Roswaal stared at Emilia for a long moment. His face was expressionless but amusement fairly dripped from him. “Very well, please hurry up and fail so that Subaru and I can conclude our business. Time is pressing and you are cutting this close,” He said.

Emilia turned to go and Subaru made to follow.

“No, Subaru,” Emilia said, putting her hand against his chest. “You need to stay here and get the people in the Sanctuary ready to escape.”

“Emilia…” He whispered.

“I will do this,” She promised. She leaned in and kissed him.

Subaru held her gaze for a moment then nodded, “I know that you will. I have faith in you.”

Emilia flashed him a grin and then sprang out the door at a jog.

Felt gave Subaru a brief salute and then chased after Emilia.

“Be of good cheer, young Subaru,” Roswaal said philosophically, “At the very least, consider that by you rescuing Emilia from a terrifying fate here, you will complete her dependency on you. After all these failures, she’ll finally realize that she can accomplish nothing at all without your assistance. With that, and the poor spirit cat having gone missing, I doubt that she would ever even consider leaving you, which I know is your own worst fear.”

“Emilia loves me,” He spat at the bedridden sorcerer as Rem and Ram entered the room from behind Subaru.

“Oh?” Roswaal grinned, covering his mouth to hide his chuckling. “Is that what you think? I fear I may need to revise my opinion of your intelligence and deductive reasoning. Or is this less a case of poor reasoning than an application of willful blindness?”

“What the fuck are you talking about, Roz?” Subaru demanded.

“No, no. I’m certain that you are correct. Incidentally, I never had the opportunity to congratulate you on your success with Beatrice, did I? That poor lonely girl who spent four hundred years all alone in her library. Did you know that quite literally hundreds of people have attempted to form a contract with her? Hundreds of men and women from all different races and all walks of life. Many of them were supremely accomplished and often invested decades in their quest; either to acquire Beatrice’s extraordinary power or simply to soothe and comfort a lonely little girl out of sheer altruism. She rejected them, one and all. Yet she chose you. She formed a binding contract with you after knowing you for a mere matter of days.

“Reinhard van Astrea is the paramount warrior in all the world. There is no one else who even comes close. Nobles and kings from far and wide have competed for his service yet he offered it to you on virtually the very day you met.

“Felt is a street child with a pathological hatred of the nobility; she would as soon gut a nobleman as look at one for what they’re done to her and her friends. She is a born cynic who expects nothing from the upper class but fair words and then betrayal. Yet when you told her that you wanted to empty the slums, she not only believed you she believed in you. She follows you as a loyal retainer and cheers you to all who will listen as a man truly worthy of the throne.

“Or even darling Rem whom you effortlessly persuaded to reject her own senses, that so accurately warned her of the presence black magic, and embrace you as a friend.

“My personal favorite was at the announcement of the royal selection. You are a foreigner of no name or known linage with barely any understanding of the history and culture of Lagunica. Still you dared to approach the proud gentry of this land and asked that they bow before you as King. And yet, before the night ended, you had the entire nobility eating out of your hand. Several powerful nobles approached me afterward, feeling a need to comment on your remarkable presence, your almost… supernatural charisma. I was greatly tempted to laugh but I sensibly maintained self-control.

“And let us not forget the Lady Emilia, truly one of the most beautiful women in all the land, who fell head over heels in love with you practically at first sight!”

Subaru felt dizzy, “What are you trying to say, Roz?”

“Oh, nothing,” Roswaal assured him, “I’m certain that all of these people were single handedly won over by your charisma, your passion, and your sincerity. Your companions clearly feel a remarkable loyalty to you, young Subaru. Where you lead, they follow; sometimes in the face of logic or even their own good sense! You do deserve much adulation for accomplishing so much so quickly.

“It seemed almost too easy, did it not? After all, the only other possibility is that each and every one of your ‘friends’ has been influenced by your Authority. That their respect, fondness, and loyalty to you is simply a function of a magical charisma granted by black magic run amuck. Remember, the Authority responds to your unconscious wishes and seeks to give you exactly what you most desire. And what did a lonely friendless loser want more than anything else in the world? Why loyal friends, a loving family, and a beautiful woman who thinks that he is a hero.”

Subaru glared at Roswaal and for the first time in his life actually contemplated murdering a man in cold blood.

Subaru bit back his fury to focus on the matter at hand, “Roswaal, how long do we have until the cult gets here? Twenty four hours?” He asked.

“Oh, who knows?” Roswaal answered.

Subaru’s eyes widened, “You said that we had a day!”

“Oh, a day until the Sanctuary is completely destroyed but the Witch Cult is not very well organized,” Roswaal explained, “They’ll be dribbling in here one at a time. The Sanctuary itself isn’t going to be completely destroyed until just after sundown.”

“Sundown?” Subaru whispered.

“Yes, that will be the coup de gras,” Roswaal said.

Roswaal glanced past Subaru to look at the twins, “Oh, good news, Rem. It appears you were not in error after all. Subaru is in fact a Witch Cultist.”

Subaru heard Rem’s gasp but he didn’t turn around, “That is a damn lie, Roswaal. I never joined any cult and I am absolutely not working with any of these freaks.”

“Oh, can a Sin Archbishop of the Witch Cult be anything other than a member of the cult? You possess the power of the Archbishop because it was your destiny to do so. Your voluntary participation in any of their endeavors is completely irrelevant,” Roswaal replied.

Subaru scowled and fantasized about crushing Roswaal’s skull. Unfortunately, if Emilia failed to pass the trials then he needed Roswaal alive. “My destiny is a product of what I choose to do. And right now, I choose to go out and save as many people as I possibly can. I’m guessing that none of you feel like helping?” Subaru snarled. He didn’t even glance at Roswaal, he turned to look at Ram who appeared indifferent. Rem’s face was frozen in a mask of betrayal and horror.

Subaru scowled and swept from the room.

Subaru started back up the stairs to his room but he only made it about halfway before he buckled and fell to his knees, pressing his face against the wooden steps.

Is Roswaal right? Is my magic forcing people to respect me? To… care about me?

Why did Beatrice choose me? What could I possibly offer her that a million other people couldn’t? Why did she want to be my sister instead of Emilia’s? Or Rem’s? Or even Felt’s?

Reinhard was so impressed with my courage at facing down Elsa. But he’s a trained warrior. He’s probably seen thousands of examples of inspiring courage on and off the battlefield. What made me so impressive?

I always assumed Felt lied to the council for me because she thought she owed me one. Why? Because I gave her a couple of gold pieces?

Then I guessed that she was staying with me because I payed her to work for me. But the speeches she gives to the nobles and the peasantry about me are passionate and filled with idealism. They’re not the speeches of someone who’s just collecting a paycheck. Felt believes in me but why? What did I ever do to prove to her that I was anything but a well-intentioned bumbler? Or just another cynical liar trying to take advantage of her?

I remember when Rem and I were walking home in the rain. Rem admitted that she was wrong about me and she even burst into tears. I was so busy comforting her that I never stopped to think about how strange that was. What had I ever done that had convinced her? Saving the people at Arlem? Rem doesn’t know about Indomitable’s time restrictions, she probably watched me deal with the soldiers and just assumed I was invincible. So why would she even be impressed? An invincible person isn’t risking his life. You don’t deserve any respect or accolades if you pick a fight that there’s no way you could possibly lose. She couldn’t have been impressed by my ‘courage.’

Fuck… that’s it isn’t it? I mean maybe Beatrice, Felt, and Red really did choose me. I mean it’s possible even if it’s extremely unlikely but Rem? Her changing her mind about me makes absolutely no sense! I did nothing to convince her of my sincerity but one day she just decided that I was alright.

It makes no sense. It never made any sense that Rem would change her mind about you that easily. But if you unconsciously used magic to charm her… then it makes perfect sense.

And what about Emilia? Why would she ever choose someone like you? She’s been miserable with you. She wouldn’t even tell you how bad you make her feel but you do nothing but make her doubt herself and question her own self-worth.

God! I wish that I had died before I ever came here!

I thought I had a family! I thought that people loved me! But it was all just the magic. A filthy bit of black magic…

Can I get rid of it? Can I get rid of the Authority? I’d be a lonely friendless loser again but… at least I’d really know that the people around me weren’t being influenced by magic against their will. I’d know that I wasn’t poisoning them, corrupting them…

Actually yes, there is a way to get rid of the Authority, isn’t there?

Wish for it. Roswaal said the Authority responds to my wishes. Wish to be the same stupid cowardly loser that you were before. Truly wish for that, wish for it sincerely and the Authority will respond. It would make you nothing again. Reason and Judgment and Indomitable would disappear.

Earnestly wish for Reinhard, Beatrice, Rem, and Felt to wake up and realize how absolutely pathetic you are and they will do so. Wish for them to stop wasting their time with a loser like you and they will wander off in search of more worthy pursuits…

Wish for Emilia to open her eyes and realize that Subaru Natsuki is the real failure. That no matter how hard he tries he could never be good enough for her. Wish for that with all of your heart and Emilia will finally abandon you…

Tears were streaming down Subaru’s face as he beat his head against the stairs.

