in a few days. I think going back to the library is going to have to wait," He said sadly.

Beatrice sighed, "That's fine, I suppose. Betty has her Subaru and her Bubby. Betty can deal with everything else."

"That's my brave girl," Subaru whispered, cuddling her.

The group saw the manor house in the distance around lunch time. Subaru and Emilia ate some more preserved fruit and noted that their bag was almost empty.

They passed the manor house and continued south toward Arlem village, still hiding deep in the woods.

As they approached the village they began to move closer to the road that led between the manor house and the village, hoping to keep their eye on things.

As the village came into sight through the trees, Subaru gestured for quiet, "I heard something," He whispered.

Subaru and Emilia crouched down as Subaru peered through the trees and saw a young girl walking down the road. It was Petra.

"Petra!" Subaru called quietly.

The girl jumped looking around until she caught sight of Subaru waving at her from the bushes.

Petra's face lit up and she was about to cry out when Subaru put a finger to his lips and gestured for her to come closer.

Petra ran over and flung her arms around Subaru's waist with a bright smile.

Subaru heard Beatrice grumbling from his shoulder.

"Subaru!" She cheered quietly, "When did you get back?!"

"Just now, Petra," He said wrapping an arm around her.

She wrinkled her nose, "Subaru, you smell terrible."

He actually laughed, "Yeah, I know. Did everyone get back here from the Sanctuary OK?"

"Not everyone yet, a lot of people are still missing because of the fighting near the Sanctuary and us all getting split up but the chief thinks that everyone got out of the Sanctuary safely at least," Petra replied.

"Well that's good," Subaru replied.

"Subaru, what are-" Petra stopped talking and her face turned white as she looked at something behind him.

Subaru glanced over his shoulder and realized that Petra was staring in open mouth horror at Emilia. Her hood had fallen down and she looked back at the little girl with resignation.

"Subaru!" Petra gasped, "Is that-"

"Petra," Subaru interrupted keeping a firm grip on Petra's shoulder. It wouldn't do for her to run off in a panic right now, "I would like you to meet Emilia. She is a very close friend of mine," Subaru said pulling Petra over closer to Emilia.

"Your… friend?!" Petra squeaked.

"That's right," Subaru said calmly, kneeling down in front of the girl, "Petra, one thing that you're going to have to learn is that very often appearances are misleading. Emilia is a wonderful person even if she looks like someone you've been taught to be afraid of."

Petra looked back and forth between Subaru and Emilia, "Really?"

Subaru nodded, "I've gambled my life on Emilia being trustworthy several times. I haven't regretted it yet."

Petra looked doubtfully at him.

Emilia coughed, "It's very nice to meet you, Petra. My name is Emilia."

Petra didn't answer. She looked back at Subaru uncertainly, "Subaru, are you… sure?"

Subaru sighed, "Petra, I'm not going to tell you that you can trust everyone. We don't live in that kind of world. Some people will trick and betray you as soon as you give them the chance. You can't trust someone you just met. You need to watch them and decide what kind of person they really are but you should always give them the chance to prove that they're worthy of your trust."

Petra looked unconvinced and Subaru silently gave up on this plan. He moved onto more important subjects with a sigh, "Petra, there's a reason that we're hiding in the forest right now. I can't get into the details but it's very important that nobody knows that we're here. Have any of my friends come through Arlem in the past few days?"

Petra shook her head, "No. I haven't seen any of them since we left the Sanctuary."

"OK. Petra, I need you to bring the village chief here. I need you to make sure that he's the only one who knows that I'm here. And please don't tell him anything about Emilia. Can you do that for me?" Subaru asked.

"Sure!" Petra nodded, "I'll be right back!"

She took a last confused glance at Emilia and then took off running.

Subaru sighed as she left.

"Subaru, are you sure that involving the chief is a good idea?" Emilia asked.

"No," Subaru admitted.

"Then why didn't we just ask Petra-"

"Because we need supplies, Mili!" Subaru reminded her, "If we asked Petra to grab everything that we need, she'll be punished as a thief."

"Oh. I suppose I hadn't thought of that," Emilia replied.

"Also, Mili, you should probably keep your hood up. Petra's reaction was… less promising than I hoped," He sighed.

"I guess we're not going to bother introducing me in Arlem, then?" Emilia murmured pulling up her hood, "I thought that Petra would believe you if you said the sun would came up in the west tomorrow. But she was still skeptical about me not being a monster."

