Re:Zero - The King of Pride

Subaru sat on Patrasche in the dark Elior forest. They had been standing there for nearly half an hour. Patrasche was looking at her master with thinly veiled irritation. Patrasche was born to run. Only Patrasche's loyalty and fondness for her master kept her there.

Patrasche twitched as she heard something creep through the snow.

She looked up and saw a Guiltylowe and a whole pack of wolgarm prowling through the trees.

Patrasche drew herself up in panic with a loud cry. She prepared to flee.

"Easy, girl!" Subaru whispered, patting her head. "Easy. Nothing to worry about. These are my creatures now."

I hope.

Patrasche still looked terrified but she settled down slightly.

I suppose I really can't blame her. The look in these monsters' eyes constantly assures me that they'd rip me to shreds if they could find a way to do it. They obey me as long as my magic constrains them to do so and not a moment longer.

More and more of the mabeasts that Subaru had mastered the other day appeared until he had three Guiltylowe and almost fifty wolgarm standing around him.

This many mabeasts could probably defeat a small army, especially if they took them by surprise.

With a thought, Subaru directed his mabeasts to surround the camp and they silently spread out to do so.

This is going to be bloody. Do I really have to go this far? Do I need to kill all of them?

Leaving a few alive to the spread word of how dangerous the forest is would be a good idea, right?

Look, these guys are smugglers. Bad people, no question, but I'm talking about slaughtering them wholesale. Is that really necessary? I mean, sure they're criminals but I don't have any evidence that they're really these horrible people who deserve nothing but death. This isn't like killing people in a fight, although that's bad enough. This is ordering the mabeasts to slaughter them. This is coldblooded murder. Am I really willing to cross that line?

Another part of Subaru whispered, Emilia is in danger from these men. That needs to be your only concern. Slaughtering these men will ensure Emilia's safety and that your base of operations remains secure.

It's a dirty business but that's why it's been given to you: You can make the hard choices necessary to keep your family safe. Part of these hard choices is making sure that they never have to worry about what the price of their safety really is or if it was worth it. You can carry that burden alone and ensure that Emilia remains happy. That's your job.

All the same it is a dark night and it's not impossible that some of these men could escape. Mabeasts are apt to be more interested in tearing their prey to bits than ensuring that none of them get away. Any rumors of Subaru Natsuki commanding a horde of mabeasts would cause enormous complications for your plans to protect Emilia and rescue Beatrice and Puck. No one can know that the monster of the wood is in reality Subaru Natuski.

Subaru shook his head.

No. I'm just going to scare them. Word of a dangerous monster in the woods served by a horde of mabeasts will be enough to school the locals to continue giving it a wide berth. And it shouldn't attract any more attention from the kingdom since the kingdom has been ignoring the cursed wood for this long anyway.

I'll use the mabeasts to scare them and send them running out of the forest.

Of course, if I do want them to survive then I had better figure out who I'm going to tell them that I am. After all, they need to tell everyone who the monster in the wood is and ensure that nobody thinks it's Subaru Natsuki.

What kind of alias could I use? What's suitable for the Witch of Pride?

Subaru sensed that his mabeasts were all in position and that nobody had detected them yet.

Subaru unleashed his monsters.

Bob was walking over to one of the wagons to find a bit of beer. He was far from the fire and he was fumbling around in the dark when he heard a faint sound, like someone walking through the snow.

Bob put his hand on his polished sword and peered into the dark until he saw a gleam of red eyes. Walking slowly toward him with a feral smile was a Guiltylowe almost twice his size.

Bob could only stare in horror. He blinked as if hoping it would dispel the terrifying vision but the Guiltylowe continued to approach unhurriedly.

"Guiltylowe!" Bob screamed. "Get up, lads, we're being attacked!"

The entire camp jumped up or crawled out of their tents, drawing swords. Thirty cut-purses and alley thugs against a Guiltylowe wasn't great odds but these were hardened men and they had no intention of going down without a fight. A lot of them would die but so would the Guiltylowe.

The men gathered in a clump to make their stand. The beast just grinned down at them, its huge fangs gleaming in the fire light.

Bob jumped as he heard another roar behind them.

He looked over his shoulder and saw two other Guiltylowes entering the firelight, sporting their own fanged grins. Beside them, dozens of wolgarms approached the camp.

The men looked at each other helplessly. Their chances had gone from slim to nonexistent.

They raised their swords for a final stand when they heard a voice call out, "Heel!"

The mabeasts all froze in place and then sat back on their haunches, watching the men intently.

Bob saw a man in a hooded robe ride into the firelight on top of a great black riding dragon.

The man cocked his head. "What madness bade you to enter into my forest?" He asked almost politely.

"Uh," Joe began. He took a step forward, raising his hands in surrender. He cringed as this brought him to within touching distance of a Guiltylowe. The Guiltylowe bared its fangs but didn't move. "Forgive us, my lord. We had absolutely no idea that this here forest was your property."

The man didn't answer immediately. "No idea? Are you saying that you did not know that this forest was the property of the Sorcerer King Taiyang? Whose curse blights the very air that you breathe? Whose will dominates every witchbeast within this forest?" He sounded offended.

Joe swallowed hard. "I'm afraid not, my lord. My men and I aren't too wise, you understand. We're only in this forest at all because Lady Koi ordered us to!"

"And who is Lady Koi?" Taiyang asked.

"Our employer, sir! She runs the smuggling branch of the Black Silver Coins cartel," Joe said.

