Re:Zero - The King of Pride

Subaru lay in the bed, watching Emilia work in the kitchen. "Are you sure I can't help you?" He asked plaintively. "Have you been talking to Beako? I'm really not all that bad a cook!"

"Subaru! Sit!" Emilia directed while she fussed with the pot over the fire. "The stew is almost ready."

Subaru tried to suppress his laughter. Emilia had been absolutely resolute that she would make dinner for him tonight.

However, food preparation does not seem to be one of Emilia's talents. That pot has already boiled over twice. Emilia seems to be less 'cooking' the stew than trying to wrestle it into submission.

"Is this a favorite of yours?" Subaru asked.

"Mother Fortuna used to make this stew all the time and I want you to try it. She made it from whatever vegetables and meat she had lying around that needed to be used before they went bad. She said that the challenge of trying to use a random assortment of ingredients to produce something tasty was what made cooking this stew fun. She was a wonderful cook but this is my first time trying to do it."

"Sounds delicious!" Subaru said, trying to keep the trepidation out of his voice. The stew had apparently congealed to the point where Emilia was having to chop portions out of the pot with her serving spoon.

"I'm sorry that it's so cold in here now," Emilia apologized, "But I really needed to open that window to let out all the smoke from the stew."

"Oh. No worries, Mili. It's still warmer than it was outside."

Subaru suddenly choked and burst into a huge coughing fit. He hacked and coughed until his face was nearly blue and all he could do was lay back on the bed panting for breath.

"Subaru! Are you alright?!" Emilia asked, rushing to his side.

Subaru coughed up another sticky, tar-like glob that tasted like old rubber and laboriously swallowed it so that Emilia wouldn't see.

"Oh, I'm fine, Mili!" He said in a hoarse voice. "Just got a little cold!"

Emilia looked skeptical but the pot began to boil over again and Emilia raced back to attend to the stew.

As Subaru sat there catching his breath, a few crystals gleaming wetly on the table caught Subaru's eye. "Hey, Emilia, what are these?"

Emilia looked up from where she was fussing with dinner. "Oh, those are pyroxene crystals. I'd dug them up just before I left the forest with Roswaal so I never had a chance to sell them. They sold pretty well in Rixum back when Puck and I lived here. I stumbled over those crystals while I was pulling things out for dinner so I washed them off. Maybe we can sell them and make a little extra money."

Subaru frowned thoughtfully at the crystals. "Aren't these the same kind of crystals that we used in my engine?"

"Well," Emilia said slowly. "They're not quite the same but they're pretty similar."

Subaru stretched his arm toward the table and managed to grab one of the crystals. He almost fell out of bed and needed to grab the headboard to stabilize himself. He looked guiltily at Emilia but she hadn't noticed.

Subaru studied the stone. It was much smaller than the crystal they'd used for the engine and it reminded Subaru more of quartz than a gem.

"Emilia," Subaru mused. "Do you know how to charge one of these crystals?"

"I do. But why do you need a crystal charged?" Emilia asked, as she struggled to scoop servings out of the pot and into smaller bowls.

"I'm just thinking about an idea," Subaru replied thoughtfully. "So how do you charge it?"

"Well, you just sort of… do it," Emilia shrugged.

Subaru sighed. "Mili, you remember that I'm new to this planet, right? I need a little more detail than that."

I wonder if someday Emilia, Beatrice, and Puck will tell me that they all agreed to explain things to me in riddles just because they love watching me struggle.

"Well," Emilia said thoughtfully. "I guess you hold it in your hand and then you imagine your own energy flowing into the crystal."

OK. Sounds simple enough. If my mana comes from the Authority then maybe this is another way to practice working with the Authority? I mean, it might not help but I don't see how it could hurt, right? Besides, it would be nice to be able to charge these things myself without bugging Emilia or the spirits next time I'm working on something.

Subaru closed his eyes and clenched his fist around the crystal. He imagined energy flowing into it. His mind produced an image of purple streams of lights flowing from his heart, down his arm, and into the tiny crystal.

The sound of Emilia's stirring stopped.

"Subaru," Emilia said in a worried tone. "What are you doing?"

Subaru opened his eyes and saw Emilia staring at him, concern writ large on her face. "I just thought I'd try charging a crystal, like you said," He shrugged.

Emilia bit her lip, looking at the stone in Subaru's hand.

"Emilia, what is it?"

Emilia shook her head. "Can't you feel it?"

Subaru blinked. "Um. Feel what?"

"That stone is wrong."

"Huh?"

Emilia picked up another crystal. She wrapped her hands around it and closed her eyes for a few moments. Then she handed the crystal to Subaru.

Subaru held a stone in each hand. Now that he had something to compare it to, he immediately understood what Emilia was talking about.

This is strange. I've never been able to feel mana before. Now I'm suddenly wondering how I ever could have missed it. That by itself is pretty cool but now I also understand what was bothering Emilia.

Emilia's crystal reminds me of a placid river. The water is flowing along its natural course. There's a sense of stability and peace, of the magic in the crystal doing what it's meant to do.

My crystal feels different. Like a boiling kettle with the top bolted on. I mean… I've never held dynamite or nitroglycerin but somehow it reminds me of them. It doesn't even seem related to the amount of energy I added, it feels like the crystal isn't designed to hold my 'kind' of magic and it can barely contain it. Emilia's crystal is cradling the magic in the same way as the land embraces a river. My crystal feels more like someone took a flame and tried to hide it inside an envelope. Or like someone decided to store a few tons of baking soda at the bottom of a swimming pool.

"Well, I don't know what that means," Subaru murmured. "Do you think that I charged it wrong?" Subaru asked, holding out his stone to Emilia.

She made no move to touch it. "I don't even know what it would mean to charge a stone wrong," Emilia admitted. "Well, I suppose I do now. You just demonstrated."

"Harsh," Subaru complained, scratching his chin. He thought for a moment. "Didn't Beako once tell me that my mana was the opposite of normal mana?"

Subaru closed his eyes, deep in thought. If my mana is unnatural, I wonder how the spirits are able to feed off of it…

"I remember her saying that but I don't know what it means," Emilia replied, startling Subaru out of his musings. "For a moment, Subaru, you were suffused with mana and that mana was… very scary. You were very scary."

"What do you mean?"

"…You felt like a mabeast."

Subaru blinked. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

Emilia looked frustrated as she struggled to find the right words. "It was like… some sixth sense or instinct starting screaming at me. I just suddenly knew that right behind me was something very dangerous. Something that could easily kill me."

Subaru's jaw dropped.

Emilia looked down at him pensively. "Subaru. I want you to stop using your Authority so much. The spirits were worried about it damaging you and now I can see why. The mana that it fills you with is unnatural and the Authority seems to be giving you more and more mana all the time."

Subaru wasn't sure what to say.

Emilia shook her head. "Just rest, Subaru. Dinner is almost ready."

Subaru watched Emilia struggle to put the 'stew' into a bowl and fought hard to keep a neutral expression on his face.

"So what is this called?" He asked as Emilia brought two bowls of 'stew' that looked more like an overcooked casserole to Subaru and sat down on the bed beside him.

Emilia chuckled. "Mother Fortuna called it 'My Emilia's Stew.'"

"Oh! Then I know I'll love it. Mother Fortuna and I must have had a lot in common."

Emilia giggled then shook off her amusement. "Subaru, eat!" She directed, poking him in the side. "You've haven't eaten anything in two days!"

"Yes, Mili," Subaru murmured, trying to chop a mouthful of 'stew' out of the bowl.

Subaru held it out in his spoon and inspected it. He couldn't for the life of him figure out what he was about to eat but he opened wide and put it in his mouth.

Yup, this tastes awful!

"This is great, Emilia," Subaru praised her.

"Subaru, you shouldn't tell fibs," She said primly, making a face at the taste of her own stew.

"It's not a fib!" He protested, "You made it for me with love and it's your love that I'm tasting!" He forced himself to keep eating.

Emilia took another bite and visibly shuddered, "I really thought that my 'love' would taste better than this!"

"Don't worry, my cooking won't taste any better," Subaru laughed. "We're both terrible homemakers but we can still still make a home for ourselves. We'll do it together."

Emilia looked at him and her eyes were somewhat watery.

"Nothing in our lives will ever be easy, Emilia," Subaru said, continuing to choke down his stew, "But as long as we're together, we can make it work."

Emilia took another bite and shook her head, "I always knew that our lives together would be difficult but I never realized that dinner would be so challenging."