Subaru sighed.

Fabulous. I brought us on a three day journey south and it looks like it was a massive waste of time. I hope I can get supplies because my only remaining option is to flee over the border. Reinhard is forbidden to cross the border by law and the army doesn't want Emilia badly enough to risk starting a war with Gusteko. I hope.

A few minutes later, Petra returned, physically pulling the village chief along behind her.

"Petra," He said in irritation, "Why did this need to interrupt my lunch? Is this some new game that you're playing?"

"Good afternoon, chief," Subaru called out.

The village chief jumped, "Lord Subaru! Forgive me," He said with a low bow. Petra started at the chief's bow and dropped into a curtsy as well.

"Please don't trouble yourselves. My companions and I are traveling in secret right now. Are you aware of what has been going on since you left the Sanctuary, chief?" Subaru asked.

"We're heard lots of strange and contradictory rumors, my lord. I can't say for certain which ones are true," The chief replied.

"Great. Then you're just about as well informed as anyone else right now," Subaru drawled, "Anyway, my friends and I are in desperate need of supplies before we depart. Do you have any that we could purchase?"

"I wouldn't hear of it, Lord Subaru! You are the savior of your village twice over! Anything you desire shall be yours with my compliments," The chief replied.

Subaru sighed, "I have gold and I do intend to pay fair value, chief. The village needs funds to rebuild after the recent disasters so please do not argue with me on this point," Subaru warned.

The villager chief caught his tone, "Of course, Lord Subaru. What is it that you desire?"

"Are there any earth dragons in the village? A wagon? Or maybe some riding earth dragons?"

"I'm afraid not, my lord. The wagons have all gone away to fetch resources so that we can rebuild our village. If you could wait here for a few days I am certain we could acquire some for you."

"I'm afraid I don't have time for that," Subaru sighed, "Forget it. What we could use is some packs of preserved food. A map of the continent would be wonderful. We also need a few warm hooded robes for traveling in the cold and if you have a tent or something similar, I'd be grateful."

"Of course, Lord Subaru," The chief said, "I will fetch them for you straight away."

"One more thing, chief, it's vital that my companions and I travel in total secrecy right now. I need you to keep our visit strictly confidential," Subaru informed him.

The chief looked confused but bowed his head, "Of course, my lord. You may consider Petra and myself the very souls of discretion."

"Thank you, chief," Subaru replied.

The chief hurried off to gather supplies.

Petra walked up to Subaru, "Subaru, I made you something."

Subaru raised an eyebrow.

Petra took his hand and gently deposited a white cloth handkerchief in his palm.

Petra looked away from Subaru, blushing scarlet, "Miss Fredericka told me that… it's proper for a lady to give a gentleman she cares about a handkerchief before he leaves on a dangerous journey. It will help keep him safe if he keeps it and remembers to return it to her."

Oh man, this has got to be the cutest thing ever. Well, except for the fact that Beatrice's grumbling keeps growing louder the longer Petra is here. Then again that's kind of cute too.

"Thank you so much, Petra," Subaru told her with a smile, "I'll cherish it and make sure to bring it back to you when I return."

Petra's smile was like the sun coming up.

Emilia chuckled quietly from behind them.

Petra turned to look at her and Emilia quickly wiped the grin off her face, looking gravely serious.

Petra approached Emilia who suddenly looked nervous.

Petra stared at Emilia darkly and then handed her something, "Here."

Emilia took the item. It appeared to be a a small bracelet made out of beads.

"What is this?" She asked.

"I made it," Petra said awkwardly, "I want you to have it. I… I don't trust you. I don't have any reason to trust you. But if Subaru says you're OK then maybe… maybe I could learn to trust you. Maybe some day we could be friends so… I want you to have it."

Emilia's eyes filled up with tears. She tied the bracelet around her wrist, "Thank you, Petra. I will treasure it always."

Petra smiled awkwardly and stepped away from Emilia to stand next to Subaru again.

The chief returned a moment later carrying two heavy backpacks, two robes, and a bag.

"Here you go my lord," The chief said panting for breath, "Two bags of preserved food, the robes you requested, and my personal tent. It's due to your heroism that I'm now sleeping in my own house instead of in that tent so take it with my gratitude. I also put the map you requested in your food bag."

"Thank you, chief," Subaru said pulling fifty gold coins out of his pouch and handing them to the shocked chief.

"My lord! This is far too much!"