Subaru wept in sheer agony, sobbing into the steps. The rough wood ground against his skin. He wished it were rougher so that it would hurt more.

I can’t do it… I just can’t! …I’m too weak to ever wish to be nothing again. To wish to be all alone again… Even if everyone I care about is depending on me to free them from the witchcraft I can’t do it… I’m just too weak…

He cried for several minutes until he finally managed to calm himself.

Subaru took in a deep ragged breath, “I am a complete piece of shit,” He whispered to himself.

Subaru finally pulled himself together enough to make it up to the bedroom.

OK, focus. I sure hope Beatrice has managed to recover by now. She’s already slept for about fifteen hours and, frankly, we are all out of time.

“Beatrice,” Subaru gently shook her.

Beatrice moaned, “What is it, in fact?”

“Beako, we have a lot of problems and no time to solve them,” Subaru answered, lifting the barely conscious spirit out of bed and placing her on his shoulder.

“And what does that mean, I suppose?” Beatrice said, rubbing her eyes.

“The Sin Archbishops are coming here,” Subaru said.

Beatrice stiffed.

Well, that certainly woke her up in a hurry. Go me!

“But… Regulus?” She whispered.

“Him too I expect,” Subaru said. “Emilia is going to try to finish the trials. When she does we’ll be able to get everyone out of here and get clear before Regulus arrives. We have to get everyone ready to escape.” He said, moving quickly toward the door.

“But… what if he arrives before she finishes the trials, I suppose?” Beatrice asked in a small voice.

Subaru looked up at Beatrice and his frustration melted away. Beatrice might be a four hundred year old spirit but she was also just a little girl who was very afraid right now. She knew how powerful Regulus was and she knew that Emilia passing all three trials in one pass was a long shot.

Subaru slipped Beatrice off his shoulder. He knelt down in front of her and caught her in a tight hug. “We can’t beat Regulus,” He admitted. “But no matter what happens we’ll all go down together.”

Beatrice was quiet for a long moment, “Yesterday, Subaru fought Regulus to protect Betty. Today, Betty will hold off Regulus so that Subaru can escape.”

Subaru shook his head, “That is not going to happen, Beako.”

Beatrice took a deep breath. “Subaru can pass the barrier. If Regulus comes, Betty wants Subaru to go. Subaru will just distract Betty during the fight, I suppose,” Beatrice sniffed and put her nose in the air.

Subaru held Beatrice even tighter, “Betty, I promised you that you would never be alone again and I mean to keep that promise. You are my family and we belong together. Even if that means that I need to die here with Emilia on one side and Betty on the other, I will not abandon either of you ever again.”

Beatrice’s eyes filled with tears, “That… that is stupid, I suppose. Subaru can cross the barrier. Subaru needs to run away. Subaru shouldn’t die just because Betty dies… Betty has lived long enough…”

“You might be right but the truth is, I don’t care,” Subaru said, rocking Beatrice back and forth in his arms, “I’m a selfish man, Betty. I’ve worked too hard to find myself a family. I don’t want to run. We’re all leaving here together as a family or together we’ll all die but I will never ever abandon Betty. I promised Betty that she’d never be alone ever again and that promise means the world to me.”

Beatrice buried her face into Subaru’s chest and cried. Subaru held her close and let her cry herself out but he was mentally counting the moments. There was too much to do and no time to do it.

I need to ask. I’m afraid to ask but… I just have to know… Was it really just the Authority?

“Beatrice… why did you pick me?” Subaru whispered.

Beatrice looked up at him in confusion, her eyes full of tears.

“Beatrice, you are one of the most precious people in existence. Everyone in this world would have moved mountains just for the chance to love you. What made you pick me?”

Beatrice stared at him as if he was speaking a foreign language.

“Subaru,” A voice said from the door.

Subaru and Beatrice looked up and saw Rem standing there. She had her morning star in her hand.

Rem’s face was expressionless, “Is it true?”

“Is what true?”

“Don’t play games with me!” Rem snapped, “Are you a Witch Cultist?!”

Beatrice looked up at Subaru in shock.

“No. That is not true,” Subaru said firmly. Then he sighed, “But Roswaal did tell me that my magic power is a form of witchcraft,” He admitted.

“Then how are you not a Witch Cultist?” Rem demanded.

“Because I’m not,” Subaru snapped, rising to his feet and putting himself between Rem and Beatrice, “Because the Witch Cult and I are enemies. I have no idea what the cult believes in or what its members want but I know they run around killing people and that is something that I am altogether against! I hate to be blunt here, Rem but if Roswaal is right, then the Witch Cult is on its way here right now and I have several hundred people that I need to save and every moment I stand here talking to you is less time to do that. So where do we stand, Rem? I want to save the people stuck inside the Sanctuary from the Witch Cult. Are you with me or against me?”

Rem was silent for a moment. “You told me once that it’s important to be sure that the person you’re killing actually deserves it,” She whispered, raising her morning star.

“I did say that,” Subaru admitted.

Rem glowered at him. “Then just know that I’ll be watching you. If you try to betray us, I promise that you won’t live long enough to see the other cultists arrive,” She said.

“Sounds fair, let’s go!”

Emilia and Felt ran up the stairs to the Tomb and went inside.

Emilia approached a large stone orb in the Tomb and touched it.

“Good luck, Emilia! You can do it!” Felt told her as Emilia swayed in place and blacked out.

Felt caught her gently as she fell and lowered Emilia to the ground.

“You got this, Mili! We’re all rooting for you,” She whispered to the unconscious girl.

Emilia was lost in a void of pure white.

Face your Past, a voice proclaimed and the white landscape faded away until she stood in a tiny, round room. A small girl lay in the bed kicking at the wall.

There she is. The wicked little girl who begot all this suffering, who caused all this misery and pain…

Emilia scowled at the little girl. Her magic boiled up at her fingers begging to be unleashed. She wanted nothing more than to destroy the wretched creature before she could inflict anymore pain.

Emilia forcibly unclenched her hands and then forced herself to look out the window and clear her mind.

No, I can’t lose control. I can’t give into hate…

Oh, Subaru, I have to succeed this time. I must. I know that if I fail, you will take Roswaal’s deal to save me, to save all of us. If you do that then I will lose you forever. I can’t let that happen. Subaru, if you left me all alone again, I don’t think that I could…

I must complete the trials. I promised Subaru that I would and I must keep my promises.

Emilia took a deep breath as she turned to glare at the girl.

That means that I must follow that wretched little witch to…

No, I promised Subaru. He asked me to pretend. Why am I even doing this? I don’t understand why pretending this wretched sinful girl is someone else will do anything…

It doesn’t matter. I trust Subaru. He wouldn’t have made me promise if he didn’t think it was important. He must have thought that it would help me pass this trial. Oh, Subaru, please be right…

Very well, you wicked monster. You are not Emilia, a deceitful cowardly little creature who betrayed her mother’s trust and ruined everyone’s life. You are Elaine. You are… my… daughter.

Emilia watched the girl roam around the tiny room, pacing in frustration.

My daughter… The one I might someday share with Subaru. He said that he wanted a daughter, he said that he wanted a child… just like me… why? Why would he ever say such a foolish thing?

The girl read her books and drew pictures on sheets of paper and grew more and more restless.

It’s hard to stay inside one room all day. I remember that from all my studying with Subaru, trapped in the library from dawn until after dark. She is almost like poor Beatrice, trapped inside one room for all that time. Strange that I never noticed the parallel before…

It’s not the same thing, of course. I mean… it’s different…

A small ball of light zoomed through the wall and hung over the girl who let out a delighted cry. The girl smiled and used her magic to commune with the spirit.

Elaine seems so happy to have company. I suppose it does get lonely in here.

The spirit seemed to be asking the girl to chase it but the girl just shook her head gravely.

You should not follow the fairy. You promised your mother. You must always keep your promises. Promises are important.

The spirit weaved back and forth as the girl debated with herself. As the spirit persisted, the little girl began to smile.

Finally, Emilia watched the girl follow a lesser spirit out of her tiny house with a mischievous cry.

Emilia, you stupid creature! How dare you break your promise to your mother! Don’t you care about anyone but yourself? Don’t you know what you have done to everyone by doing this, you selfish little-

No. She is not Emilia.

She is Elaine… and she broke a promise to her mother. Elaine… you are… naughty.

Emilia followed the girl who was joyously chasing the dancing ball of light down the forest path.

This is home: The great forest. It’s winter now but the cold isn’t supernaturally bitter yet. The curse hasn’t placed a permanent cloud cover over the land and it’s not perpetually snowing. There are even living creatures in the forest instead of ice statues.

Strange. By now I would usually have lost all control and thrown a blizzard of ice magic at the vision, trying to destroy the little wretch; the wicked, selfish witch who caused so much heartache to so many.