Subaru actually laughed as he finished his bowl.

The room swam around him but he managed to keep it down.

"That was delicious, Emilia. Thank you for making it for me." Subaru took a deep breath and summoned up all of his courage. "Is there any more?"

"Subaru," Emilia said in a skeptical voice, her face slightly green.

Subaru took her hand. "You did something for me. I'm always grateful for that."

Emilia gave him a sad smile as she brought the empty bowls over to the sink.

Subaru yawned. "I know that it's still not that late but it's been a pretty hectic couple of days. What do you say about turning in early tonight?"

Emilia nodded. "I think… maybe that's a good idea." She said as she quickly rinsed out the bowls and the pot. "I have something to do before bed, though. Stay here and try to get some sleep," Emilia said, drying the dishes.

"Wait, what are you going to do?" Subaru asked, frowning.

"We're almost out of firewood, Subaru," Emilia said, pulling on her hooded robe over her dress and heading toward the door. "We only have enough wood to burn for a few days. I'm going out to find some more. I'll be back in an hour or two."

"In this storm?!" Subaru demanded.

"I grew up here, Subaru. I'll be fine."

"Mili, even if you do find any wood out there, buried in the snow, it's going to be too wet to burn!" Subaru pointed out.

Emilia opened the door. "I need to find firewood anyway. We need to start drying it out."

"The wood will take months to dry! We can go hunting for it tomorrow and accomplish just as much. Don't go hunting for firewood in the storm, Mili! There's no point!"

"Subaru, we need to keep you warm," Emilia protested.

"We're both exhausted, Mili. Just let the fire die and we'll cuddle up in bed together and we can keep each other warm."

Emilia thought about it for a moment then nodded and shut the door.

Emilia waved her hand over the fire and the flames flickered and dimmed to cinders. The room was dark except for the faint moonlight streaming through the windows.

Emilia started taking her clothes off.

Subaru moved over in the small bed to make room for her.

Emilia climbed into bed beside him. "Sorry that the bed is so small," Emilia murmured.

"It's fine," Subaru said, wrapping his arms around her and pressing his face into her soft hair. "If nothing else, it will help us to stay warm tonight."

Emilia made a small sound of contentment. "Subaru, how many days has it been since we last slept in a bed?"

"At least a week," Subaru replied. "Honestly, I sort of lost track. Come to think of it, this is the first night that we've been alone together since… well, you know," Subaru blushed.

"Hm," Emilia smiled, snuggling up against him. "I must admit, it's very nice having just the two of us alone in the bed."

"Yeah," Subaru agreed, "I almost feel disloyal saying that, since I know that Beako and Puck are all alone right now, even knowing that Felt is watching them. But it's nice to have a little time for ourselves. We might as well enjoy it, once we get the spirits back and go looking for the cure to your curse, we probably won't have much more time alone for a while."

Emilia stiffened.

"Mili?" He murmured. "Are you OK?"

She took a deep breath but didn't look at him. "Subaru. I… I need to say something but… I'm afraid to. I'm afraid that… you're going to be disappointed in me. You might even be angry."

Subaru nodded and held her closer. "OK, well why don't you tell me what's on your mind and I'll do my very best not to get angry."

Emilia took a deep breath and let it out as she slowly rolled over to face him. "Subaru. I've been thinking. We don't know any way of ending the curse on the forest or ending the curse on me personally. We don't even know if either is possible."

She paused, looking at him expectantly.

Subaru nodded slowly. "We don't know for sure but I have strong reason to think that it's possible."

"But we don't know any way to actually do it or even any way to find out how to do it," Emilia said quietly.

Subaru nodded. "I guess that's true. What are you suggesting?"

"Subaru," Emilia closed her eyes, "I never wanted to be King. I would never have been happy in that life. The only reason I ever left the forest in the first place was because Roswaal found me and convinced me that the dragon blood could save the elves. The outside world has done nothing but hurt me. They see my hair and my ears and they call me a witch. This time all of our friends have abandoned us. The outside world has even taken Daddy away! The outside world would even take you away if it could. Why would I ever want to leave the forest again?"

Her tone was harsh and bitter, the sound of someone whose heart has been deeply wounded and who wishes to injure her listeners in turn.

Subaru held her close. He felt all the hurt in her words and was quiet for a long moment, giving her a chance to feel it, to let the venom start to work its way out of her wounded heart.

"Well, maybe we should consider another plan," Subaru whispered, stroking her cheek, "Do you have any ideas?"

Emilia looked up at Subaru with wide eyes. She looked so young, so vulnerable, "Subaru, why don't we just stay here?"

"What do you think we would do?" Subaru asked calmly.

"We could have a life together," Emilia said earnestly, "Just a life! That's all that I want, Subaru. This cottage isn't like Roswaal's mansion but… it could easily be home. We could make it home. There's food in the forest and things that we could trade with the merchants in the neighboring villages. Trading with humans would be even easier than it was before because you could go into town safely as long as I never went with you. No one ever comes into the forest. We'd be safe here. After a while, both the Sin Archbishops and the kingdom would get tired of looking for us and we'd be free. There's a town not far away where you could find a job if you don't want to work in the forest and I could go back to digging crystals out of the ground to trade. We could fix up the cottage and make it snug and warm. A perfect haven just for the two of us; a paradise," Emilia whispered.

Subaru rubbed Emilia's back, wordlessly urging her to continue.

Emilia closed her eyes and laid her head against Subaru's chest. "Subaru, I want to have a family. I want to have a little one of my own to cherish forever. We'd have to wait a while before we were sure it was safe but we could start our family together. We could share a child, born from our love. I can just imagine them running around the forest. I know that I can't heal the forest anymore but… it could still be home. I did the best I could to save the elves and it just wasn't enough. I don't have to feel guilty anymore."

Emilia took a ragged breath and the painful, despairing words just poured out of her, "Subaru, we can start over, just the two of us. We can have a quiet life where our only goal is to be happy. Don't we deserve that? Why were we the ones chosen to fix all the world's problems? This world is too big for us to move. It won't change just because we say so. But we could make this cottage anything we wanted it to be. It could be our own little world. Just us and our family. Isn't that enough?" Emilia almost begged.

Subaru stroked Emilia's cheek gently, "You are enough for me. Always have been. The only reason I even tried to win the throne was to help you. If this is what you want then I'm all for it. We can stay right here. We never have to leave. We'll make do. As long as we're together."

"Subaru… do you really mean that?" Emilia asked with watery eyes.

"Of course I do," Subaru replied calmly. "You are what matters to me. You are all that I need. I just want you to tell me what you want and I will make it happen."

"I just want to stay here, Subaru," Emilia blubbered, tears falling down her cheeks, "The world has taken so much from us already. You're all that I have left and I couldn't bear to lose you too! Let's just hold onto what we have. It's my dream to stay here forever with you!"

Subaru nodded, drawing her head to his shoulder and stroking her hair. "Then that's what we'll do. I am one hundred percent on board with this. With one correction."

"What's that?" She whispered.

Subaru took a deep breath. "Emilia… I won't abandon Beatrice. I can't. I made her a promise and I mean to keep it. I think that us vanishing into the woods forever is a fine strategy but… it's going to be after I've rescued Beatrice and Puck. Then we can disappear and the world can forget about us."

Emilia was silent and pulled away from Subaru.

"Mili?"

"Subaru," She whispered. "Are you… sure that we should even try to get the spirits back?"

Subaru frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Being with me… I'd only put them in danger," She murmured, looking away from him with tears in her eyes. "They could even get hurt if someone came looking to kill me because they thought that I was a witch."

Subaru blinked. "But Emilia, don't you miss Puck?"

Emilia's face twisted in despair. "No, Subaru! I miss my Daddy! Puck is your Daddy now! He hates me! He disowned me! He threatened to kill me! Why would I ever want him back?!"

Emilia buried her face in the pillow, crying great wrenching sobs.

Subaru quickly began to rub her back.

"I'm such a bad person!" She blubbered. "I'm so ashamed! I don't even want to rescue my own father!"

"You're not a bad person," Subaru soothed. "You're a person who's in an awful lot of pain. Puck treated you horribly. Of course you're angry with him. Who wouldn't be?"

"But it isn't his fault," Emilia whimpered into the pillow.

"Yeah it is!" Subaru disagreed. "He couldn't stop himself from losing his memories but he absolutely could have decided to treat you fairly! Unfortunately 'fair' is not a word in Puck's vocabulary."

Emilia rolled over to look up at Subaru, wiping her eyes. "What do you mean?"

