Re:Zero - The King of Pride

Subaru found the town's only store without much effort. It was really just a large house with lots of produce set out on the spacious front porch.

The house was covered in a coat of ice. Subaru got the impression that the food had only been set out this morning out of a desperate need for normalcy at any cost. The unnatural weather that had struck the village was staggering and people were clamoring for anything that reminded them of more peaceful times.

The area in front of the store was crowded with people who were all talking nervously. As Subaru approached, they all dispersed, pulling away from him.

This is weird. I wonder what tipped them off that I'm with Emilia. Maybe they saw me exit the church with Anri?

The only one left on the porch was a trembling old woman in a shopkeeper's apron.

"Do you belong to that witch?!" She squeaked.

Subaru glowered at her. "I just want to buy some food," He said, ignoring her question.

"Take whatever you want but please don't hurt us!" She replied, shrinking back.

Subaru had to restrain himself from slapping the old woman as he gathered three small bags of food that lay on the ground in front of the porch. It was a large handful to carry, especially with only one arm, and Subaru struggled to juggle it all as he reached into his money pouch and pulled out three golden coins.

This has got to be at least ten times the price of these food bags but I don't have any smaller coins. Besides, we did kind of… mess up their village.

Subaru extended his hand to the woman with the gold coins in it, careful not to approach any closer.

The old woman stared at him and shook her head. "Please just leave. We have nothing you or the witch could want. Please just go away," She whimpered.

Subaru's face twisted in contempt and he let the gold coins fall into the mud at his feet.

Then he turned on his heel and stalked away.

An older man spat on the ground. "That witch wrecked our village. She broke our houses and froze our homes! Are we really going to let her and her cultists get away with this?"

"Do you want to be the one to try and stop them?" Another villager grumbled.

The old man looked awkward. "The soldiers are already on their way. All we need to do is stall them for a bit and then the soldiers can take care of them."

The old woman looked down at the three gold coins that lay in soft mud in front of her. This was nearly the equivalent of a full month's sales. She hesitantly reached out for the coins.

A tall man quickly grabbed her wrist. "Martha! Are you crazy? The witch will have put a curse on those coins! They'll make your whole body putrefy or turn you into a box elder, like as not."

Martha sighed. "True," She said reluctantly.

Martha quietly pushed the three coins deep into the soft, muddy earth and then covered them up with dirt.

As he walked back toward the church, Subaru found an old man wearing a straw hat and chewing on a piece of grass, sitting in a rickety old wagon.

"Hey, how much for your wagon?" Subaru asked.

"It's not for sale, 'specially not to the likes of you. I'll have no truck with Witch Cultists."

Subaru drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I need a wagon. Five gold coins for it."

The old man looked at him thoughtfully as he chewed the grass. "Ten," He said flatly.

Subaru rolled his eyes. "Done," He growled, holding out the coins.

The man took the coins. "Pleasure doing business with ya!" The old man said sarcastically. He spat on the ground as he walked away.

I feel a strong urge to smash this old man against the wall and break him open like a rotten fruit…

Subaru took a moment to master his temper. Then he whistled for Patrasche.

The black dragon came racing up to Subaru quickly. However, when she saw the wagon, she recoiled.

She gave Subaru a look of such incredulous betrayal that he almost laughed.

"I'm sorry, girl," Subaru said, rubbing her face. "It's an emergency."

The dragon sighed, not looking especially mollified but she tolerated Subaru harnessing her to the wagon.

Subaru drove the wagon back to the church and climbed out.

He went to enter the church when Patrasche interrupted him with an anxious cluck.

Subaru smiled and patted her head. "Sorry girl, can't unharness you yet. We've got a ways to go."

The dragon sighed. Subaru stood for a moment, stroking the aggrieved dragon. He found that he could hear raised voices inside the Church.

Subaru entered the church. He walked into the kitchen and straight into an argument.

"Abso-fucking-lutely not, Princess! No way in hell! You can't just go and attack a Sanshi-

"And perhaps I wouldn't have had to if you hadn't done that!" Anri said in a clipped tone.

"Oh, fuck me, Princess!" Victoire protested. "What was I supposed to do?! Die for a witch?!"

"She is not a witch. Moreover there is almost no chance that you would have died from your wound," Anri said coldly. "But that's neither here nor there. Now we need to go find more medicine."

"Let him do it, Princess! Being around him just puts you in more danger! Let the little cocksucker go off with his elf and find the cure! We need to get out of here! You associating with those two is not doing you any good!"

"I'm not so certain. Ignoring my debt to them, I actually think that we might get a lot out of it. Beyond that, we will be leaving immediately," Anri replied. "But we are going to the army camp for medicine. You are going to go to the dropbox and deliver the missives-"

"Oh fuck, no!" Victoire protested immediately. "I'm your last remaining bodyguard! You're not going without me-"

"You have to go, Victoire!" Anri said forcefully. "When he finds out what you did, he will kill you!"

Victoire snorted. "Believe me, Princess, I can handle that prick. I may very well be the most amazing person that you'll ever meet!"

Anri rolled her eyes. "Under any other circumstances, your ego would make me laugh but not right now."

"Princess, I can not fucking let you to do this! You've already been through at least three assassination attempts on this trip! Now you want to just go off and wander the country side unescorted?!"

"'Let?'" Anri repeated in a dangerous tone. "Victoire, you are one of my family's Shadows. That mean that you are under my authority. You will follow my instructions."

"Princess, I know for a motherfucking fact that your uncle and grandpa would be shitting bricks if they knew that you were doing this!" Victoire said firmly.

Anri glared at her coldly. "My grandfather is the Patriarch," Anri said very formally. "He reigns over the Church, not over me. My uncle is Regent. He does not wear the crown. I do! I intend to repay my debt to Lady Emilia by curing her of this poisoning. I will depart with Subaru. You will deliver the missives I wrote to the Shadow network as I have instructed. Our safe-house here is no longer secure and all the Shadows must be made aware of this. My uncle and grandfather must also be appraised of our status. You will attend to these matters and I will meet you at the safe-house near Stoneybrooke in a few days."

Victoire looked aghast. "Come on, Princess, at the very least, let me fucking come with you! You can't just waltz off into danger all alone!"

"I won't be alone," Anri replied. "I'll have Subaru and Emilia with me."

Victoire slapped her forehead. "So you're going off into danger with a mother-fucking elf in a comma and a skinny, pasty, little runt, who looks like he'd need to get naked just to count to twenty one! You think thats going to make me feel better?!" Victoire sounded like the mere thought disgusted her.

Subaru clenched his fists.

"Enough," Anri said formally. "Your feelings are not my primary concern as long as a friend of mine is currently in critical condition. I do not care to discuss this matter further. You have been given your instructions. Carry them out."

Victoire stood there for a moment looking livid then she turned and walked out of the church with a set of letters folded under her arm.

She looked murderously at Subaru as she passed by him. Subaru returned the glare.

Victoire closed the door on her way out.

Anri sank into a chair, looking exhausted.

"Trouble with the household staff?" Subaru asked, struggling to sound flippant and not succeeding.

Anri sighed. "The Shadows are completely loyal to House Ithil but they don't take orders very well. They're expected to have a large degree of independence and act on their own initiative so it's sometimes hard to rein them in," She said, dropping her formal tone.

"You want me to slap her around a little?" Subaru offered, only half kidding.

Anri shook her head. "No. She'll do what she was told now. I'll meet her in Stoneybrooke once Emilia is better. Besides, I know how sensitive you and Emilia are about people knowing that you're staying in that village so I couldn't let her come with us anyway."

Subaru raised an eyebrow. "Well, thanks."

"Did you find a wagon?"

"Yeah. And some food."

"Perfect. I've packed all the medicine and anything else I could find."

"Great. I'll help you carry all the stuff into the wagon. We'll move Emilia last."

Despite working with only two arms between them, Anri and Subaru packed the wagon quickly.

Finally, Subaru and Anri worked together to carry Emilia out of bed and into the wagon. They laid her down carefully in the wagon, swaddled in blankets and cushions.

Subaru gently stroked her hair but she didn't respond.

"Alright," Subaru sighed. "Let's get out of here."

"You're not going anywhere," A tall man with a long face called.

Subaru looked up and realized that the cart was being surrounded by villagers with bared teeth. The villagers were carrying pitchforks, shovels, pickaxes and any other weapons that they could find.

Anri drew herself up as straight as she could. "Please listen to me. We have no quarrel with you," She said in a loud clear voice. "We were just leaving anyway. Simply let us depart in peace and you will never see us again."

