“Princess Kairei,” Malcolm an Griest said in oddly dolorous tones when Anri was presented to him in his command tent. “What a wonderful, unexpected surprise.”

Deann sipped her tea. “Honestly, Father, it makes the entire matter of bring all of these men out to fight seem somewhat redundant, does it not?”

“True,” Malcolm admitted. “But it serves as proof of the power of our House.”

“Tell me, Prince Malcolm, what precisely makes you think that it is a good idea to attack Lagunica with this army?” Anri asked.

Malcolm stared at her incredulously. “What are you talking about?”

“Apparently, several members of the armed forces in Lagunica have come to the conclusion that this army is aimed at their throat.”

Duncan stared at Anri in horror. “My lord, what if your actions were misinterpreted?! If Lagunica thinks that we truly mean to attack-”

“Cow chips!” Malcolm snapped. “Lagunica won’t respond as long as we do not cross into their territory. I expected more from a Princess of the realm than such ludicrous stories!”

“Why does no one ever believe me?” Anri sighed to herself.

Deann gave Duncan a worried look. “Father, what shall we do with her?” Deann asked finally.

“Canmore is unbetrothed,” Duncan suggested quickly.

Anri gave a mirthless laugh. “He was a good boy when last we met. He must be nearly seven now, yes?”

“Almost ten actually,” Deann replied. “I agree, Father. It would be the easiest way to end this war. And it would clearly establish Griest as dominant over Ithil.”

Malcolm scratched his black and gray beard. “No,” He decided. “I have higher aspirations for Canmore than this. One day he shall be Holy King.” Malcolm’s face became grave. “I’m afraid that you have caused too much trouble, Princess Kairei. You have undermined the natural order in Gusteko-”

“I have threatened your hegemony, you mean!” Anri said with a defiant shake of her head.

Malcolm glowered at her and sighed. “Princess Kairei, you have conspired with Lagunica to weaken our nation! Your House is a disgrace to Gusteko and this can not be borne. Unfortunate though it may be, I require that your House become extinct. But I will show mercy on the people of your province. This is the best that I can do.”

“What about Gael?!” Anri said sharply.

Malcolm hesitated.

“Prince Malcolm,” Anri said desperately. “You know that Gael is no threat to you! He will never enter politics and he is likely to never have a child to continue his line. Let him have a peaceful life away from all of this!” Anri almost begged.

“I agree, Prince Malcolm,” Duncan added unexpectedly. “Gael is no threat to you and you will gain much more respect for showing mercy in this case than completing a bloody victory against someone who can’t fight back.”

Malcolm sighed. “Very well then. Gael will be permitted to live. Tomorrow we will continue our march to the border and make our threats against Lagunica. Following the completion of this mission, this we will lay siege to Siros and demand Regent Radu’s surrender. Then you will be executed.”

Everyone in the room seemed somewhat morose at that statement.

“Tomorrow, Father?” Deann asked in surprise. “Isn’t it… rather very early in the day to make a camp for the night?”

Duncan shrugged. “We’ve already made camp to wait for the Princess, Lady Deann. I must admit that I do not relish the idea of breaking down the camp, marching another two miles and then setting up camp again for the night.”

Deann made a face. “Good point.”

“Moreover, we’re still expecting the remaining forces of Brokvar, Hilde, Craite, and Voivode. We told them that we would await them here,” Malcolm reminded her.

Deann nodded.

Malcolm gestured to the soldiers guarding the princess. “Take the Princess away. Guard her well.”

“I will bring her back to her cell,” Duncan volunteered.

Malcolm nodded and waved dismissively.

Duncan took Anri’s chain and gently lead her out of the tent.

The two walked in silence to another tent not far away. Duncan led Anri inside to where they found a large cage. Julius was locked in a similar cage next to hers. The knight glowered at Duncan but he said nothing.

Duncan opened it and Anri stepped inside without a word.

Duncan locked it behind her.

Duncan stared at Anri, his face twisted in dismay. “I… I don’t quite know what to say, Anri.”

Anri didn’t respond.

Duncan shook his head. “I will continue to speak to Prince Malcolm tonight,” He promised. “I will endeavor to make him see reason. Your marriage to Canmore is the only sensible end to this mess!”

Anri gave a tired chuckle. “Do you think there is any chance that he will listen to you?” Anri asked archly.

Duncan bowed his head in sorrow.

“Duncan,” Anri said slowly. “After I… die… I am very worried about Gael. He’ll… need someone to watch over him.”

Duncan nodded fervently. “You need have no fear for Gael. I will keep him safe from all harm and he will die of a ripe old age. Even if it costs me my life!”

Anri sighed. “Thank you, Duncan. That is a great comfort to me,” She murmured.

Duncan bit his lip. “Anri, I… I never wanted things to come to this…”

“I know, Duncan,” She sighed. “I hold you blameless for this end. Nor do I begrudge you your loyalty to House Griest.”

“Is there… anything I could bring you?” He asked plaintively. “Something to make your evening more comfortable?”