Emilia walked behind the little girl as she danced and sang with the spirit. She seemed exuberant to be out of that tiny room.

All you had to do was keep your promise and none of this would have ever happened. This is why everyone hates you Emilia…

No. I promised Subaru. She is not Emilia. She is Elaine. Elaine, you are naughty. You must always keep your promises. Promises are important.

The lesser spirit led the girl through the forest until Emilia could heard soft voices in the distance. The girl had a devious smirk on her face as she began darting from tree to tree.

This is almost funny. She thinks that she’s hiding but she’s actually out in plain sight. Elaine is trying to be sneaky but she’s very bad at it.

I guess Elaine takes after me… I’m terrible at being sneaky… When I try to be sneaky I usually wind up just making Subaru laugh…

The little girl crept through the brush and watched as two people spoke in the clearing.

Guese… and Mother Fortuna… oh, Mama. I’m so sorry…

The two people were talking but Emilia couldn’t make out what they were saying.

Elaine… almost looks cute right now. She’s being sneaky but the look on her face… It actually reminds me of Subaru when he’s sneaking around being clever. Subaru is sneaky. He likes to trick and outsmart people but… there’s no malice in his mischief. It’s just a game.

Is this what our Elaine would be like? Sneaky like her father? Her mother was a wicked child broke promises and was very selfish but Elaine… might be sneaky as a game. Maybe she’d even want to be caught sneaking. Maybe she’d want to be caught and scolded just so her Mother would know how clever she was being.

Emilia turned to look closer at the adults talking in the grove.

Guese, you were always so kind to Mother Fortuna and me. I always knew that she cared for you. I remember one day I suggested that the two of you should get married. She blushed so much…

If the girl is Elaine, then… should I imagine Guese as Subaru? Subaru would actually make a good Guese. He’s silly and goofy but always so very brave and kind. I can imagine that Guese is Subaru easily.

But Mama… Mama is so beautiful and strong and wise. How could I be anything like her? How can I imagine myself as Mama?

Mama Fortuna, I always wanted to be just like you…

Wait, Mama is afraid of something… She’s talking to Guese about something and she’s clearly upset and worried… I never noticed that before. I can’t make out what they’re saying…

Fortuna turned away clearly distraught and Guese tried to comfort her.

Guese is worried too but he’s trying to be brave for Mama’s sake…

I wish I knew what they were talking about. I guess I didn’t understand what they were saying back then so I can’t remember it now.

I’ve never seen Mama Fortuna look so distraught. I didn’t think she could be afraid of anything. Did she try to hide her fears from me? I suppose that she wanted to look brave for my sake…

Emilia noticed the little girl was getting bored. She wandered away following another lesser spirit. Emilia followed.

Don’t you want to know what’s going on, Elaine? Don’t you realize that Mama is scared? Or are you too young to understand?

Emilia followed the girl down the forest path.

Elaine is clearly delighted to be outside of that room and following the lesser spirits. She’s so playful… but she doesn’t understand. The forest can be dangerous, Elaine. Come back… You might… get hurt out here…

The little girl had now found a group of spirits to play with.

Elaine is very small… She seems so much younger than I was. I know that that doesn’t make any sense. There is no Elaine.

This is just some kind of weird game that Subaru asked me to play. Elaine is me and therefore she is the same as I was; dangerous and wicked with all of my terrible magic.

So… then why does Elaine seem so terribly small and helpless to me…

“Well, what splendid luck,” A girl’s voice said.

Standing on the forest path were two people: A young man in a white suit with white hair and… a blur. There was a blur on the path about as large as a child and it was that blur who appeared to have spoken. It was clear from her expression that the younger Emilia could sense their magic and it was terrifying.

“We’ve been looking for you for a long time, little one. If you would be so kind as to come with us, we can avoid a great deal of trouble,” The blur said calmly.

Run, Elaine! Run away now! These are evil people who will put you in danger, you must run back to Mama as fast as you can!

Elaine pulled back, her face contorted in fear. With a scream, she raced back toward the clearing where Guese and Fortuna waited.

That’s odd. I told Elaine to run to Mama. I always cursed the fact that I ran back there. I led the evil people straight to my family and put them in danger because I was a selfish and cowardly girl but… this is different. It’s not the same as it was when I did it. Elaine is so small and helpless and she’s scared. She needs to run to her Mama. Guese-… Subaru and… Emilia will keep Elaine safe. They’re her parents. That’s their job.

Little Emilia burst through the bushes crying out, bolting to Guese and Fortuna who quickly scooped her up in her arms.

“Mama! I’m sorry!” The little girl wailed.

Mother Fortuna is trying to comfort… Elaine. She’s not mad. She just wants her daughter to stop crying and feel safe. Mama Fortuna is still scared, I never noticed that before but she is scared and trying to hide it. She’s being strong because her daughter needs her to be.

Mama…

The strangers casually sauntered out of the bush.

Guese is stepping in front of Mama and Elaine. He wants to protect them. I can’t make out what he’s saying. He’s probably trying to talk the strangers into leaving.

Something black and huge slithered in the underbrush, knocking aside trees. It seemed impossible that any living creature could be so big.

Guese made a gesture and Fortuna turned to run, carrying Elaine away.

Guese waved his hand and a brilliant flash erupted in the clearing. The strangers staggered unable to see but Emilia saw Guese spin around with his eyes closed and race away.

Clever. He distracted them so he and Mama Fortuna could get a head start. It’s the kind of plan that Subaru would come up with…

As Guese and Fortuna raced away, strange men in purple robes began to attack the strangers and the beast in the forest.

Those are Guese’s…friends?

The robed men were an effective distraction. The strangers did stop to fight them but the robed men didn’t seem to be having any success actually harming the strangers. Guese and Fortuna raced through the elven village carrying the little girl.

Guese and Fortuna are yelling, trying to rouse all of the elves to flee. They know that we can’t fight these strangers…

The elves began streaming out of their houses, not bothering to grab anything before they took flight. They followed Guese and Fortuna’s wild escape desperately trying to get away.

Emilia raced after them, trying to keep up with Guese and Fortuna. The crowd of elves was far bigger than she remembered and Emilia didn’t want to lose them in it.

The crowd broke free of the trees and began to stream across a vast meadow with a large hill in the middle that lay at the very center of the forest.

Emilia looked back and saw the great beast’s midsection rising out of the forest behind them, a great, black serpentine shape that crested the trees like an enormous wave as it crushed the last of the purple robed men attacking it.

The fleeing elves were surmounting the tall hill in the meadow when suddenly the strangers were just there right in their midsts.

The elves all drew back, shivering in fear but Guese stepped forward again putting himself between the strangers and his family.

The little girl whimpered and Mama Fortuna cradled her, whispering to the child.

Mama is trying to comfort Elaine. Elaine is so scared and so is Mama.

Guese appeared to be making some kind of threat as he pulled a small black box out of his pocket. The strangers actually took a step back.

What is in the little black box Guese just pulled out and why do the strangers look afraid of it? I wish I could understand what they were saying but… Elaine wasn’t listening. She was probably trying not to hear. To her this was just a dreadful nightmare that she couldn’t wake up from.

Guese opened the box and something black and terrible crawled out. It wrapped around him like a strangling snake and then enveloped him. His body grew arms; many, many arms made of shadows that writhed and twisted like tentacles. Guese screamed in terrible agony.

Oh dear, Guese what have you done? This must be some kind of witchcraft he’s using. He can’t control it. It’s hurting him, it’s ruining him. Guese is… sacrificing himself to protect Mama Fortuna and Elaine.

Guese flung himself at the strangers, beating and clawing at them with his many arms but he didn’t seem to be having any effect. Neither stranger seemed to be hurt at all. The blurry stranger gestured and one of Guese’s shadowy arms went wide and reached behind him-

Where it tore through Mother Fortuna’s stomach.

Fortuna fell to her knees with a shocked expression and the little girl was dropped onto the snowy ground.

Guese looked back at Fortuna with horror and the blurry stranger said something in an amused tone.

“Mama…” The little girl whispered, her face frozen in horror.

This is where it happens… This is where everything goes wrong… It was all because of me… We could have gotten away. Mama was badly wounded but she could have been healed. If I hadn’t lost control she might have survived. I was so stupid and cowardly, it was all my…

Emilia suddenly glanced away from Fortuna and looked at the little girl standing before her; her eyes were huge and tears were streaming down her face.

…Elaine looks like she’s in such terrible pain… Her mother’s blood is splashed across her own face. She’s so tiny…

The wound in Mama Fortuna’s stomach is so much bigger than I remember. Could it have even been healed?

Guese screamed in misery and flung himself at the strangers like a man possessed but the man in white made a throwing motion and Guese was lifted up and flung far into the distance with a despairing cry as he crashed into the woods where the monstrous snake prowled.