"And what? All's forgiven, just like that?" The man demanded. "What about the damage to our homes?"

The crowd shouted angrily in agreement.

Subaru thought about it. They do have a point, I guess… "I could offer you gold in compensation," He suggested.

The man didn't even seem to hear him. "What about the crops that failed last year?"

Subaru blinked. "What the hell does that have to do with us?"

"Did your witch put a curse on our crops?! What about Meg's baby that died of the pox last season? Did the witch steal her life?"

Subaru scowled. "Now you're just being ridiculous," Subaru said coldly.

"You two aren't going anywhere!" The man shouted. "The authorities are on their way and they'll deal with you witches and cultists good and proper."

The crowd growled their agreement.

Subaru closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

More than anything, he wanted to just unload all of his rage and frustration on these villagers. But he knew in his heart that, despite their ignorant attitudes, these peasants were innocent of what had happened to Emilia.

But he still wanted to smash them into pieces. He held back by sheer willpower.

"I'd like to raise a small question if you don't mind," He said in a barely controlled voice. "What exactly makes you think that threatening a witch and her cultists is the smart thing to do?"

The crowd was dead silent.

The tall man seemed momentarily nonplussed. Then he said, "We ain't afraid of you!"

"Really? Because you don't sound very convincing," Subaru said, his voice like ice.

The man bit his lip. "Your witch is out cold!"

The crowd rumbled in agreement, their voices threatening.

Subaru's eyes narrowed dangerously. He reached over to Anri and deftly drew the startled girl's rapier.

The crowd muttered in fear and drew back.

Subaru swung the rapier through the air where it made a chill whistle. "Listen to me very carefully," Subaru said in a deathly whisper. All eyes focused on him. "This woman is the only thing that I have left in this entire world. She is everything to me. If you want to try and take her away from me, you're going to have to do it the hard way."

Subaru walked slowly toward the crowd and they started to stumble backwards, tripping over each other as they hurried to get out of his way. "Is there anyone here foolish enough to try their strength against mine?" Subaru whispered. "Honestly, after the week from hell that I've had, dealing with you wretches would be fucking therapeutic. Would anyone like to challenge me? Anyone at all?"

The crowd shrank back from Subaru, trembling.

He stared them down with an icy expression for a long moment.

None of the villagers seemed willing to make the first move.

Subaru shook her head. "Wise choice," He murmured, climbing onto the wagon where he was quickly joined by Anri.

Subaru snapped the reins and Patrasche started pulling the wagon out of the village.

Anri surreptitiously looked behind them. "They're not following us."

"Good," Subaru grumbled. His rage, having been awoken by the villagers was slow to go back to sleep. He handed Anri her rapier. "Although, honestly, I do wish that I'd been able to knock at least a few of them around. At the moment, I have a fuck-ton of pent up rage and there's nothing I can do with it…"

Anri gave him a sympathetic look.

Subaru sighed. "Alright, so I don't know the way back to the village from here. I'm guessing that you don't either so we'll have to take the long way around and go back through Rixum. I know the way to the village from there."

Anri's expression was pained. "Subaru, I've been thinking. That's not going to work," Anri said reluctantly.

Subaru waved her objection aside. "Look, we won't go through Rixum. We'll just go near it and pick up the forest trail there. I don't want to get jumped by the locals again any more than you do."

"No! What I mean is, we need to find the antidote for Emilia."

"I know that," Subaru said, trying not to growl and mostly failing. "We'll leave Emilia in the village where she'll be safe and then go search for the cure."

"That's what I'm trying to tell you! That won't work!" Anri snapped. "Emilia is stable but she's not out of danger. We can leave her alone for an hour or two while we go to try to find the antidote but we can't leave her alone for a whole day! We'll have to take her with us while we go to find the antidote."

"What?!" Subaru demanded.

Anri shrugged. "That's just the way it is. Don't kill the messenger."

Subaru let out a long hiss. "Fine. Which way are we going to find that army camp?" He grumbled.

"You want to head northwest from here. Follow the river," Anri answered.

Subaru pulled the reins and Patrasche did as instructed.

"Alright," Subaru grumbled. "Catch me up to speed. What did I miss while I was asleep?"

Anri shrugged. "Honestly, I think you already know most of the details," Anri answered. "You were poisoned by the Black Water and we needed to go somewhere that I could make the antidote. Iruk was the closest place that my family had a safe-house so we went there."

"Your family?" Subaru grumbled.

Anri sighed. "My real name is Kairei vas Sirosse an Ithil."

Subaru waited but Anri didn't continue. "Cool. That's a real nice name, Anri, or Kairei, or whoever the hell you are, but it doesn't mean a whole lot to me."

Anri grumbled something under her breath. "Call me 'Anri!' And the point is that I'm the Princess of Siros."

"Neat," Subaru said shortly.

Anri glowered at him. "Subaru. Are you trying to be difficult?"

"No, I'm just not impressed!" Subaru shot back. "I've spent the past two months with nobility of all kinds. I even had a title myself for a bit. That means I know exactly how meaningless titles really are!"

Anri fumed. "Believe me, I completely agree with you about that but do you want to know what happened to Emilia or would you rather keep taking cheap shots at me?"

Subaru didn't answer right away. Finally, he let out a sigh that sounded more like a growl. "Alright, talk! I'll listen. Why do you have a safe-house in Iruk?"

Anri sighed. "OK, so my family has an organization called the Shadows. They guard the Grand Archives and they work as spies and infiltrators and occasionally assassins. Because of this intelligence network, my family has safe-houses all over Gusteko and even some in the southern kingdoms. They're used by operatives to meet up, resupply, and hide out. Grandfather taught me where most of the safe-houses were, in case I ever needed to use one."

"And you needed one on this trip?" Subaru asked.

Anri rolled her eyes. "Did I ever! House Griest is trying to kill me to improve their chances of taking the Holy Throne. Not to mention ending my line and claiming our lands. My party and I were ambushed on our way back from a conference in Pardochel. Beyond that, House Griest has laid siege to my lands. I was trying to get to Iruk to sync up with whatever Shadows had escaped the massacre and then try to get home. Unfortunately, it looks like Victoire was the only survivor…"

Anri looked off into the distance sadly for a moment. Then she took a deep breath and shook her hear. "Anyway, I knew that we had medicine here so when you were poisoned, Emilia and I brought you here to nurse you back to health. It was going well until Elsa showed up…"

Subaru trembled violently and then started biting off sulfurous curses under his breath.

Anri stared at him in concern. "Subaru, what are you doing?"

"Nothing!" He snapped. "What happened then?"

Anri frowned. "Victoire was injured in the fight but Emilia fought off Elsa," Anri said slowly. "She managed to kill the Bowel Hunter but she took a bad wound in return."

"Wait, Victoire was injured? Why isn't she bleeding out then?"

Anri didn't respond.

"Anri," Subaru growled.

She sighed. "We only had a single dose of the antidote. I was going to gamble that half a dose each would save their lives. But by the time I got back to the church with Emilia… Victoire had drunk the entire dose…"

Subaru trembled like a restless volcano. "Brilliant! Really fucking spectacular! I knew I should have ripped that sanctimonious bitch apart when I had the chance!"

"Please, don't. She's the only Shadow I have left," Anri sighed. "Look, I know that what she did was real scummy but what did you want her to do?!" Anri demanded. "Accept that she needed to die so that I could save Emilia?!"

"Well, it certainly would have made my life a whole lot easier!" Subaru shouted.

"Oh, give me a break, Subaru!" Anri said flatly. "Look we still have plenty of time. Emilia won't be in critical condition for at least a couple of days as long as keep medicating her with the Blood Replenishing Potion every few hours. If we give her the antidote in that amount of time, she'll be fine."

Subaru growled. "You better be right about all this."

"Is that a threat, Subaru?" Anri asked quietly.

"What do you think?!"

"Fuck off, Subaru!" Anri spat. "I've had just about all that I'm going to take today from a selfish, spoiled brat like you! I'm here to help you make a cure for Emilia because I care about her not because I give a rat's ass about you! It's obvious that you just need a person to be angry at right now and you've picked me, when the people that you're really angry at are Elsa and yourself!"

Subaru stiffened and bit his lip.

He couldn't think of a way to respond so Subaru turned his head and focused all of his attention on following the twisting river that was leading them north.

"Look, Subaru," Anri said in a more conciliatory voice. "Emilia getting hurt wasn't your fault."