"It's not for the goods," Subaru replied calmly, "You told me those were free. The gold is an investment in rebuilding Arlem. I want the village rebuilt as soon as possible."

I'd like to give him more but we may need gold ourselves the way we're running without any support. I might need to get us situated for the long term somewhere.

The chief had tears in his eyes. He bowed his head, "You humble me, my lord."

Subaru knelt down to look Petra in the eye, "Petra, I need to go now. It's possible that I won't see you again for a while but I'll always think of you very fondly."

Petra bit her lip, her eyes watery, "Take good care of that handkerchief. It will keep you safe." She directed.

"I'll keep it with me always," Subaru promised giving her a tight hug.

Subaru stood up and shook the chief's hand as Emilia started to gather the bags while keeping her hooded face turned away from the chief. Petra helped her with the bags.

"Thank you for your kindness, chief. I depart in good conscience knowing that the people of Arlem are in your hands," Subaru said.

"Thank you, my lord. When you return from your journey, I promise you, the feast will truly be splendid!" The chief promised.

"I look forward to it," Subaru smiled trying to pull on his new, much heavier backpack without dislodging Beatrice.

Subaru waved goodbye to them and then, hand in hand, Emilia and Subaru walked away into the forest.

The pair walked hand in hand, feeling happier than they had in many days while Beatrice quietly cuddled with Puck on Subaru's shoulder.

Emilia carried the tent bag in one hand while Subaru used his free hand to steady Beatrice on his shoulder.

"Little Petra grows more charming by the day," Emilia commented glancing down at her bracelet. She gave Subaru a smirk, "Do I have competition?"

"Do I?" Subaru chuckled, "I saw the look on your face when she gave you that bracelet."

Emilia laughed, "It certainly did put a smile on my face. Petra looked so afraid of me, and then you told her to take a second look and she actually did. It was the best news I've gotten in days."

"She's a good kid," Subaru agreed.

"Betty is thinking that she has heard more than enough about that girl, I suppose," Beatrice grumbled.

Subaru and Emilia both laughed.

"Alright well, we got some supplies," Puck yawned from Beatrice's arms, "So what now?"

Subaru sighed, "I think we may need to go underground for a bit, guys."

"Subaru, you want to live in a cave?" Emilia asked.

"No! I mean, we're going to have to lay low. Keep out of sight for a few weeks, maybe even a few months. Give everyone a chance to calm down," Subaru explained.

"Could this also give Betty and Bubby a chance to rest, in fact?" Beatrice sighed.

"I'm pretty sure we're all desperate for a rest, Beako," Subaru agreed.

"Well, Subaru, we can't just hang out in the woods for months. Our supplies won't last," Puck said.

"No, we are absolutely not going to camp out in the woods for months on end. A few more weeks of this and we'll all be willing to surrender just to get a hot bath," Subaru replied.

"When we use to live in the forest, Puck used to use magic to keep me clean," Emilia mused, "I'd just take all my clothes off and then he'd use a special fire to clean all the dirt and grime off my body without burning my skin."

From his seat in Beatrice's arms, Puck looked at Emilia incredulously, "What are you talking about?!"

Subaru glanced at Emilia with a sly smile.

Emilia noticed his expression and looked annoyed, "Subaru! Are you having lewd thoughts about me right now?"

"Oh, yeah!" Subaru cheered.

"Subaru," She sighed, "You are such a child!"

Subaru wrapped his arm around her shoulder and nuzzled her neck for a moment, "But you love me anyway."

Emilia gave him a resigned smile, "You know I do."

The two separated, walking through the woods hand in hand.

"Puck, any chance of a 'fire bath,' or whatever you call it, tonight? Emilia and I both smell pretty funky at the moment," Subaru asked.

"Betty didn't want to say anything, but you absolutely do," Beatrice said.

Subaru chuckled and kissed Beatrice's cheek.

"I don't know, Subaru. I don't know how she knows that I can do that-"

Subaru and Emilia shared an exasperated look.

"-But I don't think it would be a great idea. Betty and I are still exhausted. I spent most of my mana recharging Betty and we're both still pretty weak, especially after healing everyone from the frost flowers and the fight with Ley. We should save our mana for serious problems not 'Subaru and the witch smell bad' problems."

"As always, Puck, you're probably right," Subaru replied.

"My wisdom is both a blessing and a curse," The magical cat replied sagely, licking his paw.

"Well, maybe we can find a lake or a river to bathe in tonight," Subaru suggested to Emilia.