Subaru considered his answer for a moment. "Mili, I've been on both sides of the fence with Puck. I've had him despise me, I've had him tolerate me, and I've had him adore me. The first thing I can tell you is that Puck is fundamentally unfair. As far as he's concerned, the people he loves can do no wrong and the rest of the people in the world are either annoying irritants or things that should be destroyed. He doesn't apply even close to the same standard to the people he cares about compared to the people he doesn't. You told me that he blamed you for putting me and Beatrice in danger, right?"

Emilia nodded.

"Well, how come he never said a word to me about dragging us all over northern Lagunica with an army chasing us? I didn't have a single plan for where we were going or what we were doing that actually worked out! I almost got us killed by a stormcrow! I turned us into bait for Capella! He never made a peep! Why? Because that's how Puck rolls. He blames everything that goes wrong on the people that he doesn't like and the people that he loves get all the credit!"

Emilia frowned. "Subaru, I think that you're exaggerating."

"I'm not! Believe me, I'm not! Do you have any idea how many times Puck threatened to kill me when we first met? It was a lot! And it is ten times worse for you because you love him. I didn't give a shit about him back then so I didn't care if he threatened me."

Subaru sighed and wrapped his arms around Emilia. She laid her head against his chest. "Mili, tell me the truth. Even if we stayed here and everything worked out and we had a family… wouldn't you always feel like there's a hole in your heart where Puck should be?"

Emilia hesitated then nodded sadly.

Subaru laid his cheek against her hair. "We're going to get them both back. And then we're going to disappear into the forest. Puck won't have any issues with you as long as we're all safe. If we can't fix Puck's memories then… he'll still learn to love you again. He'll love you for my sake. The same way he learned to love me because you loved me. It's the long way around but I promise you that we're going to be a real family again."

Subaru paused. "Besides," He chuckled, "Getting the spirits back means that we'll always have two babysitters hanging around to look after our little Emilia!"

"Elaine," Emilia whispered.

"What?"

"If we ever have a daughter, Subaru, her name is going to be Elaine," Emilia said firmly.

"Um. OK, I guess. Is that like the name of an old friend of yours or something?" Subaru said, looking puzzled. "What if we have a boy?"

"Perseus," She answered with a smile.

"What?! Emilia, where did you even hear that name?"

Emilia giggled. "I'll tell you someday."

Subaru looked annoyed. "Seriously?" Subaru grumbled. "You're really not going to tell me?"

Emilia giggled. Then she grew serious again. "Subaru! It's time to get some sleep! You need to rest!"

Subaru nodded with a yawn. "Oh yeah, I'm ready to sleep. Every muscle in my body is screaming like an abscessed tooth. But I have sorely missed my 'Emilia snuggles' over the past few weeks."

Subaru wrapped himself around Emilia and pressed his face into her hair. "Home," He whispered.

"What?" She asked.

"I just… I just like the word," Subaru admitted. "After we find the spirits, this could be our place, our own little shelter against the world."

"It's such a beautiful thought," Emilia agreed.

"It is. Although truthfully, I think maybe we should search the village for someplace bigger."

"What do you mean?"

Subaru chuckled. "Emilia, you have a great little cottage here but it's barely large enough for two people. Now pack two spirits into it and maybe a baby? We'll all be on top of each other. We need to find a bigger place. It shouldn't be too hard. I saw lots of larger houses in the village."

Emilia was silent.

"Mili? Did I say something wrong?"

"No. It's nothing that you said," Emilia said quietly. "I know that you're right it's just… I deliberately picked a house that was empty at the time of the… incident. Moving into someone's house just seemed… disrespectful. It felt like… giving up on breaking the curse. It meant acting like they were never coming back."

Subaru nodded. "I guess I can see that. And I promise you, I haven't given up on breaking the curse. I promised you we'd do it and I mean to keep my promise. Maybe we can find another house that's empty."

Emilia was silent for a long time.

"Mili? Something bothering you?"

She took a deep breath. "There's always Mother Fortuna's house."

Subaru blinked. "Wait. Isn't this Fortuna's house? I thought you said that it was yours."

"It is mine, Subaru. But Mother Fortuna never lived here."

"So this was just an empty cottage you moved into after the accident? After Puck thawed you out, why not just move back into your room at Fortuna's?"

"Oh no, I never actually had a room with Mother Fortuna. I lived somewhere else when I was younger. I lived in a little building in the village that they called the 'Princess Tower.' I spent most of my time in Mother Fortuna's house but I didn't live with her."

Subaru frowned. "I'm still a little surprised that you didn't move into her house after the accident then. Wouldn't that have been the most natural thing for you to do?"

Emilia hesitated. "Well, Puck and I didn't need much space so picking someplace smaller just made more sense. Besides…" She trailed off.

Subaru waited. "Besides?" He prompted.

Emilia sighed. "It's just… like I said, I thought that it would be disrespectful to move into someone else's home. After all, I was trying to lift the curse and bring them all back. Moving into one of their houses would have meant admitting that they were gone and that they really weren't coming back."

"But, Mili, Fortuna was…" He hesitated.

"Dead? I know that, Subaru," Emilia whispered. "I mean… I guess I knew that…" She took a deep breath. "No, that's a lie. Deep down, I always had this dream that when I reversed the curse, Mama Fortuna and Guese would come back too. I know that it's silly but…" She trailed off.

Subaru gently kissed her cheek. "You loved them very much."

Emilia nodded.

"Of course you miss them. Of course you dream of having them back. There's no shame in that, Emilia. And we don't need to use Fortuna's house. We can build our own if you'd rather. We have all the time in the world."

Emilia made a noncommittal sound.

"But personally, I think maybe we should consider taking a look at Fortuna's house. I never had the chance to meet the woman but I know from what you've told me that she loved you very much."

Emilia didn't answer.

"I'm just thinking out loud here but if it was our daughter, I think… I think I'd like knowing that the same place I loved my family was where she was loving her own. It's like… passing the torch to the next generation."

Emilia sniffled. "Subaru, stop it! You're going to make me cry again!"

Subaru half chuckled. "Well, whatever we decide to do, we're not going to be ready to do anything involving leaving the forest for at least a few days so you'll have some more time to rest and recover."

Emilia sighed, "I need that, Subaru. I want to be strong but-"

"You've been nothing but strong through this entire mess, Mili," Subaru soothed. "Nobody could have endured this hell any better than you did. We made some mistakes along the way but that doesn't mean that we're weak or careless. We're both exhausted. We will save the spirits but it's not going to be tonight or tomorrow. We need to recover our strength and come up with a plan."

Emilia was quiet. "Yes. Everything will look better in the morning, won't it?"

"We have a ton of problems, Emilia. But you and me have had a hell of a lucky streak for dealing with them. As long as we're together, we can do anything."

Emilia took a deep breath and snuggled closer to Subaru. "As long as we're together."

"Greetings, gentlemen," Montefort said, sitting in an easy chair as Willard Pickett and Lord Zyst entered the room that evening.

They were meeting in Montefort's palatial estate just outside of town. It was a cozy little room with only three very comfortable chairs and a small table in it.

"Good evening, young Lord-" Willard caught himself. "Forgive me, Lord Montefort. Some days I forget that your grandfather has departed us."

"Gone but not forgotten, Master Pickett. Grandfather spoke highly of you as well," Montefort said wistfully, glancing up at a large portrait hanging on the wall of an elderly, stern-faced man.

Willard struggled to wedge his enormous bulk into a large easy chair.

Without a word, three young maids brought the men's drinks to them. These men were regular guests in this household and no one needed to ask what they wished to be served.

Zyst took his seat as well, accepting a drink from the maid. "I always meant to ask you, why did you bring your grandfather's portrait into the meeting room?"

"I find it soothing. I enjoy the thought that my grandfather watches over me as I continue his valiant quest to bring security to the kingdom," Montefort answered with a smile. He coughed. "Now gentlemen, if you'll forgive me for asking, what is the emergency? It's been years since either of you have asked for an additional monthly meeting and I am really quite curious."

Zyst opened his mouth to speak but Willard cut him off with a snort. "Anastasia has informed me of some very dire news. This is why I asked for this meeting."

"Wait," Zyst said, looking at Willard in confusion. "I asked for this meeting!"

"You both asked for this meeting," Montefort said with a calm smile. "That was what so convinced me that something dire must be afoot. Perhaps simply to speed things along, Master Pickett might go first."