Poor Guese. He never could have escaped from that monster. He died trying to save us…

The strangers were talking but the little girl didn’t hear them. She was staring up at her mother in anguish.

Fortuna stroked her daughter’s face as her body began to sway and tremble.

What did Mama say… I couldn’t tell… I couldn’t hear anything over the roaring in my ears.

The blurry stranger moved closer, extending her hand toward the little girl and the child drew back. She kept looking between the strangers and Fortuna’s terrible wound as if unable to decide which frightened her more.

The little girl screamed in terror and the world erupted in blue light. A terrible wind swept up out of nowhere and buried the area in white frost.

The little girl kept wailing, unable to control her own magic or her own pain and around her… everything froze.

The strangers were buffeted by the magic. The blurry figure sounded annoyed for the first time but Emilia couldn’t make out what she was saying.

The blurry figure gestured and then the strangers were… simply gone.

The little girl stared up in shock at her mother who still knelt in the snow; now a living sculpture of solid ice with a terrible gaping hole in the center.

The elves all across the broad field were frozen; hundreds and hundreds of elves reduced to living statues in a moment.

But for those few statues that were at the epicenter of the spell…

No…

The little girl looked up in abject horror as the ice sculpture of her mother began to crack from the bitter cold.

The child shook her head in furious denial and grabbed at the statue, franticly trying to hold it together.

Then the statue fractured into pieces and the little girl caught the effigy of Mother Fortuna’s staring head in her own hands.

The little girl trembled. The world trembled around her.

Then she screamed.

The unleashed magic surged to incredible levels, inflicting cold on the forest, the likes of which could scarcely be imagined.

Emilia had to turn her face away as the magic flared with a brilliant white light. All she could hear was the agonized wailing of the little girl.

I can barely make out the words in Elaine’s shrieks. She’s begging for her mother to come back, to be alright again. She’s promising that she’ll be good.

Why is there no one here to comfort this poor child?

And then it was over. The little girl stood frozen herself, encased in a gigantic pillar of ice. Her face was contorted with pain and countless tears were frozen against her cheeks.

The forest was completely still except for the frigid wind.

This is where it always happens, Emilia thought, This is where I completely lose control of myself and throw all the magic I have against that freak; that monster who destroyed her own home, who murdered everyone who trusted her, who even killed her own Mother. The vile witch that should rightly be hated by all the world. I scream and I scream and I scream until it feels like my throat is bleeding. I scream until the trial finally ends and I can just leave this awful place…

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Emilia stepped closer to the frozen pillar that held the tiny girl inside it.

Elaine… you must have been so scared… You’re in so much pain… I’d give anything to be able to hold you tight and promise you that everything will be alright…

Emilia shook her head and although her eyes were moist she almost smiled, “Subaru, was this… was this what you thought would happen…? Subaru, you dirty sneak… You knew. You knew that… I could hate Emilia but… I could never bring myself to hate Elaine.”

Emilia stroked the side of the pillar and pressed her forehead against it.

“Elaine… you poor wounded thing,” Emilia whispered, her eyes filling up with tears, “What kind of ignorant cruel wretch could ever hate you? You were just a child. You were trapped in a horrible situation that you could barely understand. Of course you panicked. Of course you lost control.”

Emilia wrapped her arms around her chest as if struggling to hold herself together. She began to shake as her tears poured freely down her cheeks.

Emilia fell to her knees with a despairing wail, crying loud agonizing sobs that tore at her heart. She wept for her shattered family, for the ruined forest, for all the people trapped under Emilia’s own curse.

And for the first time, she even wept for Emilia.

Outside of the house, Subaru, Beatrice, and Rem encounter Garfiel and Ryuzu.

“Ryuzu,” Subaru called, “I need to talk to the villagers and all the people of the Sanctuary. I’d like you and Garf to come as well.”

Ryuzu bowed her head, “Very well then,” She said.

Ryuzu walked away and Subaru and his group followed.

Garfiel leaned against a tree, kicking stones, “Why should my glorious self waste my time with you?” Garfiel sneered.

“Because everyone in the Sanctuary is in mortal danger,” Subaru called over his shoulder. “I thought maybe you’d like to hear about it.”

Garfiel scowled and begrudgingly followed along.

It was a long while later. Emilia wasn’t sure how long she had been here but she had shed her tears.

She knelt beside the frozen pillar. The little girl was still trapped inside; her agony and misery captured clearly in the ice for anyone willing to look.

Emilia sniffed, “Elaine… I know that you’re not really Elaine. Elaine… doesn’t exist yet. She might never exist. But I need to pretend that you’re Elaine because… I don’t think that I could say this to Emilia yet.”

She stood up and took a deep breath, “Elaine, this was not your fault. You didn’t want this to happen. You didn’t mean for it to happen. You did the best that you could in an impossible situation and that is all that anyone can ever do.” Emilia wept but her voice was steady.

“I know that this will be hard for you to accept, it will take you a long time to understand it, but… you can’t blame yourself for what happened here. It just isn’t fair to you. You did not kill your mother. She could have never survived her injury, no matter what you did. She died because she was wounded not because of your magic. The important thing is to always remember how much she loved you and to never stop moving forward and trying to make her proud.”

“This was not your fault, Elaine but it is your responsibility,” Emilia continued; and had she but known it, in that moment she sounded very much like Mother Fortuna, “You froze these people and you must never stop trying to put it right. It will be difficult. The burden will sometimes feel overwhelming but that’s why we have friends and family to help share the burden when it gets to be too heavy. It’s alright to let others help you, Elaine. Because what’s most important isn’t that you personally atone for your sins or that you expurgate your own guilt, it’s that you finally make things right for all the people that you hurt.”

“It will be a long and difficult journey, Elaine but I know that you can do it. You’re stronger than you’d ever believe.”

Emilia turned away crying, “Goodbye, Elaine. I wish that… I really could have been your mother.”

Emilia walked away from the pillar and the entire world vanished into a white blur.

Emilia groaned and opened her eyes. She saw Felt loaming over her looking worried, “Mili! Are you OK?!”

“Yes, I… think so,” Emilia whispered, getting to her feet, “I think… I think that I passed the first trial.”

“What?! That’s amazing, Mili! Should we go and tell Subaru?” Felt asked.

Emilia shook her head, “No, Subaru is doing his job. Now I need to do mine,” Emilia said reaching, for the orb again.

Emilia staggered and Felt barely managed to catch her before she hit the ground.

Ryuzu had gathered up all the Sanctuary residents and they were standing together near where the Arlem villagers waited.

The two groups were both looking at each other suspiciously as Subaru, Rem, Beatrice, and Garfiel arrived.

“Subaru!” Petra screamed in delight and ran over to wrap her arms around him.

“Hi, Petra,” Subaru said, giving her a one armed hug. “It’s good to see you again. I’ve been worried.”

“Lord Subaru! Thank goodness you’ve found us,” The chief said as he and a group of officials approached. “We fled Arlem and Lord Roswaal led us here when we were attacked by a terrifying monster. It’s hard to describe it but it-”

“Don’t bother describing it,” Subaru sighed, “Beatrice and I fought it too. It’s dead now.”

Gasps of amazement ran through the crowd, “Lord Subaru, you were able to kill that monstrosity?”

Subaru barely hesitated, “Yeah, it’s dead,” He replied.

Ironically, this lie has nothing to do with my ego. If I told them a pair of Sin Archbishops had come to rescue me and they slaughtered that thing to protect me, I’d just derail the conversation for the next two hours and that is time that I don’t have to waste.

Or I could just tell them that I’m one of these monsters. Subaru the Archbishop. The Witch.

Fuck me.

“We are eternally in your debt once again, Lord Subaru,” The village chief said, kneeling and gesturing for everyone else to do so as well.

“Please don’t,” Subaru cut them off, “Really. For one thing, it’s my fault that I wasn’t there to protect you guys in the first place. Reinhard and I were off killing the White Whale instead of-”

“My lord!” The chief gasped, “You slew the White Whale?!” The entire group broke into excited chatter.

Subaru closed his eyes for a moment and counted backwards from ten. For fuck’s sake! I am not trying to brag here!

Subaru put his fingers to his lips and whistled, “Please everyone! Stop talking!” He yelled.

Everyone fell silent.

“Thank you,” Subaru grumbled, “Anyway, we need to get you all out of here. More monsters like the one that attacked Arlem are coming here and we need to evacuate the Sanctuary immediately.”

“But, my lord, Lord Roswaal warned us that the barrier-”

“I know, I know,” Subaru cut him off, “Lady Emilia is working on bringing down the barrier as we speak.”

A low angry grumble swept through the crowd.

Gee, that sounds supportive. I wonder why Emilia’s self-esteem is so low?

“If Lady Emilia is unsuccessful,” Subaru added reluctantly, “I will do my best to break the barrier today as well.”

This statement was met with much more enthusiasm.

These god damn people. Why am I trying to save them again?