"That would be nice," She agreed.

"Do you think you'd need help any washing your back?" Subaru asked solicitously.

Emilia rolled her eyes heavenward with an exasperated sigh but Subaru saw her hiding a smile.

"Subaru, not to interrupt this fascinating discussion about bathing habits but can we get back to explaining our plan?" Puck asked.

"Oh. Right. So our current problems, in order of danger, are: Reinhard van Astrea, the entire Lagunican army, and the Witch Cult," Subaru said.

"Betty wants someone to explain how we are in so much trouble that the Witch Cult pursuing us is only number three on our list of problems, I suppose," Beatrice muttered.

"Just natural talent I guess, Beako," Subaru chuckled. "Anyway, two out of three of these problems can be solved by us just getting over the border for a while. The closest border is Gusteko so my plan is to head off to the north east and sneak across; hopefully while everyone thinks we're still heading south or hiding around Arlem."

"Subaru, I don't think they like you very much in Gusteko. You killed or captured several of their troops," Emilia said with a worried frown.

"Mili, we're not going to pay them an official state visit," Subaru told her with a pained expression, "We're just a small family on the road. If I remember the map correctly there's a large city not far across the border called Orcos. We still have plenty of gold so we'll go there, find an inn, and just settle in to wait for everything to calm down. We'll start writing letters to Felt and Reinhard explaining the situation and we'll open a dialog with them."

"Do you think they'd really listen?" Emilia asked.

"Sure! One of the reasons that everyone flew off the handle like that was because we were trapped in a war zone and they needed to make snap decisions to protect their lives. Panic is a common reaction to rapidly changing situations, especially if you're worried that said situation involves a world-ending witch. However, as time goes on and things calm down and the world doesn't end, Felt and Reinhard will start to become open to the idea that maybe they overreacted. We'll talk it through and once they believe that you're not a threat to me or them, we'll all work together to figure out how to fix everyone's memories," Subaru finished.

"OK, I guess that makes sense," Puck muttered, "How far to Orcos?"

Subaru sighed, "That's the lousy part. If I remember correctly, I think we're talking about at least a six day walk to cross the border and then another day or two to get to the city. And we may have to add more time because the trail will probably get rough and hilly."

"So eight to ten days, I suppose," Beatrice sighed on his shoulder.

"I don't know why you're complaining, Beako," Subaru teased, "I'm the one walking on this trip. You have a nice comfy chair."

Beatrice smirked at him, "Betty likes this chair, I suppose, but Betty would like a nice soft bed even better."

"Oh, yeah," Subaru agreed, "When we finally get someplace safe, I don't think I'm going to want to move from the bed for a month."

"I think that staying in bed that long might get boring pretty quickly, Subaru," Emilia smiled.

"Oh, I'm sure I can think of some way to keep you interested," Subaru smirked at her.

Emilia blushed.

Subaru and his companions made camp that night near a small clear pond.

They were deep in a grassy plain not far from the eastern mountains and they hadn't seen a sign of humanity since leaving Arlem.

It took Emilia and Subaru over an hour to figure out how to pitch the tent and Beatrice's 'constructive' criticism hindered more than it helped.

Eventually they got the tent up and, due to their isolation, Subaru decided to risk making a small fire, relying on the nearby bushes and shrubs to shield the light from anyone's gaze.

Subaru and Beatrice gathered a pile of dried sticks and branches and brought them back to camp.

Subaru piled the kindling together.

"Want me to start the fire?" Puck offered.

Subaru looked up at Emilia who was quietly sitting next to the tent, "You know, Mili, you haven't used your magic since the… frost flower incident."

"Of course not."

"Do you think you could start the fire tonight?" Subaru asked.

"No," She answered flatly.

"Subaru, are you really sure we want to do this?" Puck growled.

Subaru ignored him, "Mili, you realize that you're going to have to use your magic sooner or later, right?"

"I wish that I never had to use it again," Emilia muttered, "I wish that it was all gone."

"That is a very foolish wish, I suppose," Beatrice grumbled. "The elf should try to be useful to Betty's Subaru. If the elf had no magic she'd only be Subaru's baggage on this journey."

Emilia flinched.

"Beako!" Subaru complained.

"If the elf wishes to be less dangerous to others, then she must learn to control and harness her own magic so it only hurts those she wishes to hurt," Beatrice concluded matter-of-fact.

Emilia looked conflicted.