Another young maid entered the room carrying a tray of pastries. Her eyes darted around the room looking intimidated by the opulent decor as she set her tray down on a small table between the three men.

Willard sighed. "I have supported Anastasia's claims to the throne and have been firmly of the opinion that she has the clear head to revitalize our economy and improve our fortunes. However, now I-" Willard trailed off as he glanced down at the tray of pastries set in front of him. Willard fixed a murderous eye on the maid. "What is this?" He hissed.

The young maid flinched back, uncertain of what she had done wrong. Montefort and Zyst also glanced at the tray. They shared a look of tired resignation.

"Is this chocolate?!" Willard demanded.

The young maid swallowed hard. "Yes, sir!" She said in a trembling voice. "Because your eminences' visit was so unexpected, we baked a new batch of pastries for you just this evening and-"

"I will not tolerate the presence of chocolate! Get it out of my sight!" Willard roared.

The young maid cowered before the enraged merchant, tears streaming down her face.

"Yes," Montefort said calmly, getting up from his chair, "I think perhaps it would be best to forgo treats for the time being. If you gentlemen will excuse me for a moment?"

Montefort calmly led the crying maid out of the room, the tray in her arms. He quietly closed the door behind him.

The maid was trembling. "Forgive me, Lord Montefort! I didn't mean-"

"Olivia," Montefort said kindly, "Master Pickett has a- how shall we say, rather unusual objection to chocolate," Montefort informed her. "Please offer him what patience that you may, as this is connected with the loss of his precious little sister as a boy. He is well aware that this is irrational behavior on his part but it remains beyond his ability to control. Rest assured that I am in no way angry with you for this. In truth, I feel somewhat responsible for permitting you to be placed in such an unpleasant situation at all. Please accept my humble apologies. There is no way that you could have known about Master Pickett's predilections and the fault is mine for failing to ensure that you were properly informed. You did well to prepare those delectable treats so promptly for our unexpected guests. If Master Pickett doesn't want any, all the more for me. I look forward to indulging in them for desert tonight. Please return to your normal duties, Olivia," Montefort said calmly.

Olivia had stopped crying and looked at her master with blind gratitude. "Thank you, my lord," Olivia said, dipping into a small curtsy and walking away with her tray.

Montefort walked back into the small room. Neither man was talking in his absence.

Montefort sat back down and steepled his fingers. "I apologized on your behalf, Master Pickett," He said in a calm voice. "However, I'm quite certain that you will wish to make your own apologies before departing. Isn't that so?"

Willard murmured something indistinct while looking down at the floor.

"Splendid," Montefort said. "Now, Master Pickett, what were you saying before we were interrupted?"

Willard sighed. "Anastasia seems to have succumbed to sentimental thinking. She has been seduced by Subaru Natsuki's promises to empty the slums."

"Seduced in what way?" Montefort asked.

"She plans to concede the election!"

Zyst looked sharply at Willard.

Willard shook his head. "Apparently, Subaru Natsuki has made her a very generous offer for her support. So generous in fact that I can't even fault her for accepting it! However, the boy's politics are unacceptable to say the least."

"It's interesting," Montefort mused. "When the boy first came onto the scene, we barely paid him any attention. Now that he's slain the Whale and two Archbishops he's become impossible to ignore. Perhaps we should have had someone trustworthy try to claim his ear sooner." Montefort paused. "What was the offer, if you don't mind my asking?"

Willard sighed. "The original offer was for a seat on the royal assembly and exclusive distribution rights to all of his machines."

Zyst broke in. "His machines are why-"

"Please, Lord Zyst," Montefort raised a finger. "Let Master Pickett finish. That way we can all devote our full attention to your concerns in turn."

Zyst sighed and nodded.

Willard continued, "She plans to negotiate into obtaining the chancellorship before accepting. However, Subaru Natsuki plans to empty the slums!"

"So I have heard," Montefort mused. "I assume that this is unacceptable to you?"

"Can you imagine how high the cost of labor will soar if all of those dust rats are sent out into the country? My constituents in the merchant guilds are going to be crushed!"

"I never imagined that Lady Anastasia would concede the race so soon," Montefort said.

"It is hard to blame her," Zyst admitted. "I dare say that the race is over for all intents and purposes. She wishes to sell out while her support still has value."

"Forgive me, Lord Zyst," Montefort said. "You have been very patient. What matter brings you here today?"

Zyst took a deep breath. "Priscilla Barielle is also prepared to concede the election."

Willard gaped at Zyst.

"Truly?" Montefort raised an eyebrow.

Zyst nodded. "She doesn't believe that there's any way for her to catch up. She plans to offer Subaru Natsuki her hand in marriage. She claims that Subaru Natsuki has created a new kind of machine that could change the entire world."

"I have heard similar claims," Willard broke in. "Anastasia is fascinated by these machines. I am equally impressed by their potential. I think that I could easily make an arrangement with Subaru Natsuki on the basis of these machines if he would just abandon these foolish aspirations of eliminating our low cost labor force."

"His machines are the entire problem!" Zyst grated. "I am heartily indifferent to whichever fool Priscilla Barielle manages to foist herself off on. However, the intelligence I've managed to obtain regarding these machines is extremely concerning to my mages."

"How so?" Montefort asked.

"His machines run off cheap mana crystals. These crystals can be charged by nearly anyone with magical talent, even if it would take a good deal longer to charge one for a weak hedge wizard compared to a trained Circle Mage. Subaru Natsuki's machines appear poised to replace a wide variety of tasks that are currently done by enchantments. My colleagues at the Mages' Circle have spent a great deal of time thinking about the possible applications of this 'engine' and we are in agreement that the sky is the limit."

"Reducing the importance of the Mages' Circle considerably," Montefort commiserated.

Zyst nodded. "I am indifferent to Subaru Natsuki becoming king or not. His politics affect me in no way but we must ensure that he makes no more of these damnable machines! My people study for decades to achieve mastery of their art. I will not permit them to be replaced by ignorant hedge wizards who will charge a copper to enchant a magic crystal!"

"Has Lady Crusch spoken?" Willard asked Montefort.

"About leaving the election? Not a word. She appears to loathe Subaru Natsuki quite heartily. I can't imagine what it would take for her to willingly concede," Montefort replied.

Willard grunted. "As unacceptable as we all find the notion of Subaru Natsuki on the throne," Willard mused, "And as grateful as I am that someone is refusing to end the election prematurely, I am compelled to admit that this is a very poor decision on her part. She is letting her emotions guide her actions. In candor, it might behoove her to consider selling out while her assets are still worth something. As Lord Zyst said, it does appear that the election is over."

"Over for the moment at least," Montefort said thoughtfully. "Lady Crusch appears to be trying an… unconventional and rather risky strategy to reopen it."

"What's that?" Zyst said.

"After Subaru Natsuki went missing during the fall of the Sanctuary, Lady Crusch informed the sages' council that he is roaming around the wilds with a half-breed witch. Lady Crusch has gone so far as to claim that it is the revived Witch of Envy."

Willard stared at Montefort in total shock. "Madness!" He shook his head. "Or a desperate, childish slander campaign."

Montefort shrugged.

Willard turned to Zyst, "Is there any way that the witch couldbe free?"

Zyst didn't answer.

Montefort frowned. "Lord Zyst?"

Zyst shook his head. "We… have no evidence that the Witch is free and much evidence that she is not…" He trailed off.

"But?" Montefort prodded.

Zyst shook his head with a sigh. "Ever since the Sanctuary was breached something has… happened to the Witch's seal and to a variety of other seals that we monitor all throughout the world. It's almost as if the seals were all… tied together somehow and breaching one compromised them all."

"Is there any sign that the Witch's seal is weakening further?!" Willard demanded.

Zyst shook his head. "It does not… appear to be…"

"Reassuring," Montefort commented. "However, to get back on topic, I myself do not believe Crusch's actions to be a slander campaign. That would require political guile that Lady Crusch lacks. She believes with all her heart that she is speaking the truth."

"Then she is mad," Willard replied.

Montefort shrugged. "We all seem to be rather disappointed with our candidates as of late."

The other two nodded sagely.

Zyst had a grim expression on his face. "I can't believe that I'm saying this," Zyst murmured, "But perhaps Priscilla Barielle's words contained wisdom for once. If Subaru Natsuki's coronation is truly inevitable, then I suppose we should consider aligning ourselves with the new regime."

"Have you completely taken leave of your senses?" Willard demanded.

Zyst shrugged. "Come now, Willard. One puppet dances as well as any other. We offer Subaru Natsuki the throne in exchange for a series of restrictions on his policies."