Bob winced to hear Joe give up their employer this easily. Lady Koi would certainly have the lot of them killed if she found out about this but right now that seemed to be the least of their problems.

He heard Tim whispering, "Listen, lads. This monster will kill us as easily as we'd swat a fly. Whenever it's done toying with us and getting our hopes up, it'll finish the job. Even if it let us leave, if we fail our mission, Lady Koi will make us wish that it didn't. We have only one chance: take him by surprise. I want everybody to draw their bows. At my signal I want thirty arrows in this Taiyang's chest. Once he's dead the mabeasts should panic and turn tail."

Bob thought this was a desperate idea that had only the faintest possibility of working but he loosened his rapier in its sheath. The sword was his pride and joy. He had stolen it off a drunken nobleman that he had stabbed as a boy and he had kept it well-polished ever since.

"Hm. An interesting thought. Should my righteous anger fall on the heads of those who simply carried out the orders or on the one who actually gave them?" Taiyang mused.

Bob saw the light of hope flare in Joe's eyes. "I swear to you, my lord. None of us wanted to come into this here forest but the Lady threatened our lives!"

This was something of an exaggeration but Bob knew full well that Lady Koi certainly would have killed them all if they had refused to follow her orders.

"Where can I find this Lady Koi?"

"She has an estate, my lord! We left there but this morning," Joe gave him directions.

Bob started to breathe a little bit easier. Maybe he'll blame Koi instead of us.

"Fire!" Tim yelled.

All the men drew their bows and shot a flurry of arrows at Taiyang.

Bob hissed. Any chance of talking Taiyang down had vanished. Now they either killed him or died themselves. Bob desperately drew his rapier and stabbed it at the man's throat.

The arrows that found their mark all bounced off Taiyang without effect and Bob's rapier didn't even seem to break Taiyang's skin. However, the riding dragon reared back with a roar to avoid the arrows and Taiyang fell onto the cold ground with a thud that knocked the wind out of him. The riding dragon lost its balance, staggering backwards and barely avoiding falling onto its master as it landed in the snow.

Before anyone could move, Joe screamed. Bob spun around to see a Guiltylowe sink its great fangs into Joe's large gut and ripping out a massive chunk of flesh and organs the size of a pig.

Joe's body collapsed in on itself as he fell to the ground, a great pool of blood spreading around him while Joe screamed and his limbs thrashed helplessly.

The Guiltylowe paid no attention to Joe's screams and returned for a second great bite of flesh, chewing his organs as the man slowly died, his eyes wide with horror.

Tim was driven to the ground as five wolgarm leaped upon him. The wolf-like monsters wolgarm didn't bother with a killing blow, simply tearing great mouthfuls of flesh from Tim's body as they went into a feeding frenzy.

Bob heard a low growl behind him and whirled around with his rapier extended.

The Guiltylowe bit through Bob's sword arm in one great chomp.

Bob staggered back his eyes wide as a river of blood poured out of his missing arm. Bob stared at his arm that now ended just below the shoulder with horrified amazement. He raised the remains of his arm and watched it tremble and the blood flow increase.

The Guiltylowe chewed thoughtfully on Bob's forearm for a moment or two and then let it fall out of its mouth with the rapier still tightly gripped in the hand.

Bob stumbled backwards and landed on the ground. Bob saw the Guiltylowe's eyes narrow in dreadful intent and he began frantically crawling backwards.

"Leave me alone, you devil!" Bob screamed.

The Guiltylowe pounced and pinned Bob down with one great paw. Then its maw descended on Bob's midsection and he felt the beast's teeth tear him in half. Bob's final sight was the mabeast standing over him, chewing. The beast let the great mass of flesh fall out of its jaws without bothering to swallow any of it and then it went back for a second bite as Bob's vision faded.

Subaru lay stunned in the snow for several moments.

My hood is down! They know who I am!

Worry about it later! How did this happen?! I never thought they'd try to fight me when they were surrounded by mabeasts!

Subaru heard screams and the terrible sounds of tearing flesh.

Subaru shook his head and fought his way back to his feet. "Stop it!" He roared to the mabeasts. "Leave them alone!"

But it was too late. In fact, most of the mabeasts had already abandoned the men. The creatures seemingly lost all interest in their prey the moment that it died.

The few smugglers still alive were pale and shaking, their bodies lying in multiple pieces on the forest floor. They stared up at Subaru in horror.

Subaru bit his lip and took a deep breath. "This is your own fault, you know," He muttered, in an uncertain voice. "You threatened someone who means everything to me. You have no one to blame for this but yourselves," He finished as their eyes slowly went distant and their breathing stopped.

Subaru took a deep breath and looked over the field of torn up corpses.

He gagged. Subaru doubled over, trying not to throw up.

A nearby Guiltylowe glowered at Subaru with eyes as red as fresh blood. It licked its chops clean and seemed to be trying to convey to Subaru that it would much rather have torn him apart than some nameless smugglers.

How did this happen?! I never told them to attack! Did they break free of my mental orders when I lost my concentration?

No, I doubt that. If they were able to break loose, I'm sure they'd all rather kill me than kill the smugglers.

But then, how did this happen? I never told them to attack. Did I? I mean… I never thought that the smugglers would be dumb enough to attack when they were so clearly surrounded and outmatched. I never even considered the possibility…

Fuck, I'm an idiot! When the arrows came at me, I panicked. Indomitable only lasts for five seconds, I can't handle a sustained volley of arrows! Did I… Did I tell the mabeasts to defend me without thinking about it?