Subaru snorted. "How was any of this not my fault? The only reason that we were in Iruk in the first place was because I was dumb enough to let the Black Water grab me in a fight. And then I was sleeping like a baby while my fiancee was fighting for her life!"

Anri raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Actually, you were near death and recovering from an almost mortal wound," Anri replied.

Subaru barely heard her. "I can't believe that I let this happen. These past few weeks have been all my fault."

"Wait, how does that work?" Anri said in confusion. "Emilia didn't tell me about anything like that."

Subaru sighed. "Because of me, everyone wants Emilia dead. Her own father was ready to kill her because he thought that Emilia put a spell on me. Now it seems like the whole world is after her. This includes two Great Spirits, the Sword Saint, and the entire Lagunican army! None of these people would consider the rumors of a witch hiding out in the forest to be worth their attention if it wasn't for her association with me! I'm putting Emilia in danger just by being with her!"

Anri frowned, trying to follow Subaru's reasoning.

Subaru bowed his head. "Emilia told me to leave her yesterday," Subaru whispered.

Anri nodded. "I know. She told me about that. She felt terrible about that fight…"

"I was furious," Subaru muttered, not really listening. "After everything that we'd been through together, she wanted me to leave! I couldn't take it. Without Emilia, I didn't even know what I would do with myself. Since almost the day that we met, I wanted to build my entire life around her. If she wanted to leave me, I'd have nothing left. I was terrified when she told me to leave. I said… horrible things to her," He whimpered. "But she was right. If I hadn't been with her, none of this would have happened. She'd be safest if I would just leave her alone but I was selfish and I couldn't bare to be parted from her. And now she's lying in this wagon barely alive," He finished in a broken voice.

Anri squinted at him. "Subaru. That doesn't even come close to making sense!"

Subaru looked at her in confusion.

Anri scoffed. "The Black Water would have ravaged the region whether you'd been there or not! It likely would have devoured the entire Elior forest and several of the nearby villages before the alarm was even sounded, much less before the monster was killed. You saved hundreds if not thousands of lives by confronting it, including Emilia's! She never could have fought it off alone. And Elsa wasn't even aware that you and Emilia were in the building when she attacked. She came looking for me. You had nothing to do with any of this."

"Yeah? Well, it sure doesn't feel that way right now," Subaru muttered.

Anri shook her head. "Boy, you two sure do have a lot in common," She whispered under her breath.

"What did you say?" Subaru asked.

"Nothing," Anri muttered. "Hey, Subaru, what exactly is your plan here? How are we going to get the oil out of that army base?"

Subaru sighed. "No idea yet!" Subaru admitted. "We'll have to check the place out and then see what we can come up with."

"So basically, we're headed toward an entire fortress of professional soldiers with no strategy whatsoever," Anri said sarcastically.

"Don't worry, Anri," Subaru growled. "Nothing is going to keep me from getting that medicine!"

Anri and Subaru laid flat atop a small cliff, overlooking the army camp. The sun was setting but there was still plenty of activity down there.

Patrasche, Emilia, and the wagon waited nearby.

Anri was holding his hand and trying to mend some of the damage to his arm. "Alright, Subaru, we're here," Anri whispered. "Now what?"

"I'm thinking," He said shortly.

Anri called it a camp. I was expecting something much smaller. This thing is the size of a village. It's minuscule compared to Crusch's army camp but that's still a lot of soldiers and because we're in the middle of nowhere there aren't any civilians coming and going. That means that we can't just try to blend in.

The army base was a large encampment just outside the north-westernmost edge of the Elior Forest. It was a dense maze of tents and a huge collection of wagons inside a heavy log palisade. There were also a few large, square buildings without windows. The center of the camp was overtaken by a simply massive pole that looked almost like an old fashioned television aerial. The thing must have been eighty feet tall and the aerial rods jutted out twenty feet from the shaft. The rods weren't thin, they were the size of tree trunks and arranged vertically up the pole in alternating positions.

What is that? Some kind of lookout tower? Why is the thing so frigging big?

"Anri," Subaru muttered, "Any idea what that tower is for?"

Anri squinted. "I think it's wyvern roost," Anri replied. "Wyverns probably stop there regularly, delivering messages and supplies. But I have no idea why this one is so big. This camp is pretty out of the way. That tower looks like it can host a dozen wyverns at a time!"

"Interesting," Subaru mused, staring hard at the camp. "But probably not relevant right now."

Subaru considered trying to mug some soldiers for their armor and uniforms but he quickly dismissed the idea.

I know that always works in the movies but in real life, people notice that your uniform doesn't fit. They notice that they've never seen you around here before. They notice that your clothes are bloodstained because people bleed when you kill them.

"Anri, how many men do you think are down there?"

Anri thought for a moment. "I don't know. Maybe a hundred?"

Subaru sighed. "Well, I've dealt with worse odds," Subaru admitted.

Anri raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure if I'm impressed by your strength or appalled that I'm actually following your lead here, Subaru," Anri murmured.

Subaru gave her a dirty look but ignored the comment. "Anri, do you have any idea what this camp is here for?"

"What do you mean?"

"What's its purpose?"

Anri struggled with the question and then shrugged helplessly. "To support the Sanshi army, I guess! Why are you asking me why it's here? Malcolm an Griest doesn't exactly trust me with the intricacies of his schemes!"

"Touche," Subaru sighed. He studied the camp intently. "OK. So this isn't a camp, it's a fortress. There's a huge wall surrounding it and there are tons of sentries on that wall. I don't think that there's any way that we can sneak in."

"I think that you're right."

"Maybe if there was a distraction?" Subaru suggested.

"You want me to run around screaming or something?" Anri suggested dubiously.

Subaru gave her a steady look. "Thanks for the offer, Anri, but I don't think that would work. To empty this fort, I think we'd need something like a dragon. Or an army of mabeasts."

Subaru suddenly thought about the mabeasts that he had put Pridebreaker on. The mabeasts obeyed me when I told them what to do. At least they obeyed at the time. Should I try going back into the forest and gathering up a horde of mabeasts?

Subaru thought about it and finally shook his head. Maybe as a last resort. Emilia told me that they refused to attack her because I ordered them not to but maybe that was her imagination and they just thought that Emilia was too tough for them. I don't really know if I can still control them or how far they'll follow my orders. This isn't the best time to experiment. Besides, the mabeasts are a double edged sword. If they find a way to slip my leash, they'll kill me quicker than they'd kill the soldiers.

Subaru bit his lip. "Alright. Try this one on for size. If stealth is impossible then we go for boldness."

"Meaning what?"

"We drive right into the camp and beg for help," Subaru said.

Anri stared at him. "Are you serious?!"

"Dead serious," Subaru said firmly. "We tell the soldiers that my wife was injured by the Bowel Hunter when she attacked Iruk. We're here looking for medicine and we'll trade what we know about Elsa's movements in exchange."

Anri looked dubious. "Is it wise to mention Iruk?"

Subaru nodded. "It's very important. The camp will hear about the attack soon, if they haven't already. When they do get that news, they'll consider it confirmation of our story. It's the perfect recipe. Two parts truth to one part lie. Mix it carefully and they'll swallow the whole thing."

"Maybe," Anri muttered. "But I'm more worried about how they'll react when they see who Emilia is. Or rather, what she is. Marrying a demi-human is illegal in Gusteko, you know, and Sanshi is the most xenophobic, arch-conservative province in the Kingdom. They might react violently."

Subaru gave her a sour look. "Lovely country that you've got here."

Anri scoffed. "Hey, don't blame me! The Hierocracy were the ones who outlawed interracial marriage!"

"Whatever," Subaru sighed. "We'll let the blankets and pillows cover most of her face. Hopefully no one will inspect Emilia until we talk to the doctor. They maybe we can talk our way round him."

"This is very risky, Subaru," Anri muttered. "Why not just attack the camp?"

Subaru stared at her in disbelief. "You want me to attack a hundred soldiers in a fortified camp, head on?!"

"I'm serious! You fought the Black Water singlehandedly! Breaking into this camp should be a snap for you!"

Subaru sighed. "Yeah well, there's a few problems with that. I don't have time to get into all of the details right now but my power is a little… unpredictable. The power that I used against the Black Water only pops out once in a while. I can't control it."

"That's seriously disappointing," Anri sighed.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Subaru agreed. "Look, fighting is probably in our future. We'd have to get seriously lucky to be able to get in and get out with the medicine without anyone catching wise. If we need to fight our way out then that's one thing but if we have to fight our way in, Anri, then we're probably already dead."