"Oh my, what a brilliant negotiator you must believe yourself to be," Willard said sarcastically. "You seriously intend to approach Subaru Natsuki and say: 'Because you becoming King has become inevitable, we are willing to permit you to have that prize, which we have no way to deny you in any case. In exchange, we demand that you agree to the following series of concessions, although we have no way to enforce said concessions and we have nothing to offer you in return.' Is that about right?"

"Subaru Natsuki is becoming too powerful," Montefort cut in before Zyst could respond. "Worse, he's becoming politically dangerous. He's tapping into forces in the kingdom that we have long fought to suppress. His public support is growing by leaps and bounds. We may need to take action."

"I'm reluctant to lose access to the potential market for his machines," Willard admitted. "But I can live with that if it results in the resumption of the status quo."

"Are you suggesting an 'accident?'" Zyst asked Montefort.

Montefort thought about it. "At the moment all that I'm suggesting is a wait-and-see attitude. Crusch will never concede so the election will go the full two years. We have time to take action later if it proves necessary. If the other two candidates do concede then Crusch can be a reasonable compromise candidate should something happen to Subaru Natsuki."

"Is it wise to wait?" Willard asked. "Subaru Natsuki may well just keep on claiming more support."

"Our taking direct action should be a last resort," Montefort disagreed. "At least for the moment, I have a mind to let Crusch play her hand. At worst, she embarrasses herself. At best, she may provide an opening for herself. Or for us."

Subaru and Emilia woke up early the next morning. Emilia restarted the fire with a wave of her hand.

"Subaru, I think that you should go check on Anri," Emilia murmured as they dressed.

Subaru looked pained. "Um. Maybe you should do that, Mili. I don't think she would care to wake up and find a strange man staring at her while she sleeps."

Emilia sighed. "A strange man or a wicked witch. Which do you think she'd prefer?"

Subaru flinched. "I guess you have a point," He admitted. He scratched his chin for a moment and pulled a gold coin out of his satchel. "Flip you for it?" He offered.

Emilia looked at him, unamused. "Get going, Subaru." She handed him a few small logs from the wood pile. "Here. If she's not awake yet, build up the fire in her house. We need to keep her warm. I'm not certain if she can use mana to warm herself. I'll start making breakfast."

Subaru chuckled. "Yes, dear," He said as he left the house.

The forest and the village were quiet that morning. The storm had passed and the sun was shining but the forest was shrouded in mist thick enough to walk on.

It's freezing out here! How the hell do you get fog when it's this cold?! More unnatural weather caused by Emilia's curse?

Subaru looked around the village but visibly was reduced to maybe twenty feet so there wasn't much to see.

Subaru carried the logs across the 'street' to the other cottage. Subaru hesitated at the door and then knocked quietly.

He heard nothing so Subaru cracked the door and peeked in.

Anri was still asleep and the fire was dying down to embers. The girl was a loud snorer.

Subaru crept into the house and quietly added the logs to the dwindling fire. He tried to angle the logs to catch the remaining embers and saw the flames slowly creep along the dry bark of the new logs.

When he was satisfied that he had breathed new life into the fire, he walked over to the bed where the girl was sleeping.

There was no sign of any injury or illness other than the broken arm and Anri was sleeping peacefully.

Well, it looks like she's recovering from her night in the tree pretty well. Of course, that does beg the question of what do we do with her now…

Subaru turned to leave the house. "Ouch!" He swore as he tripped over something.

The girl's snoring changed note but after a moment she burrowed deeper into her blankets and kept on sleeping, her snoring muted.

Subaru looked down and discovered that he had tripped over a rapier in a beautiful, elaborate sheath that was lying on the floor.

Subaru picked it up and inspected it. He partially drew the blade.

Wow. I don't know much about swords but this blade is beautiful! The metalwork is covered in delicate engravings.

I'm guessing that this belongs to the girl. For some reason, I have a hard time picturing Emilia's people carrying weapons.

She must have dropped it.

Subaru made a face. Maybe I should borrow this for a while… Just in case she gets any ideas…

"Hey. Who are you?" A voice asked.

Subaru jumped and spun around.

The girl's eyes were open and she was staring at Subaru blearily.

Subaru flashed her a smile. "Hi. My name's Subaru. I understand that you made me some medicine last night."

Anri sat up in bed with a yawn, holding the blankets tight to her chest to preserve her modesty. "It was no big deal. You certainly seem to have made a fast recovery."

Subaru chuckled. "If you had any idea how much shit we've been through lately, you'd know why I need to be a quick healer."

Anri smirked at him. "Yeah, Emilia told me that you guys have had it rough. I'm Anri."

"Nice to meet you. Emilia is making breakfast right now if you want some."

"Food sounds great. Hey, you mind turning around for a minute?"

"I don't mind," Subaru obediently turned around. "But wouldn't it be easier if I just left the cottage?"

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about something," Anri said as Subaru heard her getting dressed.

Subaru shrugged. "OK…"

"What do you think about going to one of the local villages today?"

"For what?"

"Well, food for starters. Emilia told me you don't have much food left and this forest can't be easy to forage in."

"I've got to admit, we didn't have much luck," Subaru replied ruefully, recalling their aimless wanderings through the woods.

"Also if we go to one of the local villages, I can get out of your hair. I can probably buy a ride from a traveling merchant and get where I need to get to."

"And where's that?" Subaru asked.

"You can turn around now, Subaru. Oh, I've been on the road for weeks trying to get home. I've had the worst luck along the way and been bounced from place to place but I'm finally almost there and all I need to do is finish the homestretch!"

Subaru turned around and saw Anri standing there dressed in her blue hooded riding cloak and brown pants. Her arm still hung in a sling. She flashed Subaru a broad grin as she finished lacing up her shirt.

Subaru cocked his head and his eyes narrowed slightly. "That was a stirring reply, Anri," Subaru complimented her in a neutral tone. "And while all answers are replies, not all replies are answers. You didn't answer my question. Where exactly are you trying to get to?"

Anri's smile tightened. "Say, Subaru, do you think that we know each other well enough for me to say 'my business is none of yours?' I mean, I think that we both have secrets we'd rather not share."

"Oh, hell yeah!" Subaru agreed calmly. "And honestly, I don't really care where you're going. But as far as 'your business not being my business', well that's only true for so long as it's true."

Anri frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Subaru looked at her intently. "It means that I don't want to have to care about your secrets, Anri," Subaru said in a grim voice. "They're just more mess for me to deal with when I'm already spread pretty goddamn thin. Your secrets aren't my business. But if they put me and Emilia in danger then they become my business pretty damn quick. You get me?"

Anri's eyes opened wide at Subaru's hard tone. Subaru was suddenly acting like a completely different person. There was a chill light in his eye that made her feel as if she was being analyzed as easily as she might study a ledger. "Yeah… I get you," The girl said, trying to sound flippant but not quite pulling it off.

"So tell me the truth, Anri," Subaru said firmly. "Can I ignore your problems or is there something that you should be warning me about right now?"

Anri swallowed hard. "I don't… think so…"

Subaru appraised her for a long moment. Then he made a face and sighed. "Alright. I guess I'll accept that for the time being."

Anri blinked in surprise. Subaru's tone had shifted back to the same calm, casual voice he'd had before.

Subaru waved his hand. "Look, I won't ask any questions about you if you promise that you won't answer any questions about us. I get the funny feeling that both of us are hiding from something. Otherwise, why would you come into the forest at all?"

Anri's lips thinned but she didn't answer immediately. "I suppose you might be onto something there," She conceded. "It would probably be for the best if I left as soon as possible and forgot that I ever met you. That way we won't… inconvenience each other."

Subaru nodded. "Makes sense to me."

Anri looked at Subaru's hand and he suddenly realized that he was still holding her rapier. "So, can I assume," She muttered, "That you'll be… holding onto that for me until we part ways?" She asked sarcastically.

Subaru thought for a moment then shrugged and held the rapier out to her.

Anri took the sword with her good hand, looking up at him in confusion.

"No," Subaru replied calmly. "I don't see any need to do that."

Anri stared at Subaru with a perplexed expression on her face.

"What is it?" Subaru asked.

"I don't know," Anri admitted. "This may sound funny but… I think maybe it would have worried me less if you'd insisted on keeping the sword. Giving it back… kind of suggests that you're completely unconcerned that I might try to use it."

Subaru gave Anri a slow smirk as he opened the cottage door. "So. Coming for breakfast?" He asked calmly.