Subaru was gasping for breath and trembling. The mabeasts stood glowering at Subaru or meandered through the vast pool of blood and offal, seemingly annoyed that their master hadn't given them permission to leave yet.

I know that I was thinking about killing them before. It was the logical thing to do but…

Subaru screamed as he felt something nudge him from behind and spun around to see Patrasche there, nuzzling his shoulder.

"Patrasche," Subaru whispered. "Are you alright, girl? Did those arrows hurt you?"

Subaru quickly examined the dragon.

"You look OK," Subaru said dubiously. He checked the old wound on her shoulder but it was fine. "You're lucky that you didn't reopen that when you fell…"

Patrasche rubbed her face against Subaru's chest. She looked somewhat ashamed for panicking and dropping her rider.

"It's OK, girl," Subaru said, patting her head. "It wasn't your fault. It was my stupidity. It's always my stupidity!" Subaru shouted the last part and it echoed out across the frozen forest.

Subaru panted for breath and held onto the riding dragon like she was a lifeline.

This wasn't my fault. It was self-defense…

They attacked me. What else could I have done?

I didn't mean for this to happen. It's not my fault.

It's not my fault…

Subaru took a deep breath. "Patrasche, you OK for another ride? We should head back home."

Patrasche clucked agreeably.

Subaru gave her a weak smile. "Good girl."

Well… This was a complete disaster. I can't imagine how I mishandled this mess so badly! I was specifically trying not to kill them! Then…

Oh, fuck me.

Well, I proved that the forest is dangerous at least. When 'Lady Koi' finds out that her smugglers were massacred passing through the forest, I doubt that she'll be quick to try again. That's a silver lining.

I have no idea where I pulled the name 'Taiyang' out of. I was already talking to them when I suddenly realized that I had never picked out a name for myself and I started frantically trying to think of names to use.

I don't know what Taiyang means. I think that Taiyang was a Chinese sun god? Maybe?

I can't remember. It just popped into my head and I rolled with it. I suppose a Sun God is a pretty good name to apply to the Witch of Pride.

Or maybe I should just stop trying to rationalize a really dumb name. They're all dead so it's not like I'm committed to calling myself Taiyang anymore. Next time, I'll come up with a better name.

I need to keep what I did quiet. Emilia will freak out if she finds out that I almost got shot by a dozen arrows.

I'll just tell her that the mabeasts did all the work and I stood back and watched. It's not exactly a lie.

Subaru climbed back onto Patrasche. He glanced down at the mabeasts who were cleaning their bloody fur in the snow.

I'd give anything to be able to tell the lot of you to go away and never come back, Subaru thought grimly. For their part, the mabeasts seemed no fonder of Subaru now that they'd had a good meal, or at least some sport, than they had been before.

Subaru sighed. Like it or not, I need them. They're all I have to work with right now.

"Thanks for all the help, guys," Subaru muttered to the belligerent mabeasts. "You can go home now."

Subaru was exhausted when he returned to the cottage. He'd left Patrasche standing outside while he checked on Emilia and Anri.

Emilia was still asleep in bed and Anri was sitting in a chair beside her.

"Subaru," Anri said, jumping up. "What happened? Did you find the men?"

Subaru nodded wearily. "Yeah. A bunch of smugglers. About thirty of them in fact who were trying to use the forest as a shortcut into Gusteko."

Anri's face grew concerned. "Subaru, what are you going to do? If people start coming into the forest, you and Emilia won't be safe here for very long. We'll need to head toward Siros immediately."

Subaru snorted, ignoring her less than subtle hint. "Don't worry about it."

Anri looked incredulous. "Subaru! What if those smugglers saw the village?!"

"They might have but they won't be seeing anything else ever again," Subaru sighed, the field of ripped up corpses flashing before his eyes. "Or telling anyone about it for that matter."

Anri's eyes widened.

Subaru shook off the image of the corpse field and rubbed his eyes. "I'm exhausted. Hang on a second, I'm going to put Patrasche in the stable."

"I'll do that," Anri asserted. "You stay here. I could use a walk before bed anyway. I'll talk to you both in the morning. I got Emilia to drink some of the soup while she slept. There's still some left if you want any."

"Thanks, Anri," Subaru called. "Goodnight."

"Night," Anri slipped outside and closed the door.

Subaru heaved a great sigh. "I know that I need to eat something," Subaru said to nobody, "But honestly, I think I'd rather just go to sleep and forget about the last few days. They've been pretty rough."

Subaru went over to the pot on the counter and poured himself a bowl of soup.

He walked over to the bed and sat down on a chair next to Emilia while he ate.

"Hm. This is good," Subaru said in surprise. "Is there anything Anri can't do? That girl is really starting to make me feel in adequate! Honestly, if not for Felt, I'd suggest that she start dating Reinhard!"

Subaru chuckled briefly but it sounded weak and forced even to him. The smile fell off his face. "I guess I'm not ready to make jokes about them yet. I'm still pretty fucking pissed about what happened…"

Subaru rubbed his face. "Mili, I know what you'd say. I know that they meant well but I also know that they meant to kill you! Even if I was sure that they wouldn't try to do it again, I don't know if I could ever… forget about what happened…"

Subaru shook his head as he finished the soup. He brought the bowl over to the sink to clean it. "Well, I guess it's not really an issue right now. If I see Red again anytime soon, there'll definitely be a fight. A fight that I'll lose in a matter of seconds and then you'll…"

Subaru slammed the almost empty bowl into the sink with unreasonable force. He took a deep breath and the proceeded to scrub the bowl. When he finished cleaning the bowl, he dumped out what little was left in the pot and scrubbed that as well.