Subaru sighed, "Beako is telling you the truth, Mili, even if she's doing so with all the tact and delicacy of an axe-thrower."

"Hm," Beatrice sniffed.

"We're on the run and people are looking for us with the intent to hurt us. We're going to have to fight sooner or later. You need to learn to control your magic again," Subaru told her.

"I really don't want to have anything more to do with magic, Subaru," Emilia told him.

"Fair enough, I really don't want to have anything else to do with the Witch Cult, but I think that neither one of us is going to get what we want right now," He replied.

Emilia stared at the pile of kindling under a rapidly darkening sky, "What if I lose control of the magic again, Subaru? What if I hurt you again?"

"You won't," Subaru said calmly.

"How can you be so sure of that?"

"The same reason I was sure that you'd pass the Sanctuary trials after Roswaal explained his plan. I knew you loved me too much to fail when I needed you to succeed," Subaru replied.

Emilia stared at Subaru for a long moment.

She extended her hand over the pile of sticks. Her hand was trembling violently.

The spirits were glaring at Emilia; tensing, ready for action.

Subaru reached out and gently placed his own hand over hers, steadying it. "We just need a little flame. A tiny flame. There's nothing to worry about," Subaru encouraged.

Emilia took a deep breath and nodded, "A tiny flame."

Subaru imagined that he could feel the magic flowing out of Emilia's hand and onto the dry wood below. The heat surged and the small pile of sticks burst into flame becoming a respectably large campfire.

Subaru and Emilia both snatched their hands away from the flames quickly and Subaru quickly fed the blaze with larger sticks to keep it going while blowing on his hand.

"Nice job, Emilia," Subaru complimented.

"Yeah, but maybe next time reduce the power you use a little," Puck grumbled.

"Honestly, Puck, I thought I barely used any mana at all," Emilia replied rubbing her singed palm.

"You have an enormous reservoir of magic. A little bit goes a long way," Puck pointed out.

Subaru held his hands up near the fire. The warmth felt wonderful, "Well, this might be the cheeriest night we've spent in days."

"Betty can not believe she is saying this but Betty is looking forward to sleeping in a tent, I suppose. It's much nicer than sleeping on the cold dirty ground," Beatrice said.

"I totally agree, Beako. I think Emilia and I should go wash up at the pond before bed. Do you guys know how to feed the fire while I'm gone?" Subaru asked.

"Betty has never fed a fire before, I suppose. Do fires prefer dried peaches or apples?" Beatrice asked seriously.

Don't you dare, Subaru! Don't you dare laugh! Oh God, I don't know if I can hold it in…

"It's OK, Subaru," Puck replied with a wink, "I'll walk Betty through it."

"Thanks, Puck," Subaru said with a chuckle as he and Emilia walked away from the fire toward the nearby pond with the new clothes from Arlem in hand.

It was too dark to see much of anything, but Emilia taking her clothes off just a few feet away was the the high point of Subaru's past three weeks.

Subaru got naked and quickly waded out into the pond. The pond's bottom was a soft gravel and it was just deep enough to actually swim in.

Subaru tread water for a moment and then sunk under the surface almost with relief. He stayed underwater for a few moments trying to scrub his hair clean with his fingers. Subaru imagined a brown cloud of dirt spreading out from him in the clear water.

When Subaru came up for air he felt clean for the first time in weeks.

Subaru looked around for Emilia and saw her silhouette standing in the shallows, the water only up to her waist.

"Don't go under the water like that!" Emilia scolded him, "I was worried! I thought that something might have grabbed you!"

Subaru glanced around the tiny pond not much bigger than a swimming pool and tried to imagine a crocodile or similar animal living in it.

"Do you want to come for a swim?" Subaru asked treading water.

She shook her head, "Let's just get clean and get back to Puck and Beatrice. I don't have much of an appetite for playing right now," Emilia sighed.

Subaru looked at her with concern and then a wicked smile crept across his face that he quickly concealed.

Emilia blanched as he waded over to her, "Subaru! I know that look! What are you scheming right now?"

"I'm not scheming anything," Subaru assured her in a completely insincere tone as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Subaru!" Emilia said sounding increasingly nervous.

"Oh, don't worry, Mili," He said casually, "I just want to help you get clean!" He said grabbing her legs and sweeping her up in his arms.

"Subaru! What are you doing!" Emilia demanded wrapping her arms around his neck to try and hold onto something.

"I'm just helping you get clean!" Subaru said in an innocent voice walking out into deeper water, "I thought that's what you wanted?"