Anri looked chagrined. "Alright. That seems like an accurate if grim assessment," Anri muttered.

Subaru thought for a moment. "You need to get out of those clothes."

Anri gaped at him. "I beg your pardon?!"

Subaru chuckled. "I mean that those clothes aren't something that a peasant girl would wear. Go into the bushes and get changed into that robe that Emilia was wearing."

Anri nodded slowly. "I did wash those robes. And her dress."

Subaru laughed again. "How about that? A princess who does laundry!"

"Hey! A princess should do whatever needs to get done!" Anri said firmly as she walked back toward the wagon. "I've studied everything I can: Swordsmanship, medicine, military tactics, economics, diplomacy. When I sit on the throne I want to be ready for whatever problems life throws at my people!" Anri grabbed Emilia's robe out of the wagon and vanished into the brush nearby.

Subaru shook his head. "Man. This girl sure has her act together. I've got to be at least a couple of years older than her and my life is still careening out of control."

Anri returned a few minutes later in Emilia's hooded white robe.

"Better?" She asked as she knelt down beside him.

"Almost," Subaru replied,picking up a handful of dirt. "Hold still."

He proceeded to rub the dirt in her face.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing?!"

"Sorry, Anri but you're just a bit too clean to be a peasant girl. Don't worry, you'll get to do me next," Subaru said.

Anri's dirty face glowered at him. "Hold on, let me try to find some big rocks," She muttered, picking up a handful of dirt.

They slowly drove the wagon toward the army camp's entrance.

"Anri, is anyone here likely to know what you look like?" Subaru asked.

"No. And even if they did, I doubt that they'd recognize me like this," Anri replied, touching her dirty face.

Subaru nodded. "Good. Take your hood off," He whispered.

"What?! Why?"

"Because you don't want to look like you have something to hide! Keeping your hood up when you talk to people just makes them suspicious. Put your hood down and they probably won't look at you twice."

Anri lowered her hood with a sigh. "Well, you sound like you know what you're talking about. I sure hope that you actually do."

Yeah, me too.

They rolled up to the front gate. Two armored soldiers stood guard beside it.

"Halt!" One of the soldiers said firmly. "What's your business here?"

"Your Honor! I need help!" Subaru said in a desperate voice. "My wife! She was attacked by the Bowel Hunter! We need medicine!" Subaru tried his best to imitate the accent of an ignorant yokel.

"What?!" A soldier exclaimed.

"The Bowel Hunter?!" Another shouted.

"Hey. What's with all the hubbub?" An older man with iron gray hair and a mournful face said as he approached the gate.

"Colonel!" One of the soldiers saluted. "This man claims that his wife has been attacked by the Bowel Hunter."

"The Bowel Hunter?" The Colonel said sharply. He turned to look at Subaru. "What can you tell me about her?"

"She attacked our homestead near Iruk. Your Honor, please! My wife is in danger. Can we take her to the doctor? Then I'll tell you whatever I can!"

The Colonel scratched his cheek and then nodded. "Suppose that's fair enough. Hendrickson, you take this man to see the healer and then you bring him straight to me."

"Yes, sir!" The soldiers snapped a salute.

"I hope that your woman recovers," The Colonel said in a neutral tone before walking away.

The soldier gestured. "Bring your wagon this way!"

Subaru nodded and snapped the reins against Patrasche's back. The wagon slowly trundled into the camp.

"That's a strange dragon to use for pulling a wagon," The soldier said, easily keeping pace beside the wagon.

Patrasche gave Subaru a dirty look.

"She's a fine dragon, your Honor," Subaru replied. "And the only one we have. We found her wandering in the woods."

"Really?" The soldier said. "She's a good breed. Strange that you found her out in the wilds."

"She's one of my best friends, your Honor. She's a tremendously loyal and faithful companion."

Patrasche clucked, looking slightly mollified.

The soldier laughed. "You sound like some of our cavalrymen. Never understood the appeal of earth dragons myself. They smell like old leather!"

Patrasche gave a muted growl.

The soldier led them to a large tent near the back of the camp. "Alright. This is the medical tent. You'll find Burns inside. He should be able to treat your wife. That," The soldier said pointing at a much grander, more ornate tent. "Is the command tent. You'll find the Colonel there when you're done. He wants to talk to you."

"Yes sir, thank you, sir!" Subaru said.

The soldier nodded and walked away.

Subaru and Anri climbed out of the wagon.

"Alright, so far so good!" Anri whispered.

"Yeah. We've already gotten further inside the base with this plan than I expected," Subaru said as he and Anri gently lifted Emilia's unconscious body out of the wagon.

Anri stared at him incredulously. "You know, you've got a real knack for instilling confidence, Subaru," Anri grumbled.

The medical tent had numerous beds but none were occupied. A smug-looking, middle-aged, and almost emaciated man was standing beside one of the beds, taking notes in a small book.

"What's this?" The man demanded as they carried Emilia into the tent.

"This is my wife, sir. She was badly wounded by the Bowel Hunter and is in desperate need of medicine!" Subaru said as they laid the heavily swaddled Emilia down on the bed.

"The Bowel Hunter?" The healer said slowly. "I've heard that she inflicts bad wounds but we can get her stitched up, no problem."

"Sir," Anri said diffidently, "The wounds are poisoned. She needs a wyvern oil potion to neutralize the venom."

The healer glared at her and folded his arms across his chest defensively. "And just who are you who thinks that she knows so much about medicine?" He asked in a petulant voice.

"This is my sister, sir," Subaru stepped in quickly. "She works as a country healer in our area."

"Pah! In my experience, folk medicine kills as much as it cures," The healer sneered. "All we need to do is bandage her wounds. She'll be fine," He said dismissively.

Son of a bitch! Of all the problems that I'd foreseen encountering, it never even occurred to me to wonder what we would do if the doctor was just incompetent and didn't know how to treat her!

Or maybe he knows that Anri is right but he doesn't want to waste any medicine healing a peasant woman?

Subaru coughed. "Sir Healer, while we're here, I wonder if would consider selling us some medical supplies. We'd pay you well and my sister is in dire need of more ingredients for her potions. She's responsible for the whole community, you see."

Anri nodded fervently.

The healer looked darkly at them. "I do all the healing around here, bub, and don't you forget it!"

Subaru sighed as the healer reached down and pulled back Emilia's blankets revealing her face.

The healer looked staggered. "What the devil is this?" He whispered.

"My wife, sir," Subaru said calmly.

"Your wife? Is that supposed to some kind of sick joke?!" The healer demanded, marching right up into Subaru's face. "What kind of god-fearing man would stick his dick into a dirty elven cunt?!"

Subaru ground his teeth. "Sir, the Colonel and I made a deal. You heal my wife and I give him some important intelligence."

"I'm not wasting a single bandage on a dirty demi-human whore," The healer snapped. "You wait here! I'm going to talk to the Colonel! You're a filthy race-traitor and by god you will not be permitted to disgrace us! You will all be brought up on charges!"

The healer tried to push past Subaru but Subaru slammed his one good fist into the healer's belly as hard as he could.

The healer doubled over as the breath whistled out of his lungs, his face pale and turning blue.

Before the healer could even take a breath, Subaru grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against one of the beds.

"Why did you have to do this?" Subaru whispered to the healer who fought desperately to pry Subaru's hand off his throat so that he could breathe. "All you had to do was heal Emilia. That's it. Was that really too much to ask?"

The healer struggled to loosen Subaru's grip but his lack of breath weakened him and raw fury lent Subaru strength.

"Why did you have to do this?" Subaru asked again. "All you had to do was show a little compassion, a tiny bit of empathy to another living, breathing person. Was that really asking too much? We all could have walked away happy. Now, you've forced us both to come to this and I have to kill you. Slowly," Subaru rasped in a whisper. "I can't kill you fast because it'll make noise or leave a bloodstain that I have no way to hide. Instead, I have no choice but to just fucking stand here," Subaru whispered through clenched teeth, "And fucking squeeze the fucking life out of you with my bare fucking hand!"

The healer was whimpering and choking as his wild eyes rolled up in his head. He shook his head in furious negation.

"Why couldn't you just do your job, huh?" Subaru grated. "Taking care of the sick? You know, that thing that you swore to do when you took this job? But no. You had to be an asshole and talk about 'race traitors' and bullshit like that. So now, I have to stand here and squeeze your neck until it fucking breaks! Now, I've got to stand here and look you in the eyes as you die and breath in your rancid fucking fear-sweat that smells like burnt onions!" Subaru hissed. "Why did you have to make me do this, huh?! Why? Why? Why?!" Subaru whispered shrilly.