Subaru took his clothes off and climbed into bed beside Emilia. The bandages covering her side ensured that Subaru didn't forget what state she was in.

What do I do? Normally I'd wrap my arms around her while we slept but maybe she's too fragile for that right now.

Should I even be in bed with her? Although there aren't a ton of other options for places to sleep. I doubt that Anri wants me to sleep with her.

Subaru was still mulling this over when he fell asleep.

As sleep took him, his mind mused on a final thought: How did Anri get far enough out of the village to find those tracks? And so quickly? She didn't have nearly enough time to walk that far. And why didn't I see any sign of her tracks when I was coming back to the village?

Unfortunately, Subaru would have forgotten these questions by morning.

Subaru woke up early the next morning, feeling well rested for the first time in days.

He opened his eyes and stared at Emilia's beautiful face for several moments before realizing that she was looking back at him.

"Subaru?" She whispered. "How did we get back here?"

"Emilia!" Subaru shouted, sitting up in bed, instantly wide awake. "Are you alright?!"

Emilia thought for a moment as she sat up. "I think so," She murmured. "What happened?"

Subaru looked awkward. "So, this is kind of a long story. It starts with the fight with Elsa."

"Elsa…?" Emilia whispered. Her eyes widened. "Yes! I remember now! I fought Elsa! I… I defeated the Bowel Hunter…" She said in astonishment.

Subaru hung his head and looked away. "Mili," He whispered. "I am so, so sorry."

Emilia cocked her head in confusion.

Subaru's face was filled with guilt. "When you really needed me, I wasn't there to help you. You were in danger and I was sick in bed like a kid with a runny nose," Subaru grated, disgusted with himself. "I'm so sorry. This mess was all my fault."

Emilia stared at Subaru in shock. "Subaru, that wasn't your fault," She assured him. "You were ill because you'd already saved me from the Black Water! You can't do everything by yourself. Besides," She chuckled. "This gave me a chance to protect you for a change!"

Subaru sighed. "Seems to me that you've been doing most of the protecting lately."

Emilia shook her head smiling. "It's alright, Subaru. We're together and safe now. That's what matters." Emilia paused and looked up at the ceiling. "I… defeated the Bowel Hunter," She said in a tone almost of wonder.

Subaru looked uncomfortable. "Emilia," He said slowly. "About… that fight we had the other day…"

Emilia's eyes widened and she looked away, biting her lip.

For a long moment, neither one said anything.

Subaru took a deep breath. "I was wrong," He apologized.

"You were right," Emilia sighed at the same time.

They looked at each other in confusion.

Subaru shook his head. "No, Mili. What I said about Puck and the villagers, I was… way out of line. I took out all my frustrations on you and that's inexcusable. I hope that you'll forgive me."

Emilia pulled her knees to her chest and looked down moodily. "Well, you weren't wrong though. I thought that you deserved better than to be stuck here with me so I decided that the best thing for me to do would be to send you away even if it hurt. But I never asked you what you wanted. Or took the time to realize that by forcing us apart, I would be hurting you too… I'm sorry…"

Subaru sighed, "We've… both been under a ton of stress the past few days."

Emilia nodded wearily, "It feels like I left the capitol lifetimes ago."

Subaru coughed, "I'm not saying that let's forget about it because… maybe we can learn something from what happened and be better next time we're both stressed out and arguing. But do you think that you'd be willing to forgive me?"

Emilia smiled at him, "Of course I will. Will you forgive me?"

"Obviously!"

They smiled at each other for a moment then Emilia urged him on. "Finish the story, Subaru. What happened after I fought Elsa?" Emilia asked.

Subaru thought for a moment. "Well, Elsa had got you pretty good with her knives…"

Emilia reached under the covers and winced as she rubbed the huge bandage wrapped around her side.

"As you probably remember, Elsa's daggers are poisoned and you were in a really bad way because your wound wouldn't close."

"Wait, what about Victoire? She was wounded too!"

Subaru growled, "Victoire was fine because that bitch decided to drink all of the antidote herself. And I'm just dying to have a nice, long talk with her about that…"

Emilia frowned. "If she drank all of the antidote than how did I survive?"

Subaru rolled his eyes. "After Victoire pigged out on the antidote, we needed to find more medicine. Anri sent Victoire off to deliver some letters or something, probably to prevent me from killing her when I found out what she did. Anri and I went to find the antidote. We visited a Sanshi army camp and we managed to talk our way in. We almost managed to talk our way back our with the medicine but our famous bad luck intervened," Subaru sighed.

"What does that mean?" Emilia asked.

"The soldiers figured out who we were," Subaru grumbled. "Someone from Iruk had shown up and reported what happened and he identified us. We were seriously outnumbered and we had to fight our way out."

"Are you and Anri alright?!"

"We're both fine," Subaru sighed. "The forces of Sanshi? They didn't have such a good day."

"Subaru, how did you get out of that situation if you were so outnumbered?"

Subaru sighed. "I used my Authority," He whispered. "And well… that's pretty much all she wrote."

Emilia furrowed her brow, looking at Subaru in concern. She seemed to debate her next words. Finally she shook her head and asked. "What happened next?"

Subaru shrugged. "Not much honestly. We camped out in the woods the night after we raided the army camp and we came back here late last night."

"Where's Anri?" Emilia asked in concern.

"She's fine," Subaru shrugged. "She's sleeping in the other cottage again."

"I'll have to thank her for everything she's done for us," Emilia mused. "We need to do something nice for her."