"Subaru! Don't you dare!" Emilia hissed.

Subaru pressed their lips together.

Emilia stiffened in surprise but then she melted and kissed him back.

It was a long lingering kiss and they both pulled away with regret.

She shook her head, "Subaru, what are you doing?" She asked ruefully.

"I'm helping you get clean," He answered dropping her into the pond.

Emilia got to her feet spitting water and there was roaring fury in her eyes.

Subaru laughed and tried to run away.

"Subaru Natsuki!" She cried out chasing after him, "You get back over here right this instant!"

Subaru hadn't made it very far before Emilia caught up with him. To his surprise Emilia picked him up easily, lifted him high over her head and then flung him out into deep water.

Subaru surfaced chuckling.

"Serves you right!" Emilia sniffed but Subaru heard the smile in her voice.

"Of course, you realize this means war," Subaru said calmly.

Emilia blinked, "What does that-"

Subaru shoved a huge splash of water at Emilia.

"Subaru!" She cried splashing him back.

They played for almost half an hour, dunking and splashing one another, until they were both completely worn out.

Subaru and Emilia were sitting in the shallows by the pond's edge. They were both still naked and sat there with an arm wrapped around each other.

Emilia sighed, "Subaru, that was completely ridiculous! We're on the run for our lives and you wanted to have a splash fight! Are you always going to act like a child?" She said trying to suppress a giggle.

Subaru kissed the top of her head, "Every single opportunity I get!"

Emilia shook her head with a rueful smile, "Subaru, you dummy." Emilia paused, "But I have to admit that… I needed that. I feel better. This whole thing… it's going to be OK, isn't it?"

"Of course it will," Subaru agreed, "The four of us are together. What else do we need? We're going to be fine. We'll get across the border quietly, set up shop in a town and then plan our next move. Hell, maybe we'll really like living up there and we won't even want to come back. It's possible."

Emilia chuckled, "If I wanted to be surrounded by ice and snow all the time, I think I'd just go back to the forest," She paused, "Subaru, do you really think that we can find a way to make everyone remember me? As much as I desperately want Puck to remember who I am and what we mean to each other, the bigger problem is that as long as nobody remembers me, they're all going to think that I'm really Satella and keep hunting me down."

Subaru sighed, "I wish to hell that I'd put together what was going on sooner. If I hadn't told people that I brought you out of the tomb, everything might have been different."

Emilia shook her head, "I doubt that, Subaru. The Witch Cult was rampaging through the area so everyone was always going to assume I had something to do with the Cult. And you couldn't have kept their modified memories a secret either because they'd keep referencing things that you didn't know about. There was nothing you could have done."

Subaru chuckled, "When did you get so smart?" He said resting his head against hers.

Emilia giggled, "I've always been smart, you big dummy. You're just finally smart enough to notice!"

"Maybe that's it," Subaru allowed. He sighed with a moody expression on his face, "I can't help but feel that I screwed all of this up. I feel like if I had handled things better, Felt and Garf might have believed me."

"Felt and Garf wanted to believe you," Emilia corrected, "When you told them that I was a friend, they were willing to accept that on faith. The problem was me, Subaru. When I cast the… frost flowers, they knew I was too dangerous for them to be near. When you refused to admit that I was a threat, they concluded that I must have bewitched you somehow."

"Emilia, that wasn't your fault,' Subaru said.

"This mess is entirely my fault, Subaru," Emilia disagreed, "I completely lost control of my magic and made poor Felt feel like she'd been in a torture chamber. Garf and Felt… came to see me while you were unconscious Subaru. They… Garf was very angry. And poor Felt looked like…" Emilia trailed off and shook her head. "Puck and Beatrice were ready to kill me."

"You were trying to save our lives from Ley," Subaru reminded her, "You didn't know that your magic powers had increase by a factor of ten; hell, maybe a factor of a hundred! Puck suppressed your power to try to protect you and he didn't let you grow up into them properly. Don't get me wrong, I love Puck but the guy is overprotection personified."

"Daddy…," She sighed, "Some days I wish he could take all my magic away from me. Every time that I use it the people around me suffer. First, cursing the forest seals everyone I know in solid ice and now my frost flowers have wounded you and our friends and made the entire kingdom want to hunt us down."

"You're not a quitter, Mili," Subaru reminded her, "We are going to fix this. We will restore everyone's memories. We will help Felt heal from her trauma and we will end the curse on the forest."