There was a crunching sound and the healer went limp.

Subaru dropped the body on the ground, panting for breath.

Subaru looked at Anri. "Find the wyvern oil," He whispered, sounding utterly exhausted.

Anri was just staring at Subaru in shock and horror.

He sighed and managed to put a little more bite into his voice. "Today would be good!"

Anri jumped and darted into the supply shelves looking for medicine.

Subaru shoved the healer's body under one of the cots and made sure that the sheets were untucked and touching the floor so that the body was shielded from casual view.

Subaru saw a water faucet nearby and began to feverishly wash his hands.

Subaru washed off at least three layers of skin but he still didn't feel clean when he finally walked away from the faucet.

Anri was still searching the shelves for the medicine.

Subaru returned to the cot that Emilia lay on and buried his face in his hands.

"Subaru! I found it!" Anri said excitedly a few minutes later.

Subaru quickly pulled himself back together. "You found the oil?" Subaru asked.

"No! Better! I found the medicine! We don't even need to cook it!"

"Perfect," Subaru said, fighting off his exhaustion.

Anri thought for a moment. "I think maybe we should try to get out of here before we treat her. If anyone comes in here and sees me treating her instead of the healer, they're going to ask a lot of questions."

"Good plan," Subaru said. "Help me carry Emilia!"

The pair worked together to carry Emilia back out to the wagon then Anri darted back in to grab the medicine and placed it in the wagon beside her.

They climbed up onto the wagon and Subaru gently snapped the reins and Patrasche started moving.

"Subaru," Anri whispered, "Are we going to go talk to that Colonel guy or should we just try to make a break for it?"

Subaru hesitated. "We should probably try to talk to him, I guess. The soldiers might have been instructed not to let us leave without his permission for all we know."

"But what are we going to tell him?"

"I plan to use an ancient mind control technique known as 'lying,'" Subaru grumbled. "I'll spin him a story. Just let me do all the talking and try not to look surprised by whatever I say."

"I'm a goddamn politician, Subaru," Anri said sounding offended. "I know how to control my face! But what about the doctor?"

"Hopefully nobody will notice him missing for a while."

"And if they do?"

"Then we'll improvise," Subaru said shortly.

Anri didn't respond as the wagon trundled up to the command tent. They parked just behind the enormous pole that held up the wyvern roost.

Subaru saw that the Colonel was already outside his tent talking to a group of officers.

Subaru hopped down from the wagon, giving Anri a wordless look that she sound stay put.

He stood there, patiently waiting for the Colonel's attention.

Finally, the other officers dispersed and the Colonel turned to look at Subaru, hands clasped behind his back. "Son, we just got a report that the Bowel Hunter and a Witch attacked the village of Iruk. You said that was near your home?"

"Yes, sir."

He already knows about Iruk. On the bright side that makes him more likely to believe my story. On the other hand, I'm not sure what's he's been told about Iruk so I'll need to tread carefully.

Also 'The Bowel Hunter and a Witch attacked Iruk?!' What the fuck?! Elsa would have slaughtered the whole village if Emilia hadn't been there to stop her but the Colonel makes it sound like they were working together!

The Colonel continued. "You people are damn lucky to have gotten out of there alive. Few folks meet the Bowel Hunter and live to talk about it. What happened?"

"I wasn't there personally, sir," Subaru explained. "My sister and I were off buying supples. When we came back, our homestead was a slaughterhouse. My wife told me that the Bowel Hunter came out of nowhere and started killing people."

"How did your wife escape?"

"Sheer luck to be honest, sir. The Hunter cut her pretty good," Subaru said mournfully. "But she said that Big Zeke and Lars tried to rescue her and while the Bowel Hunter was distracted, she managed to hide in some bushes. We found her there when we got home."

"Any idea where the killer may have gone?"

"It looked like her tracks led toward Iruk, sir. But I didn't dare follow them very far."

"No, I don't suppose that you would have," The Colonel agreed. "Alright. We'll send out scouting parties to try to locate her. We may need to inspect the tracks at your homestead, how can we find it?"

"It's pretty far off the beaten trail, sir. The easiest way is to start in Iruk and then follow the river south. Follow the left fork for an hour and you can't miss it."

The Colonel nodded.

I have no idea if the river even has a fork but I doubt that the Colonel would know that either. And if I tell him to go to Iruk first that should buy me some time.

"Wait," A rusty voice from inside the tent muttered. "What fork in the river?"

A man in dirty, ratty clothes came out of the command tent. He looked at Subaru blankly and then looked up at Anri.

His eyes grew huge and his face paled.

"That's the girl with the Witch!" The peasant screamed. "The one that I told you about!"

You have got to be kidding me!

Soldiers all around them jumped to their feet, looking around and trying to figure out what was going on.

One soldier reached into the wagon and pulled back the blankets shadowing Emilia's face. He saw her hair and ears and gave a shrill scream.

Anri awkwardly drew her rapier with her unbroken arm. She slashed the air and sent the soldier staggering back.

The soldiers were running every which way.

Subaru quickly stepped back and stood next to Anri and the wagon, beside the pole.

"Fall in!" The Colonel roared.

For a moment the camp was dead silent and then the soldiers obediently darted into ranks, weapons and shields ready.

That Colonel runs a tight ship, Subaru thought grimly.

The Colonel ignored Subaru, looking up at Anri with a dark expression, "Princess Kairei vas Sirosse an Ithil."

Anri's face went pale.

"I honestly didn't recognize you," The Colonel said, sounding furious with himself. "Now I find out that House Ithil is so desperate to undermine the traditional Gusteko way of life that it even resorted to consorting with demi-humans Witches!"

The Colonel shook his head. "Disgraceful. There's a reason that Ithil was a House accursed and it should have remained that way! Siros needs to be put to the sword for this treason and the earth salted so that no fruit so foul may ever sprout again!"

Anri bit her lip. "If I surrender to you, will you let them go?"

"Anri!" Subaru objected.

"Nobody is leaving here," The Colonel said firmly. "Your choice is simply to surrender and live or resist and die."

This is too many men to fight! Especially if I'm trying to protect Anri and Emilia at the same time! Even I might not walk out if I had to fight this many!

Only one card to play: Bluff!

Subaru seethed and marched forward throwing back his hood. He declared in a great voice: "Your choice is either to stand aside and live or get in my way and be obliterated! I am Subaru Natsuki the Invincible! With my own hands I have slaughtered hundreds of Gusteko soldiers, killed trolls, defeated Sin Archbishops, and hunted down and slain the White Whale!"

The soldiers were all silent for a moment and then they started to murmur to one another.

"Subaru Natsuki?"

"The Merciless?"

"The Butcher of Arlem?"

Huh. Lucky me. I guess my reputation really does extend over the border. I knew that letting those Gusteko soldiers in Arlem live was a good idea. Anyway, these soldiers look like they're now having long gloomy thoughts about mortality. They won't get involved.

Subaru lifted his chin. "My lover is in dire need of medicine that I came here to acquire. You may stand aside and I will depart without troubling you further. But understand clearly that if you attempt to oppose me, none of you will live to see the sunrise."

The Colonel glared at Subaru in disgust. "You admit to butchering hundreds of my countrymen and you expect me to simply let you walk out of here?!" He asked incredulously.

"I am walking out of here, Colonel," Subaru responded in a flat voice. "The only question remaining is how many of your men will join the dead before I do!"

"I have a hundred men at my disposal! All seasoned veterans and capable fighters!" The Colonel retorted.

Subaru looked around at the stupefied soldiers. He briefly stepped in and out of Reason and Judgment. "Your men are all wearing mismatched armor and their weapons have rust spots on them. Your men are here to guard supply lines in friendly territory from bandits because they were judged unfit to go to the front!" Subaru said matter-of-fact. "I've faced far worse odds than this, Colonel, and lived to talk about it. The princess and I are departing right now. Decide if you think it's worth your men's lives to delay that for a few extra minutes."

The Colonel scowled at him. "I've heard all about your slaughter! But you're all alone right now. You don't have an army to throw at my countrymen this time!"

Subaru blinked. "Army?" He asked Anri.

Anri shrugged helplessly.

Subaru looked back at the Colonel. "I didn't have an army at Arlem. And I don't need one now."

"You must think that I'm a fool!"