Subaru hesitated. "Yeah…"

Not yet. We'll talk about Anri's war later. Emilia just woke up. It's too much to dump on her right now.

"Well, you haven't eaten in days so I bet your hungry!" Subaru said, climbing out of bed and pulling his clothes on. The sun shone bright and clear and the near constant cloud cover over the forest had dissipated.

EMilia smiled. "Famished!"

"I'll make breakfast," Subaru volunteered.

"I'll help you," Emilia said, climbing out of bed.

Subaru gently restrained her. "Why don't you just stay in bed for now. It's cold in the cottage. Give it a chance to warm up first. Besides, you've got to be tired after the past few days."

Emilia stared at him. "Subaru, I can endure the cold much better than you can. And I slept through the past few days."

Subaru shrugged, picking her feet up and tucking a baffled Emilia back under the covers. "You've been through a lot lately and your body is still healing. Don't rush it, is all I'm saying."

Emilia looked at him incredulously. "Subaru, this isn't about fighting an enemy! This is making breakfast!" Emilia protested, climbing out of bed again.

"Mili! I-"

"I feel fine, Subaru," Emilia said firmly. "I'm perfectly capable of helping you make breakfast."

Subaru sighed as Emilia pulled her clothes over the huge bandages. She walked past him and began to inspect the food bags looking for something they could cook.

"Subaru, I think this is porridge," Emilia said, pulling something out of the bag.

Subaru stared down at the bag that she held in her hands. It was filled with something that reminded Subaru of plain cereal flakes.

"OK, Mili. Well, I'm really glad that you told me this was porridge because I never would have guessed that otherwise. Do you know how to cook it?"

Emilia flushed. "Not really."

"Me neither! OK, time to start our next big adventure: cooking!"

Emilia gave him a funny look. "This is our next big adventure?"

"Yeah. And frankly, I think it might be one of my favorites," Subaru replied. "Remember, it's very rare when you get injured by cooking something improperly. Believe me, I like our quest to make porridge way more than I enjoyed dealing with Snow Blights, Archbishops, and murderous soldiers!"

Emilia snorted with laughter.

"Any thoughts on how we start?" Subaru asked.

"Umm. I think we fill a pot with water and then we cook it over the fire?" Emilia suggested. "Sorry. I wasn't really paying attention when Mother Fortuna used to make porridge."

"Oh, that's alright, Mili. We're smart and resourceful people. We can figure this out! Want to grab the pot?"

Emilia walked over to the counter and pulled out a large pot. She filled it with water from the sink.

Emilia carried the pot over to the fire pit. Meanwhile, Subaru gathered some more kindling and sticks from a nearby stack of wood lying in the corner. He began to dump them into the faint embers lying in fire pit. The fire slowly began to grow.

Emilia hung the pot on a beam over the fire pit. "I think you should put the porridge in now."

Subaru took the bag and unceremoniously dumped it the porridge into the pot. The pot began to overflow.

"Oops. I think I put too much water in it," Emilia said, shamefaced. "Puck says that I'm not a very good cook," Emilia confessed.

"Yeah, Beako was telling me the same thing. But hey, we'll learn together, right?"

Emilia nodded.

"So, any idea what we do now?"

"Um. Stir it and wait for it to cook?"

"Sounds good. Um, Mili, how will we know when it's done cooking?"

"I don't know!"

The pot bubbled and continued to overflow.

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in!" Subaru called.

Anri opened the door and froze there in shock, staring at the strange scene unfolding before her. "What are you doing?!"

Breakfast was badly burned porridge but it was edible.

Anri had managed to salvage the porridge and they'd all had a filling breakfast.

After they'd all finished eating, Anri changed Emilia's bandages.

"Your wound is healing nicely, Mili," Anri said, after she'd finished redressing the wound. "But I think maybe we should give you one more day of recovery before we take the bandages off."

"I thought you said that she'd be all better today!" Subaru said in sudden worry.

Anri gave him a strange look. "She's recovering very well, Subaru. But wounds take time to heal. I think that she would be fine if we really needed to take the bandages off today but why take chances?"

Emilia nodded. "That makes sense. They're not very uncomfortable," She assured them.

"Anri," Emilia murmured. "I'm guessing that you want to meet up with Victoire as quickly as possible."

Anri nodded. "She should be waiting for us in Stoneybrooke. We have a safe-house just outside the city."

"Where's that?" Emilia asked.

"It's north of Ganaks, just across the border into Gusteko," Anri replied.

"Hold on! There's no reason to rush, right?" Subaru protested.

Anri stared at him. "Actually, there kind of is a reason to rush, Subaru," Anri said in a disbelieving tone. "I've got this little 'war' going on, remember?"

Subaru made a face. "Look, if Emilia will have her bandages off in the morning then… let's just… head out to see Victoire tomorrow," Subaru suggested.

Emilia gave Subaru an incredulous look. "Subaru, I feel completely fine!"

Anri nodded. "She's perfectly safe to travel!"

Subaru shrugged. "Hey, like you said, why take chances if we don't have to! If she'll be all better tomorrow anyway, what do we really lose by making sure that she's completely mended before we leave the forest? You never know what's going to happen out there. Especially to us," He added.

Emilia looked annoyed. "Subaru, I'm fine!"

"You're almost fine," Subaru corrected mildly. "But you will be fine tomorrow so… why don't we just go tomorrow?"

"Subaru," Emilia protested, rolling her eyes.