Emilia looked at him skeptically, "Subaru, do you have any idea how we're going to do those things?"

"Not a one," Subaru admitted, "But, in my defense, I've spent most of the past five or six days fighting to survive and that didn't leave me a lot of time for planning."

I have no idea how to fix any of this. The only possibility I see is to use my Authority. That would be fine except I don't even know how to get started. I wish I'd asked Roswaal a few more questions before he vanished.

Actually, considering how desperate we are, this would be a perfect time for Roswaal to reappear and try to form an alliance. He could demand almost anything and I'd have no choice but to accept. Gee, that's a happy thought, considering what he wanted last time.

So why isn't he doing that? Was he wounded in the fight? Ley implied that he wasn't killed so I assume he got away safely. Maybe he's hiding out someplace and he doesn't know what's going on? Or maybe he does know what's going on and he's trying to find us but can't. That would be somewhat flattering.

How do the twins factor into this? Rem wants me dead so can I assume that Ram does as well? I was originally planning to keep them both close since I could expect them to be feeding Roswaal information. That way he'd be able to judge when to come back and make his offer. That plan's flown out the window but now that I think about it, maybe it wasn't that a great plan anyway. I'm acting like Roswaal would show up for negotiations but he's just as likely to watch and wait for a situation where we're desperate and try to take Emilia hostage again. It was dumb luck that we escaped his Sanctuary trap. I doubt he'll screw up a second time.

"Subaru," Emilia said startling Subaru out of his reverie, "It's getting late. We should go to bed."

Subaru and Emilia put on new clean clothes with relief. The chief had provided them with hooded robes and these were the first clean clothes either of them had worn in weeks.

Emilia started back toward the fire but she noticed that Subaru wasn't following her. She looked back and saw that Subaru stayed had behind to pick up their old clothes.

"Subaru? What are you doing?" Emilia asked.

"Trying to cover our tracks," Subaru explained. "I don't want to leave anything behind that could potentially tell people that the folks here were us instead of some other random group of travelers."

"How would our clothes tell them that?"

"Rem," Subaru answered. "I don't really understand this 'witch miasma' stuff or how it works but yesterday Rem proved that she's able to track us by it pretty easily. If it lingers in the forest maybe it lingers in clothing too. If Rem found this robe or if a scout brought it back to her, she might be able to confirm that it belonged to us and then they'd all know where to search."

Emilia sighed shaking her head, "This whole situation is…"

"Yeah, I get it," Subaru agreed taking her hand as they walked back to the fire.

The spirits there were both pretty sleepy and the fire was dying down.

"You guys ready for bed?" Subaru asked.

"Bubby and Betty have been ready for some time now, I suppose," Beatrice yawned.

"You guys made an awful lot of noise down there at that pond," Puck pointed out. "I know that we're supposed to be alone out here for miles but still, Subaru, you need to remember that we're supposed to be hiding."

"You're right, Puck," Subaru replied, "It was a bad idea."

Subaru opened the tent flap. It was a small tent but Subaru and Emilia could share it easily, especially with the spirits sleeping practically on top of Subaru as usual.

"Mili," Subaru whispered, "Do you think you can put out the fire?"

Emilia bit her lip for a moment but she obligingly held out her hand toward it and the fire quickly faded away.

"Nicely done," Subaru complimented her.

"Much better," Puck agreed, "You're starting to learn to control your magic. Maybe Betty can give you some pointers to make sure you don't let it explode out of you again."

Emilia looked startled at receiving praise from Puck.

"Betty can do that I suppose," Beatrice yawned.

Emilia crawled into the tent and laid down beside Subaru.

"Come on, guys," Subaru whispered and the spirits wearily got up and came over to him.

Puck nestled in Beatrice's arms and Subaru held Beatrice close. He offered the crook of his other arm to Emilia as a pillow and she accepted with a smile.

The spirits seemed to have some misgivings about sleeping so close to Emilia but they didn't say anything.

"Betty misses her book in fact," Beatrice grumbled.

"Yeah," Subaru agreed. He paused, "Beako, why don't I tell you a story from my home?"

"A story from another world?" Beatrice said sounding intrigued.

"Yes. My mother… showed me this story when I was small and I never forgot it. It's actually a story about a mouse named Fivel."

"A real mouse or a mouse demi-human?" Beatrice asked.

Subaru hesitated, "A regular mouse," Subaru explained wondering how that would have affected the story, "Anyway this mouse and his family were living in a country where they were regularly attacked by cats."