“We need to prepare to depart in short order,” Subaru said, “Please everyone begin packing and preparations to leave immediately. These monsters will slaughter everyone in the Sanctuary. This means that we need to bring everyone with us, both the Arlem villagers and the Sanctuary residents.”

“Why don’t we just stay and fight?” Garfiel demanded.

Subaru looked over his shoulder and saw Garfiel leaning against a nearby tree with his arms crossed and a sour look on his face.

“I’ve faced monsters like this before,” Subaru said calmly, ignoring Garfiel and speaking to the crowd. “So have many of the people from Arlem. Most of us who did fight such creatures were lucky to escape with our lives. What is approaching us is not a single monster but a group of monsters, all bound to the same purpose,” Subaru hesitated a moment, “They are the Sin Archbishops of the Witch Cult.”

Gasps of horror and whispered words of terror ran through the crowd and even Ryuzu gave Subaru her undivided attention.

“Please, everyone focus,” Subaru ordered, noticing that even Petra who was holding tightly onto his waist, was staring up at Subaru in terror. He wrapped his free arm tightly around her, “I understand that you’ve all been through a lot. This has been a trying time for everyone. It would be completely natural to want to panic but you must not give into that fear! We are only safe as long as we all remain calm and work together. We need to start planning for a rapid exodus. I know that the wagons were cramp and crowded coming into the Sanctuary, they will be even worse going out because we need to take more people with us.

“I’m asking for each of you to think carefully about something: neither the villagers of Arlem nor the residents of the Sanctuary asked to be put in this situation. The same evil is hunting you both! This is not the time to cast blame. We all need to work side by side now and prepare for our departure. We need to travel light. The most important things to transport on these wagons are the people and food and our available space is going to be extremely limited.

“I know that many of you assembled here have treasured artifacts, items of immense personal meaning. I am asking you to make a profound sacrifice for your fellow men: if it can be left behind, please leave it behind! No item, however sacred to you, could ever be more precious than another person’s life. We need to think carefully about what we can rescue from this place and the most important thing that we could possibly save is each other. We have a lot to do and very little time so please get ready quickly. We plan to depart by sunset tonight. Gather your provisions and stay close to your loved ones. Make sure that you all know what carts you’re traveling in and that you’re ready to leave at a moment’s notice. We can not afford to leave anyone behind.”

“Lord… Subaru was it?” Someone from the Sanctuary community raised their hand, “We have a bunch of food preserves at the Sanctuary storehouse. We could bring them here.”

“Excellent, everyone please help this man to gather all the food you can,” Subaru said to the entire crowd, “I’m sorry to be so blunt but if the Archbishops act here as they have in other places I’ve seen, I doubt that we’re going to be able to come back here and salvage anything later so we should take whatever we can now. Chief, I’d like to speak with you and the village selectmen in private right now. Miss Ryuzu, would you please join us.”

The chief nodded and accompanied by the town selectmen, a group of solid-looking older men and women followed Subaru and Beatrice away to someplace private. Ryuzu, Rem, and Garfiel followed them. The rest of the Arlem villagers and Sanctuary residents got busy with preparations. They were clearly afraid but at least for the moment they appeared to be willing to work together.

“Petra, go stay close to your Mom,” Subaru whispered to the girl still holding onto him tightly, “This is going to be a rough day.”

Petra nodded with wide eyes and vanished into the crowd.

“That girl should keep her hands off Betty’s Subaru, I suppose,” Beatrice grouched.

Subaru actually surprised himself by laughing.

They all gathered some distance away where Subaru was certain they would not be accidentally overheard.

“Gentlemen, I think we have a good chance of getting everyone out of here alive and safe,” Subaru began.

The group nodded.

“However, we are all men and women of responsibility and we know that, like it or not, we must also plan for the event of catastrophic failure,” Subaru continued.

“What is your meaning, my lord?” The chief asked.

“Emilia is currently trying to break the barrier. If she fails, I will do everything in my power to break the barrier and ensure that everyone can escape safely,” Subaru said, “If I fail then we are out of options. The people will simply need to charge the barrier and take their chances,” He said bluntly.

Gasps ran around the group.

“My lord!” The chief protested, “If we simply run the barrier then-”

“Roughly thirty percent of the people will die,” Subaru said calmly, “If you believe Roswaal. Perhaps that is generous and fifty percent will die in the crossing. However, if the Sin Archbishops find you here, then one hundred percent of you will die. That is the math, gentlemen. It is cold and it is cruel but no leader can afford to ignore it. Fifty percent surviving is better than none.”

The group all muttered to themselves in fear but no one contradicted Subaru.

“If I fail to break the barrier then I will stay behind with Lady Beatrice and Lady Emilia. We will make our final stand together in the Sanctuary and hope to give you all enough time to escape,” Subaru said.

“But, my lord, didn’t you say that you can pass the barrier-” Ryuzu ask quietly.

“I can pass the barrier,” Subaru cut her off, “However, that is not going to happen.”

“My lord, forgive me for speaking out of turn,” The chief said, “But you are a royal candidate. To stay behind and sacrifice yourself for us is truly heroic but you have responsibilities-”

“Please stop, chief,” Subaru was coldly furious with himself. He bent every ounce of his will onto restraining that fury instead of casting it at the completely undeserving village chief, “I want there to be no misunderstanding nor do I have the time or patience right now for anyone who could misjudge me as any form of ‘hero.’ This entire mess that both Arlem and the Sanctuary have been engulfed by is completely my fault. I failed to see through the webs of my enemies and I am truly sorry that any of you have been caught in the same net.”

I never even suspected Roswaal of plotting against us. It never even crossed my mind. And the entire time he was playing me like a fiddle. He knew everything about me all along. He even knew that my Authority was manipulating and corrupting the people I care about…

“My lord, what are you-”

“Lord Roswaal is the architect behind all of this suffering,” Subaru said bluntly.

Gasps ran around the crowd.

“He admitted it to me. Petelguese was never chasing you after you left Arlem. Roswaal lied and he led you all to the Sanctuary with purpose. He wanted to trap the Lady Emilia with three hundred angry resentful people who needed her to save them so that she would be forced to endure the trials every day. A trial that is nothing more than a form of emotional torture for her!” He snarled, “She tried day after day after day to save you all until she had been broken into pieces!” He yelled.

I’m screaming at these people. It’s not really their fault that all of this happened but I can’t help it. I’m not even sure when I made the decision to tell them all this it feels like it just kind of happened. I’m losing control.

Should I have told them about Roswaal? Well, it’s probably for best that they know. They can at least try to protect themselves from him.

Bullshit. That’s not why I told them. This was just the only way I could try to hurt Roswaal right now. I’m doing this out of pure spite.

Subaru the Witch.

Subaru took a deep breath and attempted to calm himself, “My staying behind here is in no way heroic; it is an act of pure selfishness. The Lady Emilia and Lady Beatrice are unable to pass the barrier. I refuse to part with the ones I love ever again in this life; if that means I must remain here and die at their side then that is what I will do. I make no excuse for my selfish behavior but I hope that at least you all might profit by it.”

No one spoke.

Beatrice whimpered.

Subaru shook off his self loathing, “We don’t know who might be affected by the barrier if they are forced to go through it. We need to err on the presumption that the driver of each wagon could die in the passing. There needs to be at least one, preferably two backup drivers in each wagon ready to take the reins and keep going if the worst should happen.

“One more thing: Once outside the barrier I want all the wagons to split up. Regardless of how long I can distract these creatures, sooner or later they might come after you. Disperse and go in different directions. That will make it harder for the Archbishops to catch up with you. You can plot a new course for somewhere safe once you get some distance between you and the Sanctuary. Arlem is safe for the moment now that Petelguese is dead so perhaps heading back there with the Sanctuary residents would be best.”

“We will see to it, my lord,” The chief promised.

“This is a dark business, gentlemen. I truly hope that all of these precautions we have discussed for the worst case scenario were wasted effort but we must hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Our people expect no less of us. We need to stop talking now. We only have a few hours left and every minute counts. Let’s try to make sure everyone gets out of here safely.”

“Yes, lord,” The villagers all bowed.

Behold the unthinkable present, the stentorious voice proclaimed.

The white world around Emilia dissolved until she found herself in Mother Fortuna’s house. Emilia remembered it perfectly: A small cozy home where everything had its perfect place.

It’s just like I remember it. It’s actually better than I remember it. All the little details, not a thing out of place. The only difference from my recent memories is the lack of dust…

I tried to keep the houses clean for their former residents but I guess I’m not much of a homemaker.

Emilia walked into the house and thought she heard something as she approached the kitchen.

In the kitchen just ahead, a tall woman with silver hair was standing at the stove, cooking something and humming to herself.

Emilia approached the kitchen silently, her mouth hanging open.

Some instinct warned the woman that someone was approaching and she glanced behind her.

“Well, welcome home, Emilia,” Fortuna said gently chided, “I see that you finally found your way back.”

“Mother,” Emilia whispered.

“I’m not sure why it took so long for you and the dodo to-” Fortuna continued.