"Hey! I just… don't want to take any chances with you, Mili," He whispered, wrapping his arms around her. "I almost lost you once already. We've been taking lots of chances the past few weeks. Most of the fights we've been in have been really close calls. If we'd been just a little bit slower or if we'd tired out a little bit quicker, we'd be dead. I just think we should make sure we're at one hundred percent before we leave the forest…"

Emilia looked up at him with mingled annoyance and sympathy. Finally, she laid her head against his shoulder with a resigned sigh. "Fine, Subaru. We'll wait until tomorrow."

"Great!" Subaru said cheerfully.

Emilia looked at Subaru with clear annoyance and shook her head. "Anri, I'll do the dishes since you did most of the cooking."

Subaru broke in. "I can do that-"

"Subaru!" Emilia shouted in an exasperated tone. "I can do the dishes myself!"

Subaru looked shocked at her tone. "Mili, I was just trying to help…"

Emilia shook her head. "I know, Subaru," She murmured, her voice sounding resigned. She walked over to the sink and began to wash the dishes.

Subaru scratched his head in confusion. Anri walked over to Subaru.

Anri glanced at Emilia and then lowered her voice, trying to make it look like they were discussing something else. "Subaru, don't you think that you're being, well… a little overprotective?"

Subaru looked at her incredulously. "She almost died, Anri! No, I don't think that I'm being 'overprotective!'" He hissed.

Anri folded her good arm across her chest, looking offended by his tone.

Subaru sighed. "Look, Anri," He murmured in a more conciliatory tone, "Will one day really make that big of a difference?"

"Uh, yeah! It could!" Anri hissed back. "This is a war and people are dying everyday! But more importantly, there is absolutely no reason that Emilia will be any safer traveling tomorrow than she is today. You trying to keep her here is irrational."

"Then I'll be irrational," He growled.

"Subaru," Anri shook her head.

"Anri, do you have any idea how close I came to losing her?" Subaru snapped.

"Probably better than you do," Anri whispered back. "But you didn't lose her! She's fine!"

Subaru scowled at her. "Anri, Emilia is my everything. I'm not going to take any chances with her ever again. The only reason she had to fight Elsa was because I dropped the ball. I won't make that mistake again. I'm going to make sure that Emilia is completely safe from now on!"

"Yeah, that's a really nice plan, Subaru," Anri said in a faintly mocking voice. "But you can't just wrap your girlfriend up in lamb's wool for the rest of her life because you're afraid that she'll prick her little finger!"

"Yeah, thanks for that," Subaru whispered. "I'll be sure to let you know if I'm looking for any more love advice from a fifteen year old!"

Anri glowered at Subaru. Her eyes glinted like ice as she brushed past Subaru and helped Emilia do the dishes.

Emilia gave Subaru an annoyed glance and he belatedly realized that she had heard every word they'd said…

After they had finished the dishes, Anri had gone back to the other cottage in a bit of a huff. Emilia sat on the bed looking at Subaru with annoyance.

Subaru scratched his chin. OK. I'm not sure why staying in her own home for another day is bothering Emilia but I'm not dumb enough to ignore it either.

"Sooo," Subaru mused. "I'm guessing you don't feel like going back to bed?"

Emilia glared at him.

"Right," Subaru coughed. "Any thoughts on what you do feel like doing today?"

Emilia frowned thoughtfully.

"This could be great!" Subaru said cheerfully, sitting down beside her. "We have an extra day when we can actually just relax. What do you think we should do?"

Emilia didn't answer immediately. Finally she sighed. "Well, I have a few chores I really need to get done before we leave again. Especially," She added in a sad tone. "If we might end up heading toward Siros with Anri since we might be gone for a long time…"

Subaru gently took her hand in his. "Of course. Just tell me what needs to get done, I'll take care of everything," He promised.

Emilia smiled. "That's sweet of you, Subaru, but I'm feeling fine. We should get everything done in half the time if we're working together."

Subaru shrugged. "Why not just give me a list of tasks? I can take care of it all and you don't need to strain yourself."

Emilia blinked. "Strain myself? Subaru, I'm much stronger than you are! I used to do all of these chores nearly every day and all on my own!" She said in exasperation.

"Sure but that wound won't feel good if you take it out into the cold," He urged.

Emilia closed her eyes and seemed to count to ten. "I'll be fine, Subaru," She sighed. "I have an injury. I'm not a cripple. You don't need to do everything for me." Emilia thought for a moment. "Actually, why don't you stay here and make plans for tomorrow with Anri? I can go take care of all the chores by myself."

"Oh no!" Subaru objected immediately.

"And why not?" Emilia asked in a dangerous voice. "Why shouldn't I do the same things I've always done before?"

"Emilia, you just had a traumatic injury!" Subaru protested.

"Which is healing! Subaru, I got hurt in a fight! I'm not an invalid! Why are you suddenly treating me like I'm made of porcelain and that I might shatter if you handle me roughly!"

"I'm not! I'm just… being careful," Subaru muttered.

"Careful?"

Subaru sighed. "I lost Beatrice and Puck. And I almost lost you too. You got hurt because I was passed out in bed when one of our enemies showed up," He said, hanging his head. "You got hurt because I wasn't there when you need me…"

A flicker of sympathy broke through Emilia's annoyed expression and she took his hand. "Subaru, you're not going to lose me," She whispered.

"Damn straight, I'm not," Subaru growled, staring down at the floor.

Emilia blinked.

Subaru put on a bright smile. "So let's go take care of those chores!" Subaru said getting up. "This is really going to be my first time seeing the village!"

Subaru got to his feet and grabbed her hands.