Anri swallowed hard and nodded.

"One more thing," Subaru said as he stepped outside. "Cooking is still… more of an art than a science for Emilia. So, if you could try not to comment on breakfast, I'd really appreciate it."

Subaru and Anri entered the cottage. They found Emilia cooking soup.

Emilia looked up. "Good morning, Anri! Are you feeling any better?"

Anri gave Emilia a broad grin. "Well, my skin isn't blue anymore! So that's progress!"

Emilia laughed. "How's your arm feeling?"

"Not bad, really. I think that it's mending," Anri replied. "I'm mostly just feeling tired right now more than anything else. Which is weird because I literally just woke up."

"Mili, can I do anything to help you make breakfast?" Subaru asked.

"Oh, I'm fine, Subaru. It's nearly done. Why don't you and Anri just take a seat at the table."

The pair sat down across from one another at the table. Anri looked slightly uncomfortable to be sitting this close to him.

"Emilia," Anri said. "Where did you say was the nearest town?"

"Nearest?" Emilia murmured, fussing with the soup. "Hm. I think… that would be Rixum."

"Is it far?" Anri continued.

Emilia nodded. "It's a goodly distance from here, Anri. I used to walk there from time to time when I had things to trade. It's just beyond the southeastern edge of the forest. But are you sure you should be out of bed this soon?"

Anri shrugged. "I'm a little tired but hopefully I can just sleep on a merchant's wagon if I can buy passage from out of Rixum."

"Rixum is a pretty long walk," Emilia warned her. "Can you use mana to keep yourself warm in the forest?"

"What do you mean?" Anri asked in confusion. "I don't have much mana. I only ever mastered a few very basic healing spells."

Emilia gave Subaru a worried look.

Subaru shrugged. "That's OK, we'll all take Patrasche."

"Take what?" Anri asked.

"Patrasche. That's what I decided to call the dragon."

Emilia squinted at him. "Subaru, that's a really strange name. Where did you even hear that name?"

Subaru smirked at her. "I'll tell you. Someday."

Emilia glowered at him.

Subaru's smile was beatific.

"OK," Anri murmured. "I feel like I'm missing something here…"

"Private joke," Subaru shrugged.

Emilia sighed and shook her head. "Well, I suppose that we need to go to town today anyway. We're nearly out of food. We only have enough for one or two more meals."

Anri nodded. "Hey, great timing! You guys get to buy food and you get me out of your hair. It's a win-win!"

Subaru nodded. "Anri, do you think that you could be ready to go this afternoon?"

Anri blinked. "Um. Actually, I'm ready now. Why the delay?"

Subaru shrugged. "I just have a few chores around here that I want to take care of before we head out," He said innocently. "Besides, you already said how tired you were. A few more hours of sleep might do you good."

Emilia squinted at him from behind Anri's back.

Breakfast was a thin broth with a few vegetables in it. After they'd finished, Anri returned to the other cottage to take a nap and Subaru helped Emilia tidy up.

"Subaru, what did you mean about doing chores?" Emilia asked as she scrubbed the pot.

"I just wanted to take a look at a few things before we send Anri on her way and put her out of our minds," Subaru replied, drying the bowls.

Emilia stopped cleaning. "I know that look on your face, Subaru," She said in a worried voice. "Do you think Anri is an enemy?"

Subaru hesitated. "No," He said slowly. "Or at least… I don't want to. I just think that there's a lot of weird stuff going on around here lately and I'd like to poke around a little before we leave."

"What did you want to look at?"

"Do you think you could find that place you told me about? The place the lightning was shooting from last night?" Subaru asked.

Emilia frowned thoughtfully. "I can," She said finally. "But it's a long ways off, Subaru. I don't like the idea of you walking that far away from the village. You could get caught in a sudden storm again and you don't move very fast."

"Patrasche does," Subaru said cheerfully. "If we run into stormy weather, she'll be able to get us back here quick."

Emilia mulled that over. "I suppose that makes sense," She admitted. "But are you sure that we should even go to this place? It might be dangerous."

"Exactly. That's why we need to try to figure out what was going on there. If there is something dangerous in the forest then we need to know about it."

Emilia resumed scrubbing the pot. "And you think that Anri might have had something to do with it?"

"I don't know," Subaru said honestly.

"She seems very nice, Subaru," Emilia said in a neutral voice.

"Yeah. She does," He agreed.

"She even made you medicine last night. But you think that she might be an enemy?" Emilia whispered, her voice growing sad.

Subaru stopped drying the bowls and looked Emilia full in the face. "I don't know, Mili," He said simply. "I just don't know. I'd love to be able to just say that Anri seems very nice and we should trust her and help her as much as we can but we've had to learn the hard way that life just isn't that simple. The past few weeks I've kept seeing people I thought were friends turn out to be enemies."

"Subaru," Emilia objected softly. "You know that wasn't their fault."

Subaru sighed. "I'm not sure that I care a whole lot if it was their 'fault' anymore, Mili. We're dealing with the same mess regardless. Besides, if we're talking about folks like Ayane betraying us, it was definitely her fault. And then there's Roswaal. He was playing us like a fiddle the whole time we knew him. I don't know. Maybe I'm going to far in the other direction now, being suspicious of everyone I meet, but we're in a desperate situation here, Mili. We're exhausted and our resources are almost gone. We need to be careful."

Emilia thought and then slowly nodded. "I suppose you're right," She sighed.

"Once we finish cleaning, we'll head out to investigate that lightning show you saw. Then we'll take Anri to Rixum."

Emilia nodded with an unhappy expression on her face.

The other reason I want to be gone for a while is to see if Anri does anything while we're out. If she leaves her cottage and goes 'exploring' that will tell me what she's interested in…

Subaru and Emilia walked through the village as the mist slowly dissipated in the morning sun.

"So this is where you grew up?" Subaru murmured.

Emilia gave him half a smile and slipped an arm around his waist. "Be it ever so humble," She replied.

As the mist finally burned off, Subaru got his first good look at the village and it stopped him in his tracks.

Emilia looked at him. "Subaru? What is it?"

Subaru didn't respond. He stared at the village that lay before him. Village didn't do the place justice. Rather than a few tiny shacks this place would have been a respectable town anywhere in this world. The houses were built among mighty trees that rivaled redwoods. The houses were large and varnished and most had intricate patterns carved into the wood. Their roofs were made of purple stone of some kind. Most amazingly, the town was built in levels. While most houses sat on the forest floor, there was a whole other level far above with houses built into the boughs of the enormous trees and entire neighborhoods overhead were connected by hanging bridges. Almost every major tree had a stairway to the upper levels. Even on the ground, many houses appeared to have physically been built into the trees.

"Subaru! Are you alright?!"

Subaru shook his head in wonder. "This place is amazing," He whispered. He glanced back at Emilia's house. Emilia's home was varnished a golden brown and its shingles were purple, either painted or made from some naturally purple rock. The door was painted a dark green and a crescent moon symbol was carved into the front.

Emilia frowned and looked at the village. "What is?"

"The village! It's awesome! This is exactly the kind of place where elves should live!" Subaru said in completely unfeigned excitement. He grabbed the startled Emilia's hand. "Show me more!"

Emilia's surprised face broke into a broad smile. "I'm not sure what I could show you, honestly."

Subaru took her hands in his own. "Show me everything. I want to understand what your life was like before we met. Show me everything that you used to do around here."

Emilia giggled. "That's really not very interesting, Subaru."

Subaru kissed her cheek. "I always find you fascinating, Mili. Maybe you could give me a tour of the village? I've always wanted to see it."

"Really? How come?"

"Well, it just gives me some insight into where you come from and who you were before we met."

"Subaru, I thought you wanted to go investigate the lightning storm?"

Subaru's smile faded. "Oh, right. Yeah. Well, business before pleasure, I guess," He sighed.

Emilia led Subaru to the village stable. The building was old and rundown but the insides seemed to be in good condition. The straw lining the pens was old but Patrasche was wide awake and peered at Subaru over the door of her stall with bright-eyed excitement.

"Hey, Patrasche," Subaru said affectionately, scratching the dragon's head.

She closed her eyes enjoying the sensation.

"Subaru, I never knew that you were so good with animals," Emilia said, sounding impressed.

He laughed. "Neither did I!"

Subaru found her saddlebag hung on the wall. He dug around inside the bag and found some food. It looked like kibble. Subaru found a small bowl in the stable and he filled it up with food for a very excited Patrasche. The dragon quickly dug in.