"I'm coming to that conclusion real fast," Subaru growled.

The Colonel sneered at Subaru. "You're the fool! You walked alone into an enemy fortress with nobody to help you but a scrawny princess and an unconscious witch. You will die here. You should have been more careful!"

Subaru snarled and placed his hand against the massive pole in front of him that held up the wyvern roast. It was thick as an ancient oak tree. "Oh, I'm being real careful, Colonel," Subaru hissed. "See, Anri and me are on this side. And this thing is going to fall that way!" Subaru shouted, triggering Indomitable and shoving the pole as hard as he could.

The massive pole snapped at the base and started to tip over like a colossal tree. The soldiers just gaped at the massive object falling toward them for a moment and then scrambled to escape but they were in tight ranks and couldn't scatter.

The pole's aerials hit the ground with a sound like thunder. The roost must have weighed twelve tons easily and the soldiers were reduced to a mushy paste on impact.

The Colonel stood there trembling in shock. He'd had a hundred soldiers under his command. Now he had less than twenty trembling, horrified men who looked desperate to flee.

"So, Colonel," Subaru called in a low tone. "Feel like standing in my way anymore?"

The Colonel's face was a caricature of both fear and rage. He wrestled with both for a long moment. "Princess Kairei!" The Colonel snarled.

Anri jumped. Subaru mentally shrugged and let the Colonel speak to her.

That Colonel feels weak and helpless now. Because he is. If letting him throw some shade at Anri will let us get out of here without anymore fighting, then by all means!

"Rest assured," The Colonel continued. "I will reveal your treachery to the entire nation. You have sought an alliance with Lagunica against your own countrymen. There is only one fit punishment for such treason. Death!"

Anri grew pale.

OK, maybe that wasn't a great idea.

"We'll be leaving now," Subaru shouted, reclaiming the Colonel's attention.

Subaru climbed back into the wagon and scowled at the few remaining soldiers standing between them and the exit. The soldiers instantly panicked and scattered.

"Prince Malcolm will hear about this!" The Colonel shouted.

"Great," Subaru called back, not bothering to look at the Colonel. "Give him my best!" He snapped the reins and Patrasche pulled the wagon out of the camp and back on the road.

Subaru glanced behind him and saw the soldiers mill around the camp, shell-shocked like survivors of some natural disaster.

Anri just stared at Subaru, biting her lip.

Subaru pretended not to notice how frightened she looked.

"Anri," Subaru said. "Do we need anything else to give Emilia the medicine?"

Anri kept staring at Subaru in shock. Then she blinked, realizing that she'd just been asked a question. "I don't need anything. I can give it to her right now. I… should also give her another dose of Blood Replenishing Potion," She mused.

Subaru nodded. "Alright, why don't you do that? I'll keep us moving," He said.

Anri climbed into the back of the wagon and started to fuss with the unconscious Emilia. "Subaru, where are we going now?" She asked in an unsteady voice.

"We're going back across the border for starters," He replied. "Something inexplicable tells me that the locals probably aren't going to be very happy with me and Emilia once word gets out about all this." Subaru shook his head. "Perfect. Now I've got two kingdoms determined to hunt me down!"

"Are we going back to the forest?"

"Right now, it's just about the only place that I can think of for us to hide," Subaru admitted. He thought for a moment. "Where are you going to try and meet up with Victoire?"

"Stoneybrooke. It's a village a good ways east of here," Anri said as the wagon reached left the road that led to the camp behind and reached the King's highway.

They approached a fork in the road. Subaru hesitated and brought the annoyed Patrasche to a halt. "Anri, I don't think that we can get this wagon through the forest. Could we carry Emilia on Patrasche?"

Anri frowned and thought a minute. "I think that we could carry her tomorrow but it would be dangerous to try that right now. Her wounds are barely mended."

"Right," Subaru sighed. "Well, we need to get back across the border so we'll need to circle around the forest since it's directly due south of us. What's the shortest route back to Lagunica, east or west?"

"East," Anri said with confidence. "If you go west of the forest you'll run smack into the Gusteko mountains. That's why House Griest got so wealthy. Until my parents cut the passes through the western mountains, there was no way into Gusteko except through Sanshi lands. Or passing through the Elior forest."

Subaru scratched his chin. "Could we use your family's passes to go south?"

She thought about it. "Well, I suppose you could," She said doubtfully. "But they're a long way west. The closest one is all the way at the Kararagi border. Besides, last I heard, Griest was holding the passes against us."

Subaru sighed. "I guess I'll take that as a 'no,'" Subaru turned Patrasche east and started back the same way they had come.

"You know, it's going to be a really long trip back if we have to go by way of Rixum. That's all the way at the southern edge of the forest," Anri warned him.

"Yeah, I know. We definitely won't make it tonight. You OK with camping out?"

Anri snorted. "I've been doing that for days! Besides, I managed to grab a pair of sleeping rolls from the safe-house. Emilia should be fine as she is. She's all bundled up anyway."

"And we have food at least," Subaru added. "We just need to find a place to camp with some water for us and Patrasche."

"Once we sneak around Iruk, we can follow the river south, all the way to Rixum," Anri said.

Subaru nodded. "Then we'll hide the wagon somewhere and go back the Emilia's village on Patrasche. I remember the route we took last time. Let's get on the other side of the border first. Then we'll make camp. We'll go the rest of the way tomorrow."

Obviously, the border wasn't marked out in the country and Subaru wasn't certain if they'd crossed it or not.

They ate some fruit from the food bags as they went.

Subaru followed the river road south until it was full dark and Patrasche started complaining about wanting to stop.

Subaru led Patrasche into a small grove of trees just outside of Emilia's enchanted winter and unhitched the wagon.

Subaru struggled to make a fire. Anri had given him some flint from her pack but Subaru still couldn't make it work, forcing Anri to take over and build a small fire. The night was warm and balmy but they wanted some light.

Then Anri changed Emilia's bandages. Subaru had tried to help but as soon as Anri heard him gasp at the look of Emilia's deep, seeping wound, she ordered him to go away.

Subaru, seeking something else to keep busy with, tended to Patrasche. It was obvious that the earth dragon felt put upon and humiliated by the day that she'd had, so Subaru made a point of stroking her head and praising her while she ate.

By the time she had finished eating, the riding dragon appeared somewhat mollified and she curled up on the ground to sleep.

Subaru returned to Emilia just as Anri finished changing her bandages.

"Is she… OK?" Subaru asked, sitting down beside Emilia and the small fire.

Anri smiled at him. "She's great!" Anri said, bundling Emilia up in her blankets again.

Subaru looked at her skeptically.

"No, really! The wound looked a lot worse than it was. It was deep but it didn't hit anything important. And it's mending now."

Subaru sighed in relief. "God. I can't wait to just get back in the forest and disappear. I came so close to losing her, I…,"

Anri looked at him sympathetically. "It's OK. She's going to be fine, Subaru."

Subaru leaned over to gently stroke Emilia's face. To his surprise, her face slid into a smile.

"Anri!" Subaru snapped. "She felt me touching her! Is she waking up?!"

"Nope but she's not sleeping as deeply anymore," Anri said.

"When do you think she'll wake up?!" Subaru asked excitedly.

Anri made a face that suggested she was thinking very hard. "Hm. I think that she'll probably wake up… just as soon as I stop giving her sedatives every few hours," She chuckled.

"Wait, you're keeping her asleep?! Why?!"

Anri rolled her eyes. "Come on, Subaru! I know that you're anxious to talk to her but take a second to try and imagine the pain you'd feel if the Bowel Hunter ripped your stomach wide open."

"I don't have to imagine it," Subaru said flatly.

Anri blinked. "Oh. Right," Anri said awkwardly.

Subaru sat by the fire, looking down at Emilia and stroking her hair.

"Subaru, give me your hand. I'll try to mend your arm a little more," Anri said.

Subaru put his hand in hers and he felt his arm beginning to tingle as Anri called upon her magic.

The pair sat in silence for a time, staring into the flames.

"Say, Subaru, I've been meaning to talk to you about something," Anri said slowly.

"Is it about what happened at the army camp?" Subaru sighed.

"Well, yeah. Kind of," She hedged.

Subaru shook his head. "Do yourself a favor, Anri, just forget that the whole thing happened."

"Huh?!"

"The upshot is that I have a lot of power that's only marginally under my control," Subaru explained. "Any more questions than that will leave you feeling unhappy. You don't want to know what it is or where it comes from. Mili and I just need to disappear now…"

Disappear? Is that what I'm really shooting for now? What about rescuing Puck and Beatrice?