"Come on, Mili! I want to see the village! I've been waiting for this almost since the day we met!" Subaru cheered.

Emilia looked up at him in surprise and began to smile.

"Subaru, this was the 'Princess Tower.'"

Subaru frowned at the small, stone hut-like structure that Emilia had led him to. It reminded Subaru of a root cellar or an abandoned hovel of some kind. It was built under the roots of a tree and there was a door in the side that appeared to have an enormous number of locks.

I'm not sure if I ever saw anything that looks less like a tower in my life, much less anything having to do with princesses. This looks like the kind of place they'd lock up children for misbehaving in some orphanage.

Subaru gamely bent over and peered into the tiny 'house.' There was indeed a small bed inside and a pile of books.

Yup. No windows. And the locks are all on the outside…

Subaru stood back up and coughed, trying to word this delicately. "This is where the other elves made you live?" He asked.

Emilia looked awkward. "Well, I don't know if I'd use the term 'made' necessarily…"

Oh, you mean you choose to live in this dingy little place with locks on the outside of the door by your own choice? Yeah, right.

"What about Mother Fortuna?" Subaru asked, struggling to keep the edge out of his voice. "Was she OK with you living here?"

"Oh, I spent most of my time at her house but I never slept there. I always slept here," Emilia explained.

You know, Fortuna, I really wish that you were here right now. I'd have so very many questions for you…

And a few other things that I'd like to say to you too…

"Why didn't you live with her?" Subaru asked, struggling to keep the growl out of his voice. "What would persuade the townspeople that you needed to sleep here?"

Emilia made a face. "I think… in retrospect, that they were trying to hide me. I'm not sure from who or what."

Hide you? That's interesting. Wait. That suggests that maybe the people who attacked the forest were specifically looking for you!

Yeah, better move this conversation along before that thought crosses your mind!

"So where did Mother Fortuna live?" Subaru asked quickly.

Emilia pointed up at one of the larger houses nestled in the trees above them.

Subaru looked up at it. "Looks nice. Maybe we should check it out. We will need a bigger house at some point."

Emilia made a face. "Yeah… maybe…"

Subaru saw that Emilia's face had become broody and quickly changed the subject. "Hey, what's that meadow over there?" He asked, pointing at a large snowy field.

"That's where we used to play games in the evening," Emilia said with a faint smile. "When everyone finished our work, we would come out there and play games or pick flowers. That meadow was always full of wildflowers in the summer." Emilia shook her head with a sigh. "It should be summer now."

"This place is still beautiful, Mili," Subaru assured her.

Emilia bowed her head sadly. "No, this is just an echo of the forest's beauty. You've never seen it in springtime."

"But someday I will!" Subaru assured her.

Emilia looked at him.

"That's why we've been doing all of this, right? To break the curse and bring life back to the forest."

"But, Subaru, the dragon blood is all-"

"I know, Mili. I know," Subaru interrupted. "But I am absolutely certain that there is still a way to break the curse."

"How?"

"I have no idea," Subaru admitted.

"Then how are you so sure that we can still break the curse?"

Subaru sighed. "Before we fought Capella, Roswaal told me that he didn't need me to sign the slave contract anymore. He said that I would learn something in the fight that would convince me to willingly work with him. During the fight, Capella told me that the blood was all gone. That means Roswaal must know another way to break the curse. I'd never make an alliance with him if he couldn't offer me something important."

Emilia's eyes widened. "Subaru! You can't trust Roswaal!"

"I never said that I trusted him but if he has information I need, I'd at least consider doing him a favor in exchange for him giving telling me how to lift the curse. Of course, the other option would be the Authority. I am absolutely certain that the Authority could break this curse once I know how to control it."

Emilia looked even more unsettled. "Subaru! I don't want you using your Authority anymore!"

Jeez, Mili! You're being awfully picky about this for someone who has yet to offer a constructive proposal herself!

"Well, whatever," Subaru shrugged. "The important thing is that somehow or other, we will break this curse. And you know what we're going to do then? Like that very same day?"

Emilia squinted at him. "What?"

"We are going to go on a date!" Subaru proclaimed.

Emilia blinked. "What?!"

"Yeah! Crazy, isn't it? I asked you out on a date the day after we met and two months later we have yet to manage to find any free time to do it! But that's the plan. As soon as you and I break the curse, we are going to pack ourselves a picnic lunch and we are going to go out and sit in that meadow surrounded by wildflowers and we're going to spend the entire afternoon just sitting there and enjoying each other's company. Hell, we might even lay down and take a nap! Can you imagine that? Us having enough free time to just lay back and take an afternoon nap? As soon as we break this curse that is exactly what we're going to do!"

Emilia laughed. "Subaru! That's so silly! We save the forest and you want to celebrate by having a picnic?"

"Hey! I should get a vote in what we do!" Subaru chuckled. "Well, I'm calling the day when we finally end the curse! That day we'll do what I want to do and what I want to do is have a picnic and a slow lazy day snuggling with my Emilia!"

Emilia shook her head with a smile. "How do you do it, Subaru?" She said, linking her arm with his.

"Do what?"

"We're in a desperate situation right now: alone, friendless, and in great danger but you can still say something that just makes me want to burst from happiness."

Subaru smiled at her. "The feeling's mutual. Anyway, what chores did you want to get done before we leave?"

Emilia's smile flickered. "Well, I wanted to make sure that the top of the Crann-sine wasn't damaged in any of the storms," She hedged. "And… I thought that I should go clean the snow off all the villagers," She whispered. "They must be absolutely buried by now…"

Subaru coughed. "Not so bad actually," He replied awkwardly. "I… cleaned them off after our big fight…"

Emilia's eyes widened. "You did?"