Huh. That doesn't seem like very much food.

I remember reading somewhere that reptiles need a lot less food than mammals but I don't know if that applies to dragons too.

Patrasche finished the bowl and seemed to have no immediate interest in eating more. She proceeded to nuzzle Subaru's chest.

"The way to a dragon's heart is through her stomach," Subaru murmured to Emilia.

Emilia flashed him a smile.

Subaru led Patrasche outside the stable and then saddled her.

This is a little harder than it looks but at least I got it done. It helps that Patrasche seems to be guiding me in terms of what goes where.

Subaru climbed on top of the dragon and reached down to help pull Emilia into place behind him.

Emilia settled in place and began to fidget.

Subaru glanced back at her. "OK, do you remember where that storm was?"

"Yes. You'll want to go north. It's not especially far from the village," Emilia said in a nervous voice. "Um. I've never ridden an earth dragon before. What should I do?"

Subaru chuckled. "Hold on tight."

Emilia jumped and wrapped her arms tightly around Subaru's waist.

"Alright, Pastrache," Subaru said, "You ready to go?"

The earth dragon clucked appreciatively and began to trot through the snow drifts down the snowy trail that led out of the village.

Pastrache took a slow and steady pace as she followed the trail. Patrasche kept glancing back at her passengers.

Oh, you think I'm falling for this, girl? I know that you're setting us up for a practical joke. You're letting me think that you've learned your lesson and that you're going to be chill on this trip. Girl, I am not buying it.

Pastrache kept prancing and clucking as they meandered down the road and out of the village.

It almost sounds like she's humming to herself. Girl, you need to work on your nonchalance.

"Subaru," Emilia sounded grumpy, "Why do I need to hold onto you so tight? This ride feels completely safe. Are you trying to trick me? Is this another lewd thing?"

Pastrache immediately bent over and set herself.

"This is all your fault, Mili," Subaru sighed, "You did this."

Pastrache took off like a rocket, flying over the snowbanks and kicking up great clouds of powdery white snow.

Emilia and Subaru screamed in harmony as they both hung on for dear life.

Emilia buried her face in his shoulder.

"See, this is kind of what I meant when I suggested holding on tight, Mili," Subaru yelled, trying to lean into Patrasche and steer her.

"Subaru!" She cried out, squeezing him almost painfully, "Make her slow down!"

"OK, Mili!" Subaru yelled back. "Sure! Any suggestions on how to do that?!"

A half hour later, Emilia and Subaru rode through the forest. By trial and error, they were getting better at leaning into the dragon and controlling her direction.

"Subaru, are you alright?" Emilia said, raising her voice to be heard over the dragon's thunderous passage as she raced effortlessly over the hard-packed snow. "Are you getting too cold?"

Subaru shook his head. "I'm fine, Mili. You're doing a great job keeping me warm," He chuckled.

"The lightning should have come from somewhere around here, Subaru," Emilia said.

"OK, let's keep our eyes open. A lightning strike shouldn't be hard to find."

Subaru looked around as the woods flew by in a blur.

Well, I say that it shouldn't be hard to find but what am I even looking for? Everything in this forest looks the same to me. Lightning would usually start fires but can anything even burn in this unnatural winter? These trees looks like they're half fossilized only instead of turning to stone, they've turned to ice! Maybe lightning striking a frozen tree wouldn't do anything at all. Maybe it would just dissipate the same way as a bolt of lightning hitting the ocean!

"Subaru! Look up there!" Emilia yelled.

Subaru pulled back on the reins and Patrasche growled at as she came to a halt. She looked back at her riders with thinly veiled irritation. Patrasche was born to run. One did not ask Patrasche to stand still. It was a violation of the natural order of things, of the laws of nature. One would no more ask Patrasche to stop running than they could ask a river to stop running.

Subaru shielded his eyes against the sun glittering off the snow and peered up to a large mesa nearby.

He saw several trees up on the mesa had been knocked down or were lying on top of each other at awkward angles.

"That looks promising," Subaru murmured. "Do you know how we can get up there?"

Emilia nodded and pointed off to their left. Subaru nudged Patrasche back into a run.

When they crested the mesa, Subaru immediately reined in Patrasche.

The earth dragon made a sound of protest at her unreasonable rider's frequent pauses but Subaru and Emilia didn't notice.

They looked around the mesa with disbelieving faces.

The mesa was a large plateau at least three hundred yards across and it was covered with a dense grove of tress.

Or at least it hadbeen.

What the fuck happened here?! The place looks like an Internet video about strip-mining! Something sent these trees bouncing around like matchsticks and most of them are burned black!

The trees on the northern and southern sides of the mesa were piled up in big messy heaps and several of them were badly burned. Strangely enough, most of the trees on the east/west sides of the mesa had been spared. Some of the fallen trees looked like they'd been sliced up like a stalk of celery. All that was left was countless smooth, circular slices lying in piles on the ground as if the trunks had been attacked by a demented lumberjack. Some of the fallen trees were peppered with holes the size of Subaru's fist that had been drilled straight through the trunks. Strangest of all, some of the fallen trees appeared to have been completely petrified and turned into gleaming, faceted crystal.

The center of the mesa was free bereft of snow. Instead, there was a large shallow pool of ice. At the very center was what looked like a demolished bonfire site, surrounded by a group of badly damaged benches made from shaved logs.

"Subaru, what happened here?" Emilia gasped. "Lightning couldn't have done all this!"

"No, it could not. And I have noidea what could have," Subaru replied.

He felt Emilia stiffen behind him. "Subaru… do you think it could be… Regulus?"

Subaru's heart stopped but then he took a deep breath. "I… don't think so. Regulus could easily do this much damage but as far as I know he can't throw lightning or fire. Something not only sent these trees flying, it also burned them to charcoal. And don't even get me started on those trees that somehow turned to fucking glass!" He pointed at the crystallized trunks.

"So what happened here?"

"I don't know!" Subaru said helplessly, nudging Patrasche forward.

Patrasche started to bolt ahead but Subaru tugged the reins.

Patrasche gave her rider an extremely put-upon look but she obediently moved forward at a walk.

"Subaru, where did that fire pit come from?"

"What do you mean?"

"That fire pit doesn't belong here!"

"You mean, your people didn't build it?" Subaru asked.

"I mean that it's not here," Emilia emphasized. She hesitated, putting her thoughts in order. "I climbed this mesa after you killed the Snow Blight! I came up here to look for anyplace safe to bring you. When I did, I realized that I wasn't far from home. And that fire pit and all those benches weren't here less than two days ago! This was an empty grove!"

Subaru stared at Emilia for a long moment. "This just keeps getting better and better. So… somebody comes into the forest and builds an elaborate bonfire site in the middle of nowhere in the course of a single day. Then, before the sun sets, the site gets mysteriously destroyed as if it was hit by the world's smallest natural disaster. That sound about right?"

Emilia shook her head. "I don't know, Subaru."

Subaru led the dragon in a slow circle around the outer edge of the blasted zone.

Subaru triggered Reason and Judgment.

The world slowed down around him and he felt lightheaded. He was only vaguely aware that he was swaying in the saddle. A piercing pain built up in his head and his muscles ached.

"Subaru!" Emilia shouted. Her voice sounded very slow and he felt her arms slowly wrap tightly around him, holding him steady. "What's wrong?!" She demanded as the world resumed it's normal pace and speed.

Oh, right. I forgot. Something is wrong with Reason and Judgment right now.

Subaru moaned and rubbed his head. "Nothing."

"Nothing?!" Emilia asked incredulously.

Subaru hesitated. "I… I think maybe I've been pushing it a little too much lately. That's all."

Something is wrong with my Authority. It's been acting funny ever since the incident at the slaver camp.

Could I have… strained it somehow? Overused it? Is that possible?

"Subaru, I think we should just go home," Emilia said firmly. "You're exhausted and you were really sick only last night! We can do this another day."

Subaru shook his head. "We're already here, Mili. Let's just take a quick look around before leaving. Patrasche is doing all the walking after all."

Emilia's face was disapproving but she nodded reluctantly. "Alright but let's not linger. Do you think that we'll actually find a clue as to who did this?"

"Maybe," Subaru replied as Patrasche patrolled the outer edge of the mesa, occasionally stopping to sniff curiously at a char-broiled log. "We've got nothing to lose by trying. I actually think that it was more than one person. That might be good for us. Although, I guess that would be long odds," Subaru finished, sounding like he was talking to himself.