Anri gave him a hard look. "Subaru," Anri said in an annoyed tone. "Did anyone ever tell you that you are profoundly self-centered?"

"Huh?"

Anri looked annoyed. "I'm not really interested in talking about this power of yours or how you got it," Anri grumbled. "I'm a whole lot more worried about what's going to happen when folks in Gusteko find out that you've been helping me… and when they find out that I've been seen with someone they think is a…" She gestured helplessly at Emilia.

"What's the problem?"

Anri sighed. "There's no law against making alliances with southerners but that old Colonel had a point. It's against tradition and Gusteko is a very traditional country. House Griest could use this to turn other Houses or even the Hierocracy against me. And if they reported that I had made an alliance with a Witch…"

"Is this the same House Griest that reported that I slaughtered hundreds of innocent soldiers who just happened to wander into Arlem by mistake?" Subaru asked in a bored tone.

"Well, technically it was Voivode who reported that. Griest is just fanning the flames of the incident to play up people's xenophobia for their own reasons. What are you getting at?"

"Look, Anri, I get the very strong impression that Griest's credibility doesn't go all that far. The only people likely to believe Griest's accusations are people who already wanted to oppose you anyway and were just looking for whatever excuse was on offer."

Anri frowned. "I guess you have a point," She admitted.

"The only people who could report you for anything are folks who are loyal to House Griest which is already at war with you. I think most people who hear these accusations would assume that it's just propaganda."

Anri thought for a moment then she smiled. "You're right! Who would believe them without evidence?" She asked in relief.

"Exactly," Subaru said, gently lifting Emilia's head so that she rested in his lap.

They were both silent for a moment.

"Actually, Subaru, there's something else that I wanted to talk to you about."

"Yeah?"

"What are you and Emilia planning to do now?"

"Go back to the forest, I guess," Subaru shrugged.

"And after that?"

Subaru sighed. "Our partners are still missing."

"Partners?"

"Emilia and I both made a contract with a Great Spirit. Puck and Beatrice. They were stolen from us before we came to the forest. I need to find them and rescue them."

"I'm… so sorry," Anri said in a somber voice. "I can't even imagine how you must feel. Spirits are considered people in Gusteko-"

And yet, demi-humans aren't, Subaru thought to himself darkly.

"-And to have them taken away from you like that? You must both be heartbroken."

Subaru nodded. "Puck was like Emilia's father and Beatrice was kind of like my adopted sister," He said.

Anri hesitated. "And what about Emilia's curse?"

Subaru started. "How do you know about that?"

"She told me."

"And… you believed her?"

Anri shrugged. "Hey, why shouldn't I?"

Subaru hesitated. "Wow. This is just… really refreshing," He said.

"Are you still going to try to cure Emilia? I'm guessing that she won't really have her father back until he can remember who she is. From what she told me, being with her father might even put her in danger."

Subaru sighed. "Yeah… That's probably true. Unfortunately, after trying to come up with ideas for a solid week, I've got to admit that I have absolutely no theories for how we can break the curse…"

Anri took a deep breath. "Subaru, I wonder if you and Emilia would consider doing something for me."

"Like what?"

She hung her head. "My last message from Grandfather said that Siros was in a desperate situation. They're blockaded from the trade routes and supplies are running short. They're already hard pressed by the Sanshi army and Grandfather thinks that a second column is going to be headed that way within just a few days. We'll never be able to push back forces of that size."

Subaru squinted at her. "Just want are you asking us to do?"

Anri drew herself up and looked Subaru in the eye. "I need you to help me save my people."

"What?!" Subaru demanded incredulously.

Emilia flinched at the noise and moaned before settling back into drugged sleep.

Subaru looked down at her guiltily. "What? Are you serious?" Subaru repeated, much quieter but equally disbelieving.

"I'm desperate, Subaru. I need help," Anri said simply.

Subaru shook his head in disbelief. "Look, Anri, I like you! Emilia and I both owe you big time! You've saved each of our lives, at least once. Maybe more than once, I've sort of lost track lately given how much I've been unconscious," He admitted sardonically. "But we can't fight off armies-

"Wait," Anri held up her hand. "Before you answer, I want you to know that I can make it worth your while!"

"What do you mean?"

"Come on, Subaru, be honest," Anri said knowingly. "You don't really want to live in the Elior Forest. What would be there for you?"

Subaru looked offended. "Emilia!" He said shortly.

Anri rolled her eyes. "Right. Sorry. Let me rephrase. Obviously, you'd be willing to live in the Elior Forest if that was the only way to keep Emilia safe. But once Emilia was safe, I think that you'd get pretty bored in there real quick and start looking for new projects. You don't strike me as the kind of man to let the grass grow under your feet. What if I offered you something better than hiding in the forest forever that still resulted in Emilia being protected?"

"Like what?" Subaru asked.

"Come back to Siros with me."

Subaru stared at her. "Are you crazy?! Anri, do you really think I'm going to take Emilia to Gusteko?! Have you not been paying attention to the kinds of garbage people that we've met up here?"

"Hey!" Anri protested, looking offended. "Hold up! That's my home that you're talking about. And all of Gusteko isn't like that! We're in Sanshi territory right now and they're the most reactionary, xenophobic province in the kingdom!"

Subaru frowned, scratching his chin.

Anri took a deep breath. "Subaru, Gusteko isn't like Lagunica. It's not culturally homogeneous," Anri explained. "Siros is very different than Sanshi. It's not Kararagi but it's not Pardochel either! And even if you did bring Emilia to Kararagi, what then? Do you think your problems would end when you crossed the border? There will always be people who look at Emilia's hair and ears and think that they know everything that they need to know about her. You'll never escape human ignorance. But if you come to Siros then you'll have a comfortable, stable life and you'll both be safe!"

Subaru thought about it for a moment. "Aren't you worried about the political blow back? Your enemies would probably like to make something out of you consorting with a pair of foreigner witches."

Anri sneered. "Tell them to bite me! I'm the bloody princess, Subaru!" Anri snapped. "I'll consort with whomever I damn well please!"

Subaru burst out laughing.

"Actually," Anri continued in a more composed tone. "Although I would like to keep you both close simply out of friendship, candor compels to me admit that… it has not escaped me that the political situation would greatly benefit from my publicly declaring you both as my advisers."

Subaru frowned. "I don't think that I followed that."

Anri shook her head and sighed. "My people's future prosperity depends on trade. We need to not only keep the trade lanes open, we need to expand them. Xenophobia and isolationism has brought Gusteko to the brink of economic ruin countless times over the centuries. We need to get over it. Before this mess started, the Kararagi merchants were coming north but not in the numbers that we needed. I realized a while ago that I needed to make a big public statement to reassure the southerners but I wasn't sure how."

"Reassure them of what? And what does that have to do with us?"

Anri leaned forward excitedly. "If I make a public showing of declaring a demi-human and a foreigner as my chief advisers, I'm signaling to the whole world that Siros is a progressive society ready to leave the dark ages behind. It wordlessly assures foreign and demi-human merchants that, if they're willing to come to Siros to trade, their rights will be respected and protected. That there are people in authority who will listen to them if they run into problems. If I give them that surety then the merchants will come north in great numbers and my people will thrive!"

Subaru scratched his chin. "Seems like you put some thought into this," He admitted.

"I'm a princess, Subaru. A princess is supposed to think about ways to make her people's lives better," Anri deadpanned. "A few of us even bother to do it."

Subaru chuckled.

"I can also help you recover your spirits," Anri continued. "Whether the Hierocracy is generally in my corner or not is immaterial. As soon as the Hierocracy goes back into session, Grandfather can bring the matter to the floor. If Lagunica really is holding those spirits captive without charging them with a crime, which we both know is what's going on since Lagunica considers spirits 'things' and not people, then the Hierocracy will be enraged."

"Really?"

Anri nodded. "Without question. Spirits are considered people in the north and the kingdom is holding them prisoner, without charge, for the actions of another. There's no faction in the Hierocracry that would object to taking action under those circumstances. The Hierocracy will use every kind of soft power possible to force Lagunica to set the spirits free."

Subaru thought about it. "Do you really think that would work?"

Anri shrugged. "If Lagunica wants to keep trading with the northern kingdom it will! It helps me out too, an embargo with Lagunica might push House Griest into bankruptcy."

Subaru frowned, thinking it over.