“Mother!” Emilia cried out, throwing her arms around Fortuna and weeping out loud.

“Emilia! Whatever is wrong with you?” Fortuna gasped.

“I’ve just missed you so so much!” Emilia sobbed into Fortuna’s chest.

“Oh, Emilia,” Fortuna whispered, drawing her daughter into a tight hug.

Mother… Oh Mother, I missed you so much! There’s so much that I have to tell you! So much that I want to say…

Fortuna blinked and drew back looking cross, “Emilia! You sneaky girl!” She scolded.

Emilia looked up at her through her tears, puzzled.

“I know what this is all about,” Fortuna said brusquely, turning her back on Emilia and returning to her cooking, “You’re hoping that you can talk us into doing this more often!”

“Yay!” Guese’s voice cheered from the other room.

Fortuna scowled and took a step toward that room. “No ‘yay!’” She shouted her reprimand.

Fortuna turned back to Emilia. “Emilia, you and the dodo made this decision yourselves. No one forced it on you and it is high time that you and the dodo spent a little less time gallivanting around trying to save the world and a little more time being responsible,” Fortuna said firmly.

Emilia blinked, What is Mother Fortuna talking about?

Emilia heard Guese’s heavy footsteps coming up behind her and she turned around. In his arms he held a tiny person who was barely able to hold his own head up but he was frantically trying to look at everything at once with abject fascination.

“Oh!” Guese whispered to the little person. “Look who’s back!”

The baby noticed Emilia and broke into an enormous smile as the baby clumsily reached out for her, almost pulling himself out of Guese’s arms.

Guese handed the baby over to Emilia.

“Oh my goodness!” Emilia whispered, her eyes filling with tears. The baby had dark hair and violet eyes. He seemed to be made of nothing but giggles and smiles.

Emilia held the baby in her arms and started to cry uncontrollably.

“Yes,” Guese murmured, gently patting her shoulder, “We missed you too, Emilia. We’re glad that you’ve finally come home.”

“I won’t say I didn’t miss all of you, especially that little guy,” Subaru said, coming into the kitchen, “But we were only gone for about a day and a half.”

Emilia was crying uncontrollably as she cuddled the baby.

Oh my goodness. He’s ours… Subaru’s and mine. He has my eyes and his father’s hair. He looks like his father but he has my pointed ears and… they look so cute on him.

Oh my… I never ever want to let you go…

The baby had been looking at everything while he’d been in Guese’s arms but right now he had eyes only for his mother.

She gently kissed the baby’s forehead. “Whatever did I do with these arms before they held you?” She whispered.

“Well, sometimes you held me,” Subaru mused with a mischievous smirk, “But you also hit me a lot. All in all, I’m glad that you’re holding the baby. It makes it harder for you to discipline me when I say something stupid!”

“Perhaps you could consider saying fewer stupid things?” Fortuna grumbled, not looking at him. She stirred her stew.

“Hi, Mom,” Subaru said fondly, walking over to Fortuna and giving her a quick peck on the cheek.

Fortuna flushed, “Don’t call me that,” She whispered almost inaudibly.

“Hey, Guese, what’s happening, my man?” Subaru said, extending his hand. Guese broke into a broad smile as the two performed their elaborate handshake ritual. “I hope the little monster wasn’t too much of a hand full.”

“Oh no, Perseus was very well behaved,” Guese replied, “It was a very easy round of babysitting.”

“That doesn’t mean we want to do it all the time,” Fortuna interjected, seasoning her stew.

“Ignore her,” Guese whispered, “She adored it!”

Emilia saw Fortuna stiffen.

“She held the baby almost the whole time you were gone! I only got a turn when she was cooking!” Guese said with a broad grin.

“Guese!” Fortuna snapped.

Guese blanched and immediately corrected himself, assuming the demeanor of a man attending the sick bed of a close friend.

Oh Guese… You always adored Mama Fortuna. The notion of making her angry made you tremble. Whenever we got caught doing something we shouldn’t have been doing, you felt more guilty than I did.

“Well, I’m glad Percy didn’t give you too much trouble,” Subaru said, wrapping his arms around both Emilia and the baby, “He can be a real handful even if we were gone for just over a day.”

“Really? Felt like longer to me,” Puck murmured, flying in to perch on Emilia’s shoulder. “Hi, Lia.”

“Puck!” She whispered.

“Yeah, sorry I didn’t come along with you on this trip, but I thought I needed to stay here and keep an eye on Percy. Don’t worry, I won’t leave you again,” Puck said.

The baby gently tapped Emilia’s face with a chubby fist and then started to burble and coo.

He wants my attention. Perseus is talking to me. He’s babbling but I can almost understand. He wants his Mother to know about all of the funny things that he did with Guese and Mama Fortuna while she was gone…

“Hey buddy! Give me paw knuckles!” Subaru shouted as Puck slapped his paw onto Subaru’s fist.

“Hey, Subaru, where’s Betty?” Puck asked.

“Oh, she had a class to teach tonight. She’s training the new recruits at the workshop on the proper way of shaping and charging magic crystals. I honestly feel kind of bad for them. Beatrice is the kind of person who should never be allowed to teach unsupervised,” Subaru sighed.

Guese shot a nervous look at Fortuna, “How was the business trip?” He asked Subaru in an incredibly serious voice.

“Oh, you know how it is. It was mostly a waste of time. Anastasia blustered and tried to nickle and dime her way into a deal but I just told her: if she doesn’t want my machines there are plenty of other people who do. Her resistance basically collapsed at that point,” Subaru shrugged.

Guese laughed.

“Hey, what can I say?” Subaru shrugged, “Anastasia loves my machines but she sure hates paying for them.”

“Is Felt coming over for dinner tonight?” Guese asked.

“Ah, no. Felt stayed in the capitol with Reinhard. She claims that she’s going to investigate some potential new buyers and recruiting some more slum dwellers to relocate to the forest,” Subaru snickered. He reached out to hold his son and Emilia gave the baby up most unwillingly.

“You sound like you don’t think she’ll find any,” Emilia commented, watching Subaru lay his son against his shoulder.

Subaru looks like such a natural with Perseus. But the baby is still looking at me…

“Find any? I don’t think she’ll even look,” Subaru snorted. “But I’m sure she’ll be in a fabulous mood when she comes back. Reinhard has that effect on her.”

Emilia looked at Subaru in confusion.

Subaru rolled his eyes. “Oh man, Mili, sometimes you can be amazingly clueless,” He said, shaking his head.

“Does Rom know about this yet?” Guese asked.

“I doubt it and I’m certainly not brave enough to tell him. You should see him working the shift crews at my workshop. They’re almost as terrified of Rom on the floor as they are of his drinking contests. I don’t expect he’ll find out until and unless Reinhard comes up here to ask him for his blessing,” Subaru replied, “It’s a good thing that Reinhard is invincible otherwise Rom would probably give him a very unpleasant afternoon.”

“Oh, come on, Subaru,” Puck yawned. The magical cat floated off of Emilia’s shoulder, “Reinhard is a great guy. Why would Rom be unhappy to welcome him into the family?”

Subaru gave Puck a steady look. “I’m sorry, Puck, have you forgotten how you reacted when Emilia and I told you that we were getting married?”

“What are you talking about, Subaru?” Puck said, landing in Subaru’s hair to get a better view of the baby, “It was obvious from the start that you adored Lia and you’d do anything for her. Why would I give you a hard time about getting married?”

“Oh, really?” Subaru snorted, lifting his son over his head to be closer to the magic cat. Puck stuck out his tongue at Percy making the baby giggle. “Funny, I guess I remember the event differently. Guese, how long until all those trees Puck knocked down grow back?”

“Gosh, Subaru,” Puck replied calmly, “You make such a big deal out of every little thing.”

“Little thing, Puck?” Subaru laughed. “I’ve seen tornadoes that cause less damage than you losing your temper!”

“Guese, Subaru, if you have time to stand around chatting perhaps you could both make yourselves useful by setting the table,” Fortuna grumbled.

“Yes, mother dear,” Subaru replied with a fond smile, handing the baby back to Emilia.

Fortuna sighed.

“Now what are you going to do?” Garfiel grumbled as the group left the villagers to their preparations. “Can you think of another way of causing damage to this place?”

“Don’t jinx it,” Subaru growled back. “I’m rapidly discovering that there is no limit to the amount of damage I can cause.”

“Why are you trying to talk everyone into leaving here? This is a Sanctuary!” Garfiel demanded.

“Yeah? Well, it won’t be when those freaks come through,” Subaru retorted, “They’re going to kill everyone, Garf!”

“Bleh. You sound like Riser before the fall. These freaks are going to have to go through my glorious self first!”

“Is that your strategy?” Subaru asked, struggling for patience, “Tell them that and hope that they die of laughter?!”

“Shut up! Everything started going wrong when you people came here!” Garfiel roared, swinging a fist at Subaru’s face.