"More than one person?"

"Yeah. Look at the trees that were destroyed compared to the ones that weren't destroyed. What does that suggest to you?"

"Subaru," Emilia grumbled. "I know that you're more clever than me so just tell me what you're thinking. Don't make me guess!"

"Huh. Somebody's feeling touchy today," Subaru murmured.

"Somebody is feeling touchy because I'm every bit as exhausted as you!" Emilia snapped. "Not only did I have to trudge all over northern Lagunica with you and lose the spirits but I had to endure Daddy's scorn and nurse you back to health after you fell into the frozen lake. Did it ever occur to you that I'm at least as tired and frustrated as you are if not more so?!"

Subaru's head snapped around. Emilia was glowering at him and breathing deeply.

Wow. Never seen Emilia like this before. She must really be on edge.

"I'm sorry, Emilia," Subaru said in a placating voice. "I forgot how the past week must have worn you out."

Emilia closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. Finally, she opened them. "That's alright, Subaru," She said in a more composed tone. "So what do you think happened here?"

Subaru looked over the mesa. "Well, the trees on the north and south parts of the mesa were destroyed but not many trees on the east west part. That makes me think that there was a fight here. Two people were throwing magic or something at one another."

"A fight?" Emilia said in surprise. "What could have been fighting here to cause all this damage? Dragons?"

Subaru blinked and he looked at Emilia in real concern. "Mili, are there dragons around here?!"

Emilia shook her head. "I've never seen a dragon, Subaru."

Patrasche came to a halt with a loud honk. She gave her passengers a look of profound offense.

"Um. Present company excepted, of course," Subaru said quickly.

"Yes! I meant… um, I've never seen a… um…" Emilia trailed off. "Well, what I meant to say is that earth dragons obviously have all the majesty and grandeur of their distant ancestors. Even Volcanica can't compare to the dignity of an earth dragon!"

Patrasche looked slightly mollified and resumed her slow march around the mesa.

Subaru and Emilia shared a look that was equal parts amused and incredulous.

Emilia cleared her throat. "As I was saying, Subaru," She continued. "I've never seen a… dragon," She whispered. "I think that there are only a handful left. Maybe Volcanica is the last one…"

"OK. Well then, let's assume for right now that this wasn't a pair of dragons fighting," Subaru replied. "This must have been a really big fight. Like… a Reinhard versus Regulus level of fight maybe."

"But what could have done this? Do you think that they could have come to the forest looking for us?" She worried.

Subaru thought about it, then shook his head. "If Regulus knew that we were here, he would have torn up the whole forest until he found us. He's not one for holding back. And I doubt that any fight he's ever been in has been restricted to this small of an area. Reinhard would be the same way. As careful as he is, I think that if he was really pushed to the limit during a fight he'd be hard pressed to contain his power. The destruction would have been a lot more wide spread than this."

"So that means that we have no idea who did this?" Emilia murmured.

"Not really," Subaru admitted. "But maybe the fact that there were two of them is a good sign."

"How?"

Subaru hesitated. "…Maybe two people who hated each other just happened to bump into one another in the forest and they had it out. Maybe them being here had nothing to do with us at all!"

"Subaru," Emilia said skeptically. "I spent my whole life in this forest and never saw anything like this. We're back for less than two days and a large section of the forest has already been demolished. And you think that this has nothing to do with us?!"

Subaru sighed as Patrasche completed her circuit of the mesa and returned to the slope they had climbed to reach it. "Yeah, I know. Wishful thinking. Hey, Mili, how did you recognize that you were near home from seeing this plateau. Did you come here a lot?"

"No, not really," Emilia admitted. "This area was off limits when I was child. But it's extremely recognizable."

"How come?"

"Because of that," Emilia said, pointing at the middle of the mesa.

Subaru followed her finger and frowned. He hadn't noticed it before but there was… a line in the middle of the plateau. A fat purple line that just… stood there.

"What is that?" Subaru asked in confusion.

He nudged Patrasche closer.

"Be careful, Subaru," Emilia said, sounding nervous.

As they drew closer, Subaru realized that it wasn't a line. That was just an optical illusion because he had been looking at the thinest part of the object. As Patrasche walked around it, Subaru realized that it was a door. A beautiful, ornate, double-sided door made of some kind of polished, dark purple stone. It must have been ten feet tall and wider than Subaru could spread his arms.

And it was standing in the middle of the mesa, unconnected to anything.

Subaru looked at Emilia in disbelief. "What the hell is this?!"

Emilia shook her head. "I don't know, Subaru. I just know that I was supposed to stay far, far away from it."

"Why?"

Emilia just shrugged.

Subaru awkwardly slipped down from the saddle to investigate the door.

"Subaru!" Emilia said, jumping down beside him. "Be careful!"

"Of?" Subaru asked.

Emilia just bit her lip.

Subaru gingerly reached out his hand and touched the door with a finger. The door felt like cold stone but otherwise seemed unremarkable. Subaru pushed the door but nothing happened.

Subaru looked at Emilia. "Do you have any idea what this is?"

Emilia shook her head. "I just know that I and most of the other elves were forbidden to come near here."

Subaru scratched his head. "Who the hell builds a door in the middle of nowhere? And what's even holding it up?!"

Emilia hung back, looking at the door with trepidation.

Subaru thought for a moment. "Mili, give me a hand."

"Subaru," She whispered in disapproval as she reluctantly complied.

The door wouldn't budge no matter which side they pushed on. There seemed to be nothing anchoring it in place but pushing it felt like trying to shift a mountain.

Subaru finally sighed in resignation. "OK. New theory. Whoever came here, they came here for this. Maybe they were fighting over it."

"The door? Why?"

Subaru threw his hands into the air. "Mili, I have absolutely no idea!" He said as he returned to Patrasche and remounted her. "I don't anything about this door so I can't even guess why somebody would want it!"

"I don't know what this door is, Subaru. I just know that the village elders and Mother Fortuna and Guese thought that it was very important," She said, climbing up behind him.

"Well, that's not much help," Subaru said, nudging Patrasche back toward the slope that led down from the mesa.

"Subaru, I-"

"Wait!" Subaru said, pulling Patrasche to a halt by the slope. He peered down into the snow. "Footprints."

He studied them for a moment. "Well, they don't look like either of ours."

Emilia looked down at the snow. "If we followed them," She said reluctantly, "Do you think that they'd lead us to whoever did this? Because I don't think that we're ready for that kind of fight, Subaru."

"Trust me, I agree!" Subaru said fervently. "But I don't think following these footprints would lead us to anyone."

"They won't?" She asked in confusion. Emilia looked at the tracks more closely and then nodded. "Oh. Those footprints are coming to this clearing."

"Yeah," Subaru replied, deep in thought. "This must be how one of our friends got here. The strange thing is that we looked around the entire mesa and while there are footprints leading in… there aren't any leading out…"

"Maybe they both killed each other?" Emilia suggested.

"We would have found bodies," Subaru disagreed.

"Well… they might have completely destroyed each other," Emilia mused. "Or maybe they used magic to leave."

Emilia's eyes suddenly widened. "Subaru! What about Roswaal?!"

"Roswaal?"

"Roswaal is a powerful magic caster! He could easily destroy an area like this and we know that he can fly! And Subaru, he knows where the village is!"

Subaru frowned. "Does he?" He said after a moment's thought. "I mean, I can't think of any reason why Roswaal would be able to remember you when the rest of the world forget. I doubt that he has any reason to be looking around in the forest for me. He shouldn't remember anything about you."

Emilia's face grew gloomy as she pondered that.

Subaru shielded his eyes and looked off the mesa. "Mili, do those tracks look like they lead back toward the village?"

Emilia jumped. "They do?!" She looked at the trail of tracks that lead down the slope and south through the forest. "Yes. They do seem to be going that way. Subaru, do you think that Anri might really have had something to do with this?!"

"I don't see how," Subaru admitted. "If you mean, did she make these tracks then I don't know how much sense that would make. I can't imagine that she woke up last night and walked here. Or how she could have destroyed the grove in the first place, much less how she could have gone back to the village without leaving any tracks. But if these tracks come from the village then maybe…"

Subaru stopped talking.

"What?"

Subaru shook his head. "I'm not sure," Subaru murmured. "And I'd rather not guess right now until we see where these tracks actually lead. I have a theory but… Let's just follow the tracks for now. They're heading in the same direction that we need to go anyway."

Subaru nudged Patrasche and the suddenly cheerful riding dragon took off at a run.