"Not sure I'm liking the role felines have in this story," Puck yawned.

"Anyway," Subaru continued, "His family was in danger so they all grouped up and decided to go live in another land where they heard that there were lots of homes to live in, plenty of food for everyone, and most importantly of all, there were no cats."

"Sounds wonderful," Emilia said.

"Hey!" Puck complained.

"Oh, Puck, that wasn't what I meant. But right now being able to escape all our problems sounds like a perfect dream," Emilia replied.

"So his family got on a boat and sailed away to their new country but the boat was caught in a terrible storm and poor Fivel was washed away before anyone could save him. His family thinks that he's dead but Fivel managed to wash up in the new country. He's just a little boy and he has no idea where his family is."

"But at least he's safe in the new country while he looks for them since there aren't any cats," Emilia said.

"Unfortunately, no," Subaru replied, "He discovers that in his new country people are forced into overcrowded living spaces, most are struggling to get enough to eat, and worst of all, the place is full of cats."

Emilia looked horrified.

"Next time can we tell a story where the dogs are the villains, please? I hate those guys," Puck muttered.

"Really?" Subaru asked.

"No, Subaru. I'm just joking. I'm not actually a normal cat," Puck explained patiently.

"What happens to him?" Beatrice asks, "Does he find his family?"

"Eventually. It's a long scary journey for him. He meets people who try to hurt and take advantage of him but he also meets true friends who try to help him. Eventually the mice all get together and come up with a plan."

"They're all going to go back home?" Emilia asked.

"No, that wouldn't help them. They left home to escape the same problems they found here. The same problems exist everywhere and they'll never go away unless someone tries to fix them. So the mice all get together and they build a machine."

"Oh! Betty likes machines! Was it a dragonless carriage?" Beatrice asked.

"No. It was a fire breathing mouse the size of a house," Subaru replied.

Beatrice's jaw dropped.

"The giant machine scares all the cats away and Fivel finds his family and they all live happily ever after," Subaru finished, "Unless you watch the sequel but the less said about that the better," He added.

Puck was snoring quietly against Beatrice's chest. Beatrice's own eyes were closing, "That was an… interesting… story, I suppose. Tell Betty another… story from your world."

Subaru gently kissed Beatrice's head, "Tomorrow, Beako," He whispered as Beatrice nodded off.

Subaru looked at Emilia with heavy eyes. She seemed to be digesting the story, "Subaru, are we doing the right thing?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it's just like you said: the same problems exist everywhere. If we go to Gusteko, isn't it only a matter of time until they accuse me of being a witch as well? Gusteko isn't exactly welcoming to demi-humans."

"I'm not sure that we'll stay in Gusteko for very long. If we decide we need to stay out of Lagunica for a long while, then we'd probably move west to Kararagi. I think we'd do better there. We're headed toward Gusteko right now because it's the closest border and our enemies are surrounding us."

Emilia thought about it, "I guess that there's really no way for us to stay here and fix these problems instead of running away, is there?" Emilia whispered.

"Not right now," Subaru agreed, "Remember, if any one mouse had tried to fight the cats, he would have been lunch. The secret was getting all the mice to unite together to fight the cats."

"What are the cats in this analogy?" Emilia asked, "The Witch cult? The Army?"

"I'd say that at the moment the cats for us are racism and ignorance, things that we've said we wanted to fight almost since we met. Everyone is judging you by your race and your hair. If you were a human, none of this ever would have happened to you and that's wrong," Subaru whispered.

Emilia thought about it for a moment, "I keep fighting with myself about this," Emilia admitted, "Part of me knows that I should be willing to fight for a better life for everyone, not just me, but another part just wants to cut my loses and disappear; find someplace where our little family can be safe and happy and forget about the rest of the world."

Subaru nodded, "We're all exhausted. We're all frustrated and angry. Nobody wants to fight the good fight right now. We need to find our safe place and recover our strength before we could even think of helping anyone else."

Emilia nodded, "Subaru, we should probably go to sleep."

Subaru kissed her gently, "Goodnight, Mili,"

"Goodnight," She gave him a shy smile then closed her eyes and went to sleep cuddled up in the crook of his arm.

Subaru liked the notion of his entire family sleeping this close to him but it was pretty far from comfortable since he couldn't move. He was beginning to wonder if he'd be forced to stay awake all night when his body overruled him and he felt asleep between thoughts.