Subaru’s patience evaporated and he triggered Indomitable. Garfiel’s fist collided with Subaru’s cheek and Subaru didn’t twitch nor blink.

Garfiel gaped in astonishment. Subaru raised his hand and, with one finger, simply flicked Garfiel away like an annoying insect.

Under the influence of Indomitable, Garfiel went flying backwards landing at least forty feet away and skidding to a halt; unhurt but very much shaken.

“Garf,” Subaru shouted, putting down Beatrice and slowly walking over to Garfiel, “I don’t think I ever told you how much I admire your courage. And I don’t just mean that you have the enormous balls necessary to think that you can court Ram. You’ve just been told that monsters are coming here to kill everyone and you never even questioned if they might be stronger than you. You’ve spoken to people who’ve fought them but you never even bothered to ask what their abilities and powers were like. You never even thought to ask how many of them were coming. There’s a fine line between courage and stupidity, Garf and you have completely crossed over it.”

“Shut up!” Garfiel said, rising to his feet and brushing himself off.

“I just took one of your punches to the face and didn’t blink,” Subaru said, completely aware that if Garf hit him again while Indomitable was still on cooldown he would certainly die. “I just knocked you halfway across the field by flicking my finger at you. If I’m scared to fight these freaks then why the hell aren’t you?” Subaru demanded.

“Maybe because I’m not a coward!” Garfiel snarled.

“Fear is wisdom in the face of danger. Courage is doing what needs to be done anyway. Now if you have a strategy that would let us kill these monsters I am very happy to entertain it,” Subaru snapped.

Garfiel hesitated. “I’ll just snap their necks. I’m the strongest guy in the world,” He boasted.

“Oh, man. We do need to get you out of here. You desperately need to get some perspective,” Subaru muttered, shaking his head.

“You are no match for the Sin Archbishops, young Garf,” Ryuzu said quietly, “They wield terrible dark magic. If you were to try to fight them, you will die and painfully.”

Garfiel stared at Ryuzu, shocked by her pronouncement of certain doom.

“Subaru,” Rem asked, “What do we do now?”

Subaru sighed. “Even in the very best case scenario we’re not getting out of here until late afternoon. Unfortunately, Roswaal suggested that the Archbishops might show up well before that. We’ll need to be in place to meet them if they pop by early.”

“I thought you just said you didn’t think we could fight them,” Garfiel grumbled.

“No, I said that I didn’t think we could survive fighting them,” Subaru corrected, “But like it or not we may need to stall for time so that the villagers and the residents can get clear. If we’re lucky the stronger Sin Archbishops won’t show up early. Otherwise, we’re going to be swatted like flies.”

Garfiel crossed his arms, looked away and snorted.

“The Sanctuary is very large, Lord Subaru,” Ryuzu murmured, “How can we detect an Archbishop entering the Sanctuary? We can’t be everywhere at once.”

“We don’t need to be,” Subaru replied, “Roswaal claims that the Archbishops are coming here because they’ve been told to abduct Emilia. So that’s where they’re going to come. We just go to the Tomb and stand guard until someone shows up.”

Garfiel snorted. “You can stand guard at the tomb. My glorious self is going up to the lookout so I can see these bitches coming.”

Subaru sighed, knowing he couldn’t change Garfiel’s mind. “Alright, Garf but just keep watch. If you see an Archbishop coming, don’t threaten them, don’t challenge them. Just get back here so we can all face them together.”

Garfiel flashed him a grin that told Subaru he might as well have ordered the sun out of the sky for all that his instructions would be heeded. Garfiel bounded off into the trees and was gone.

“This is delicious, Mom,” Subaru said, digging in enthusiastically.

Fortuna blushed a little. “It’s just a stew.”

“Yeah but your stews are always the best,” Subaru replied. “Just ask Guese and Emilia.”

Emilia was barely eating. She didn’t even want to blink lest she miss a single detail of her family; alive again and happy. She plucked a very tiny piece of savory meat out of the stew and let Percy gum on it with relish. Puck meanwhile was perched on Emilia’s head, making funny faces at the baby and making him laugh.

This is so wonderful. I wish I never had to leave…

“Oh yes,” Guese agreed. “Fortuna is brilliant in the kitchen. Actually she’s amazing in lots of rooms in the house.”

Subaru snorted into his stew and covered his mouth to avoid spraying food everywhere as he laughed.

Guese turned bright red as he realized what he’d just implied, “Oh no! Lady Fortuna! I didn’t mean-” He said, waving his hands frantically.

“Shut up, Guese!” Fortuna snapped also glowing scarlet.

It took Subaru a full minute to get his laughter back under control. “Oh man, I love my family,” He grinned.

This world is perfect, Emilia thought, Mama Fortuna and Guese are alive. Subaru and I don’t need to fight anyone for the Dragon blood. Everyone we love is here and safe and happy and Subaru and I can just be together.

“By the way Mom, how are you liking the new stove?” Subaru asked.

Fortuna flushed a bit and glanced away, “It works alright, I suppose” She replied.

“But dear, just last night you said how delightful it was to have a stew with no cinders in-” Guese said in confusion.

“Quiet, Guese,” Fortuna said.

Subaru laughed, “I’m just glad you like it, Mom! I’ll see if I can’t make you a few more toys to make your cooking a little easier.”

Fortuna sniffed, “So are you both planning to stay home for a bit? Actually be parents and knock off all this gallivanting all around the world?”

“Well, the gallivanting is important too, Mom,” Subaru said without offense, “There’s a lot of demand that we need to meet. The Elior Forest has become the technical hub of the entire world!”

“I noticed,” She murmured, “How much money do you really need anyway?”

Subaru pondered that question for a moment. “Not that much, honestly. It’s not about money, it’s about jobs. It’s about making sure that the elves in the forest and the demi-humans in the surrounding communities all have good jobs and can afford to live well and take care of their families. I promised them all when they came out here that I would take care of them and I mean to keep that promise.”

“Hm,” Fortuna sniffed.

“It always amazes me how much you’ve accomplished in just a few years,” Guese reflected, “When you arrived here you were the only human in the forest and you showed up with nothing more than the clothes on your back. Half of the locals thought you were either a spy or an invader. If Emilia hadn’t spoken out on your behalf you would almost certainly have been exiled from the forest or worse. Even after Emilia persuaded them to tolerate you, most of the locals were openly suspicious. And you wouldn’t believe the kind of things Fortuna used to say about you.”

“Oh, I’d believe them, Guese,” Subaru replied with a smirk, “She said most of them right to my face.”

“And when you and Emilia started courting? Name of the Gods, I thought Fortuna was going to come over some night and ask me to help her bury your body!” Guese laughed.

“Well, Emilia chose me. To this day I have absolutely no idea why, but she did. And trust me it is very hard to refuse my wife anything that she wants,” Subaru chuckled.

I know that I need to finish this trial but… couldn’t I stay here… just a little while longer? I’ll never be this happy again.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Guese said, “Another small caravan came by yesterday. They’d heard about you and how the forest was a safe place for elves and demi-humans. They were hoping that you could find them work and a place to stay.”

Subaru frowned. “Hm. Well, we’re getting spread a little bit thin right now. We’re in between work orders,” He mused dubiously. Then he smiled, “Oh, heck with it! We’ll squeeze them in somewhere!”

“You already have a workshop crammed full of elves,” Guese chuckled.

“I know. I just need a red suit and some reindeer now,” Subaru replied.

“Pardon?” Guese asked.

“It’s a holiday from my world, although not technically from my homeland. It’s fun though! I think I might just introduce it here this winter,” Subaru mused.

“How far is this going to go, Subaru?” Fortuna asked, “Will you be satisfied just saving the forest or does your ego demand that you save the entire world?”

“Oh, the world, definitely! I really want little Perseus to be proud of me,” Subaru said waving at his baby.

“Have you ever considered cleaning up your home then? My grandson lives in a cottage where the housekeeping style suggests that there was a violent struggle,” Fortuna grumbled.

“Honestly, I think it’s a big improvement, Mom,” Subaru replied, “Before Mili forced me to move my workshop out of the house, the housekeeping style usually suggested that there had been an explosion!”

“Yes, and there usually had been,” Fortuna said, “We all thought it was a fantastic idea to move your workshop to the far end of the forest.”

“I know, right? Can you believe how big my workshop has gotten and how many other people are working with me now? If it was still connected to our cottage my workshop would have enveloped the house by now!” Subaru laughed.

“Actually I’m referring to all the explosions you cause when you’re tinkering around,” Fortuna said.

“It took the elves quite a while to accept that you weren’t really practicing some sort of fiendish black magic in there,” Guese agreed, “Also just imagine Perseus trying to nap through all that noise! He gets cranky when he doesn’t take a nap.”

“Also I still can’t believe that you talked Emilia into accepting that name,” Fortuna said shaking her head.

“What? Perseus was one of my favorite constellations. Also it was a great story. He’s everything I want my son to be: brave, resourceful, clever, and completely devoted to his mother,” Subaru replied.