"Yeah… I… I'm sorry about what I said about the villagers, Emilia. I didn't… I didn't understand how you felt about the people of the forest or how much it hurt you until I actually saw them. I found the statues and I tried to clean them off as best I could."

Emilia didn't reply right away. "Thank you, Subaru," She whispered, taking his hand.

"Wow. What's this?" Subaru asked looking up at what must have been one of the biggest trees in the forest. It was easily a two hundred feet tall and a broad ramp encircled the tree leading all the way to the upper branches.

Subaru and Emilia stood at the foot of the tree.

"This is the Crann-sine. It's 'the tree of the people,' or sometimes we called it the prayer tree. We used to gather here to pray."

"Neat," Subaru replied in a tone that indicated he didn't know why they were here.

Emilia smiled at him. "We're just going to go up to the platform at the top and make sure that it isn't damaged. We don't want any cracks or breaks in the ramps or the platform to get worse while I'm gone."

"Makes sense," Subaru replied. His face grew a mischievous smirk. "Hey, Mili. Race you to the top?"

Emilia rolled her eyes. "Subaru. What are you, a child? Why would we race to the top?"

"I'll give you a perfect reason why we should race to the top," Subaru said, pointing at a house behind them. "Look there and tell me what you see."

Emilia frowned and studied the house intently, looking for something special but nothing presented itself. "Um. Amarie's house? Subaru, what-"

Emilia turned around only to realize that Subaru was no longer standing beside her and was in fact already running up the ramp giggling.

Emilia's face twisted in outrage. "Subaru Natsuki! You dirty cheater!"

She lunged after him.

Subaru had gotten a large head start but Emilia not only caught up, she flew past him in a blur.

It took Subaru several minutes to reach the top of the tree. He was panting for breath when he reached the top platform.

The top platform was an enormous flat surface built into the upper canopy of the tree and it was the size of a baseball field. Several gazebo-like structures, with a wall covering one or more sides, dotted outer edge of the platform.

Emilia stood there waiting for him with her arms folded across her chest. "What kept you?" She asked in mock sympathy.

"You win!" Subaru said, gasping for breath. He put his arm around Emilia, leaning on her as he struggled to catch his breath. "How about a kiss for the gracious loser?"

"Nope!" Emilia turned her face away and put her nose up in the air. "Cheaters don't deserve kisses!"

"Oh, come on, Mili! That's a heavy penalty!" Subaru complained. "For how long?"

Emilia flashed him a mischievous grin. "Until I've decided that you've learned your lesson. Come on, Subaru. Let's take a quick look around."

"This place is beautiful!" Subaru said as they stood in one of the gazebos.

Emilia had shown him how the side wall of the gazebo could be slid around to block the wind and now they had a sheltered, cozy little hut to look over the forest that seemed to stretch out forever before them.

"We're lucky that it's so clear today!" Emilia said, looking at the snow covered trees fondly. "It's usually stormy in the forest."

"Yeah, no kidding. You can see forever up here!" Subaru said. The forest spread out before them and they couldn't see the end of it.

Emilia smirked at him. "I bet that you've never been up this high!" She boasted.

"Oh sure I have," Subaru replied calmly.

Emilia blinked.

Subaru glanced at her. "We're really good at building towers where I come from. Some of them can be thousands of feet high."

Emilia frowned at him. "Subaru. You said there wasn't any magic where you come from. Are you trying to trick me again?"

"No!" Subaru raised his hand as if he was under oath. "I swear! Those towers really exist and they're built without any magic at all."

Emilia glanced away with a pensive look on her face. "Subaru. Do you… ever miss your home?"

Subaru thought about it. "Not really. I mean… I miss my parents sometimes. I wish that there was a way to let them know that I'm OK and that I'm happy. And I'd love to have them meet you."

"Really?"

"Oh hell, yes!" Subaru said. "They would adore you!"

Emilia gave him a shy smile. "I know that Guese and Mother Fortuna would have liked you too."

Subaru smiled at her and stared out toward the horizon. "So I think that we're facing north?"

"Mmhm," Emilia agreed, pointing at a symbol drawn on the floor of the gazebo.

No clue what that symbol means. North, I guess?

"So the other day we were all the way up there?" Subaru asked, pointing at the trees far away.

"Actually, we were much further away than that," Emilia replied. "What you can see here is still the southern part of the forest. We arrived in the forest through the far northern western part."

"You told me once that you mapped the entire forest?"

"Yes. It kept Puck and me busy. It took us seven years."

Subaru gave a low whistle. "Wow. That's dedication."

"I almost never went to the northern part of the forest except for those times when I was making my map. The mabeasts up there are very aggressive. Especially the Snow Blight."

"Yeah, I remember," Subaru mumbled.

Emilia laughed.

Subaru smiled at her. "Well. Now that we're checked the platforms, I guess it's time to move on. I know this isn't quite as nice as a meadow filled with wildflowers but it's still a beautiful place to be."

"It is," Emilia agreed. "But now we need to go tend to the villagers."

"So any chance of a kiss before we depart this very romantic spot?" Subaru asked plaintively.

"You need to learn not to be a dirty cheater," Emilia replied primly.

"Haven't I been good since then?" Subaru whined.

"Not good enough," Emilia chuckled.

Subaru sighed in disappointment.

Emilia gently took his face between her hands. "This one's on credit," She teased.

Their lips met.