"And the last thing I can offer you," Anri murmured reaching under her collar. "Is this," She pulled out a large, ornate metal key, hung on a chain around her neck. The metal seemed to flicker with a lambent purple light.

"What's that?"

"It's the key to the Grand Archives. My family's greatest treasure," Anri said with reverence. "We've been its caretakers since before the breaking of the world."

Subaru squinted at her. "What are those?"

"The Grand Archives are the greatest collection of knowledge in the world! We even have records and manuscripts dating back to the days when the Witches still walked the land! If there's anywhere in the whole world that you could learn about Emilia's curse and ways to cure it, it would be there!"

Subaru's eyes locked onto the key.

"My grandfather," Anri continued, "Is one of the greatest scholars of the Old Kingdom in the land. I'm sure that he can help you find the cure."

Subaru sighed. "Alright. I can't act like you don't have my undivided attention now." He thought for a minute. "You realize I can't make any decisions until Emilia wakes up, right?"

"Of course!" Anri nodded.

Subaru stared into the fire. "Say, isn't it kind of risky to just carry that key around like that?" Subaru asked, mostly to give himself time to think.

Anri chuckled. "It's fine, Subaru. It can't be stolen."

"What do you mean?"

"This key belongs to me. It's been heavily enchanted. It can't be stolen or even taken from me under duress. If either of those happen, then key ceases to work until it's given back to its rightful owner. Access to the archives can only be given willingly!"

"Nice feature," Subaru admitted.

Anri smirked, tucking the key back under her collar. "I always thought so! It's actually safer with me out here in the wilds than if I had just left it in a safe in Siros or with my Grandfather. The key can be stolen from whomever I give it to but not from me. The magic doesn't allow it."

They sat in silence for a moment.

"Anri, if me and Emilia did decide to help you," Subaru said slowly. "What would you want us to do?"

"I don't know," She admitted.

Subaru stared at her incredulously. "Well jeez, Anri. Thanks for making these negotiations so simple!"

"I don't know!" Anri replied helplessly. "My home is in desperate danger! But you managed to defeat an entire brigade of Sanshi soldiers effortlessly! I even heard that you once managed to kill a troll with your bare hands!"

Subaru sighed and buried his face in his hands. "That story is going to be engraved on my tombstone! 'Subaru Natsuki, Troll slayer.'"

Anri grinned at him. "Call yourself 'Trollbane.' It sounds more macho."

"Good idea. Thanks," Subaru chuckled.

"And that doesn't even get into the stories of the machines that I heard that you made. With your help, Siros could become the economic powerhouse of the continent!"

"Yeah, Anri, that's all well and good," Subaru murmured. "But I meant more immediately. How do you think I could help you fight against Griest?"

"I don't know," Anri said honestly. "I am completely out of ideas and before we met, I was getting ready to surrender just to protect my people from further destruction. But I watched you and Emilia do incredible things in just days! Emilia slew the scourge of the continent! You defeated the Black Water and destroyed an enemy camp! I would have needed a full regiment of soldiers to even hope to do either of those things. You both did them singlehanded. Subaru, I think that if you would turn the full force of your brain to saving my people, we might have a chance!"

Subaru thought about it for a long time. "I'll think about it," He promised.

"Thank you," Anri replied.

Subaru frowned. "You said that you needed supplies right? What kind of supplies does Siros need?"

Anri pulled a letter out of her pocket and handed it to Subaru. "Grandfather sent me this," She said.

Subaru scanned it. "Food, medicine, weapons… Damn, you guys are running short of just about everything, aren't you?"

Anri bowed her head. "As I said… we're desperate. You can keep that list, if you want."

Subaru nodded and tucked it into a pocket.

If this is accurate than Anri's friends in Siros are likely just this side of starving…

Subaru scratched his chin. "If we only had a way to locate merchants who'd be willing to ship goods through a warzone," He mused. "Hey, Anri, Siros can pay for goods, right? I mean, we don't need to worry about finding merchants willing to ship goods on credit, do we?"

"House Ithil is very wealthy, Subaru!" Anri said, sounding offended. "We're not looking for charity!"

"OK!" Subaru said defensively. "Forget that I asked!"

"Subaru, give me your hand," Anri said. "I'll heal the muscles a little."

Subaru complied. Anri took his hand and Subaru felt a pleasant warmth radiating through his arm. "Anri, if you can heal my arm why can't you heal your own?"

Anri chuckled. "Like I told you, the damage here isn't nearly as bad as it looks. I'm a really bad mage, Subaru. I can mend torn flesh but not broken bones."

"Huh," Subaru mused.

They sat there quietly for a bit while Anri tried to heal Subaru's arm.

Anri yawned. "Alright. My mana is all used up. Should we take turns keeping watch tonight?"

Subaru shook his head. "You should just try to get some sleep," He replied. "I don't think I could sleep right now if I tried. Besides, I slept until this afternoon anyway."

"Alright," Anri said, pulling out her rapier. "If you're going to stand guard, why don't you hang onto this? It's not going to do me much good at the moment anyway."

Subaru took the rapier from her. "Thanks," Subaru said. He admired the beautifully crafted sword.

"It was my Mother's," Anri said fondly.

Subaru nodded. "I'll take good care of it."

Anri squinted at him in confusion.

"What?"

"You're not… holding that right," Anri said, sounding baffled. "I've heard all kinds of stories about what a dangerous warrior you are. Didn't anyone ever teach you how to use a sword?"

"Nope," Subaru admitted. "Every time I was in danger I just kind of… blundered my way through, I guess."

Anri stared at him incredulously.

"When does Emilia need her next dose?" Subaru changed the subject.

"Not until dawn. We'll change her bandages again and see where we are," She yawned.

"OK. Why don't you go to bed."

Anri nodded. "Good night, Subaru," She said, stepping away from the fire and curling up in one of the blanket rolls.

A few moments later, Subaru heard her quietly snoring.

"I guess she really was tired," Subaru murmured to the sleeping Emilia resting in his lap. "No big surprise. I'd guess she hasn't been sleeping much for the past few days. Too busy taking care of us…"

Emilia didn't respond except to smile slightly as Subaru stroked her hair.

He sighed. "Mili, I just don't know what to do anymore," He whispered. "When I first got to this world, I thought that I could do anything but now… it just feels like everything is spinning out of control and now it's falling apart faster and faster. We've only got each other now. It's just you and me…"

Subaru shook his head. "What the hell are we going to do? Anri asked us to help her save her people. I can't act like we don't owe her one. It might even get us a new home if she was telling the truth. I know that staying permanently in Gusteko wasn't exactly in our plans but if decide that Siros just doesn't work for us, we could always move on to Kararagi…

"She says that she could even help us rescue the spirits and find a cure to your curse. It sounds perfect," Subaru looked down at the Emilia dreaming on his lap.

"So… why am I hesitating… Because she wants us to help her fight a war? That is going to be pretty damn dangerous but I bet I could manage. Give me enough time and I can probably invent a canon or a bomb or something similar."

Subaru shook his head and lowered his voice. "Emilia, something else has been bothering me about all this. It's about Anri. She shows up in the forest where nobody ever comes, just a day or so after we do. That's the same day that the grove with that weird door in it was destroyed. The same day that we found Patrasche. The same day that someone left us that forged note. Anri just… shows up. She shows up right in the nick of time when we needed a healer and when I got poisoned, she knew right where to bring us to find medicine for what must be a pretty rare condition."

Subaru's voice grew uncertain. "How could… Mili, I like Anri… At least, I think I do… But how many of those events could all be coincidence? Something has to tie them all together but I don't know what. I like Anri but… I'm not so sure that I trust her…"

Anri's breathing was deep and even on the other side of the campfire.

He sighed. "I guess it doesn't really matter right now," Subaru admitted. "Look at it anyway you want. We don't have a choice. Anri is our only hope to figure out how to lift the curse on you so… let's play this out and see how it goes."

He looked down at his lover. "Emilia, I'm so sorry that I let all of this happen. I can't believe how close I came to losing you because of my own carelessness. I dragged you through fights with the Sin Archbishops, a run in with Reinhard, a fight with the Snow Blight, the Black Water, and even Elsa."

Subaru shook his head. "You were right to tell me to leave you, Mili. All I've ever done is put you in danger. But I get it now. I finally understand. From now on, you won't have to worry about anything. I'm going to take care of you and make sure that you have a happy, stable life. From now on all of the problems and the violence are going to stay far away from you, Mili. I'll be your shield against the world. I promise. Promises are important and I must keep my promises."