“Subaru told me the story once,” Guese informed Fortuna, “It was actually very interesting. It was about some woman with snakes for fingers whose breath was so terrible that it could turn living things to stone.”

“Well, something like that I guess,” Subaru muttered as Fortuna looked baffled.

Guese and Mama Fortuna are living together. That’s wonderful. I always knew that they’d make the perfect couple. They must have started courting when I moved in with Subaru. Mama Fortuna would have told him to move in because she needed another pair of hands to do chores around the house now that I was me gone. She’d never admit that she just wanted Guese to be around more often.

“Are you still trying to buy the land around Elior from Roswaal?” Fortuna asked.

“Yeah. He seems amenable. He’s driving a hard bargain but I want to have control of the region just so I can make sure that I can protect it,” Subaru answered. “Gusteko has been flexing its muscles lately and the royal court made it clear to me that they consider the Elior Forest to be a buffer zone that would occupy the Gustekan army’s attention for a few weeks before they can attack ‘anyone of importance,’” He grumbled.

“What does that have to do with buying the area?” Guese asked.

Subaru chewed for a moment looking awkward. “I’ve been… experimenting with some weapon designs in my spare time. To make sure that if people come around here looking for a fight, we can kick them to the curb. But I need to keep control of these weapons, I’m not willing to just hand them over to the Kingdom. These should be weapons of defense. If I give them to the kingdom they’ll immediately start planning to conqueror the whole continent.”

“That does sound like them,” Fortuna admitted, “It’s good to see that you’re finally looking after things closer to home for a change. A married man and a Father needs to put down some roots. I’ll expect to see you both over here for dinner much more often.”

Oh, Mama Fortuna loves Subaru! She won’t admit it but she adores him. She loves her grandson. Guese and Mama Fortuna, Puck and Beatrice, they’re all here to share every moment with Subaru and me. Why can’t I have this in real life?!

“So should I practice calling you ‘Lord,’ Subaru?” Guese chuckled.

“Guese, if you ever call me ‘lord’ I will braid all your fingers and toes together,” Subaru grumbled, “I have way too much responsibility already. I just want to spend some time with my wife and son.”

Yes… all we need is a quiet life together. That’s all I need to be happy. Why couldn’t we just ask for the blood and someone would give it to us because we need it? Why can’t we just come back here? Why do we need to fight for the throne? Why do we have to be the ones to try and solve everyone’s problems?

“I thought people were already calling you ‘lord,’” Fortuna commented, “Most of the locals have decided that you walk on water.”

“Not me, Emilia!” Subaru disagreed, “I’m just running a business here. Emilia is the one who’s been running all over the place convincing humans and demi-humans to get along. At first when we started moving the slum denizens into the wood I thought the humans and elves were going to kill each other. Then Emilia started preaching her message of brotherhood and cooperation and everyone calmed down. Half the time I’m afraid to take a walk outside with Emilia; nine times out of ten someone is going to come running up and beg Emilia to settle a dispute before blood gets shed.”

Fortuna smiled. “Well, she is my niece,” She said proudly.

“You think she’s popular up here?” Subaru asked, “You should see what it’s like down in the capitol. Sometimes when we visit it’s like an impromptu parade. And Emilia was amazing at the castle yesterday. She addressed the entire court to lobby for the reform and repeal of all the human centric laws in Lagunica. She got a standing ovation when she finished and it looks like the law is going to pass by acclamation. Plus she was the one leading the initiative to get everyone out of the slums,” Subaru added, “Those folks have come close to opening the First Church of Emilia. I had to speak with them quite sternly about that.”

“Sternly?” Guese asked.

“Yeah! She’s my wife! The only one who gets to worship her awesomeness is me!” Subaru declared.

Guese laughed.

“The good news is that I don’t think Emilia and I will need to leave here for quite some time now,” Subaru continued. “I made all the preparations I need for a bit so we can just stay here and play with our baby. Everything we could possibly want is right here. We can forget about the outside world for a while; let those folks deal with their own messes. They’re not our problem.”

Emilia closed her eyes tight and bit her lip until she thought it might bleed, “Subaru, you dummy!” She whispered.

Subaru would never say that. Why did this Subaru say it?

Because he’s not the real Subaru. Nothing here is real. It’s a beautiful, wonderful dream and that’s all it is. Why did this Subaru have to open his mouth? Why couldn’t he just let me pretend?

Subaru would never say that; not in a million years. He’d be disappointed in me if I ever said it.

Wait a second. He would be disappointed in me if I said that. I know that he would!

I told him last night that the reason that he could never be disappointed in me was because he expected nothing from me but that wasn’t true. He… He expects me to care, to try. When I told him this morning that I didn’t want to take the trials anymore but I was going to do it anyway. He was proud of me. I saw it in his eyes.

Subaru kept saying that all he expected from me was to try and I dismissed him. I thought he was just being nice so he wouldn’t hurt my feelings; just being kind, sweet Subaru. But he told me the truth. That is what Subaru respects: Trying. Just trying.

I always thought that how hard you tried was meaningless if you ultimately failed but Subaru doesn’t see it that way. He is proud of me! I thought that everyone considered me a failure but Subaru was proud of me just because I kept trying!

Subaru believes in me. He believes that I can save everyone in the Sanctuary, that I can even save him. I can’t let Subaru down. I can’t just keep being a helpless girl. It’s finally my turn to save Subaru.

Emilia handed Perseus to Subaru and stood up from the table.

“I’m sorry but I need to go now,” She whispered.

“Go?” Fortuna asked in surprise, “Go where?”

“I may not know anything about being a hero but you and Subaru have taught me a lot about taking care of the people that I love. Those people need me right now. Subaru needs me. That’s why I have to leave,” Emilia repeated, stepping away from the table and starting to walk toward the door.

“Leave?! Hey- Emilia, wait!” Subaru cried, putting the baby against his shoulder and racing after Emilia.

“Mili, where are you going?” Subaru demanded.

“I have to go. I can’t be here, not yet,” Emilia said simply.

“Emilia, that doesn’t make any sense!” Subaru protested, “Why would you want to leave? Everything we could ever want is here!”

“Yes,” Emilia agreed, “Everything except you.”

“Huh?” Subaru replied.

“Don’t worry, Subaru. I’ll be back. I’ll be here again but the next time, we’ll get here together,” Emilia promised.

“Why would- Emilia, what the hell are you even talking about? I mean, it’s the story of my life with you but why are you trying to make things more difficult for yourself than they have to be? Are you really willing to just walk away from me? From our son? Even if you could somehow get back here again would everyone still be here?” Subaru demanded.

“No,” Emilia said simply, tears streaming down her face. “Everyone won’t be here. I’ve accepted that. Every step I take away from this place is killing me inside. When I finally make my way back here it won’t be the same, it won’t be as good. Mama Fortuna and Guese won’t be able to be here with me. Maybe even Perseus can’t be here.”

“Then why-” Subaru begged.

“But you’ll really be here with me next time, Subaru,” Emilia said, smiling sweetly. She touched his chest as her tears kept falling, “And that’s what’s most important.”

Emilia tasted the tears flowing down her face as made her way to the door without looking back.

Perseus started to cry in his father’s arms as Emilia walked out the door.

“Emilia? Emilia!” Subaru cried as the world dissolved to white.

Garfiel came flying out of the trees and landed on his back in front of the Tomb with terrific crash. A short, painfully thin figure leaped after him.

“Garf!” Subaru shouted, running over to him. Subaru saw the leaping figure pull out a dagger on a chain and throw it at Garfiel’s prone body but Subaru got in between them and triggered Indomitable.

The dagger bounced off Subaru harmlessly. He grabbed the chain and tried to pull the figure in but apparently Indomitable didn’t increase his strength this way and the twisted figure quickly recovered.

“Garf! You alright?,” Subaru asked, standing guard over him as Garfiel regained his feet.

“Fine,” He snapped although his body was covered in wounds. “I’m like Moris at Dromund Ka.”

“Who are you?” Subaru asked the twisted figure, “Are you… Lye?”

The figure paused and shifted from a combat posture for a moment. He had the same emaciated body, long stringy hair and the same maw full of sharp teeth. “You know my brother?” He asked.

“Well… we’ve met,” Subaru replied.

The figure put a finger in his mouth thoughtfully. “You must be the one that we’re not supposed to kill. Or the one that we weren’t supposed to kill, anyway. You should have followed the Gospel’s direction. I’m Roy Alphard, a Sin Archbishop of the Witch Cult representing gluttony.”

Shit. Rem is going to have a lot of questions about the Archbishops being told not to kill me, for whatever reason, but it sounds like my immunity has run out.

“Roy, I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about, nor do I care. Rem, see if you can heal Garf,” Subaru instructed, not taking his eyes off Roy.

“Look, I’m getting hungry. It would really be best if you’d just tell me where the elf is,” Roy said.