Anri thought for a moment. “There is one thing,” She admitted.

“Name it!”

Anri silently pointed to a table nearby that had a small knife resting on top of it.

Duncan’s face twisted in horror. “No, Anri!”

“Princess!” Julius gasped.

“Duncan,” She said kindly. “I am already dead. All the forces of Siros couldn’t rescue me from an army this size. Let me die my way. Don’t let me be led back to Siros in chains and publicly executed to break whatever is left of my people’s spirits.”

Duncan’s face was mournful and his body trembled as he slowly took the knife and handed it to Anri.

Anri smiled at him. “Thank you, Duncan. I depart this world in good conscious, knowing that you will see to my brother’s safety.”

Duncan’s eyes streamed tears. “You should… wait a while,” He whispered. “Wait until everyone goes to sleep or someone will certainly find your bleeding body in time to heal you…”

Anri nodded. “Thank you, Duncan. You’ve always been a good friend to my family.”

Duncan’s face twisted, a dozen different emotions playing over his face. He searched for the right words to say and couldn’t find them. Finally he snapped a salute and turned around, exiting the tent, his eyes streaming tears.

The pair looked down into the valley and their hearts sank.

“We can’t just give up, Subaru!” Emilia said. “We have to help her!”

Subaru shook his head. “There have got to be ten thousand men in that valley,” Subaru whispered.

Emilia watched Subaru looking all over the valley, deep in thought. His eyes seemed to flicker.

Emilia looked away, staring at the forest behind them and she stiffened.

She sprang to her feet and dashed into the forest in a blur.

Subaru’s head snapped around. “Emilia!” he shouted.

He heard a struggle in the woods and he drew his rapier, running after her.

As they approached, Emilia stepped out of the woods, effortlessly holding a struggling person. He was barely more than a boy and he was wearing a brown uniform.

“Well well,” Subaru muttered, slashing his rapier through the air. “What have we here?”

The boy clenched his lips, symbolizing that he wouldn’t talk.

“I want to know about that camp, kid,” Subaru growled.

“Hold fast!” Another voice shouted as dozens of men in the same uniform emerged from the forest with swords drawn. The leader was a grizzled old man with a bushy mustache.

Subaru and Emilia drew closer together. She summoned her ice sword but she didn’t release the struggling soldier, holding him with one arm.

“Listen, buddy,” Subaru growled. “I am going to rescue Anri and you really don’t want to get in my way. So tell me everything you know about that camp or I’ll start cutting the information out of the lot of you, bit by bit!”

The leader looked confused and Subaru raised his rapier before the officer’s eyes so that he could look at it. “I’m not kidding and I don’t have much time to waste here. Tell us about the camp!”

The officer gasped. “Where did you get that rapier?!” He demanded.

Subaru frowned, thrown off step. “It was given to me by a friend whom I intend to rescue so you had better tell me everything you know about your camp right now!”

The officer just stared at Subaru in confusion.

“You’re troops from Siros, aren’t you?” Emilia asked.

The officer hesitated then finally nodded. “We were accompanying a caravan of forty wagons bringing goods south to Ganaks to trade for supplies on the orders of Regent Radu. One of my scouts reported a large detachment of men in this area and we came to investigate and confirm if the area was still safe for us to pass through.”

“Listen,” Subaru urged. “We’re here to rescue Princess Anri! Can you help us?!”

“Anri?” The officer repeated in confusion. “Wait. You mean Princess… Kairei?!”

Subaru closed his eyes with a sigh. “I fucking hate Gusteko names. Yes! Whatever. She’s down there in that camp and I want to save her!”

“The princess has been captured?!” The officer gasped.

“Is there any way that you can bring reinforcements here quickly?” Subaru asked. “Maybe enough for a night raid? If we could catch them by surprise then we might have a chance.”

The officer slumped and shook his head. “There’s nobody else for at least a day’s march. I only have fifty men and we are not warriors. We’ve been sent to escort goods to Ganaks! We weren’t expected to engage in a fight!”

“Fighting would be fairly futile in any case,” Emilia muttered, letting go of the boy who stumbled away from her. “As we’re outnumbered about two hundred to one.”

“Officer…” Subaru prompted.

“My name is Captain Antilles,” The grizzled officer answered.

“What kind of goods are you transporting? Anything useful?” Subaru asked.

The captain thought for a moment. “Our cargo consists of two hundred pounds of wassabi, four hundred yards of silk, three hundred pounds of ginger, three thousand gallons of sesame seed oil, four hundred pounds of frankincense, and six hundred pounds of cinnamon,” The officer said, sounding slightly embarrassed.

“Nothing useful then,” Subaru sighed.

“Why are you carrying so many spices?” Emilia asked.

The captain looked at Emilia askance, noting her hair and ears, but ultimately he said, “The trade routes to Kararagi have been closed for some time but we managed to sneak some goods over the border and through the enemy lines. Regent Radu commanded us to bring the goods to Lagunica where spices fetch a high demand and we can bring back a substantial amount of food to Siros in exchange.”

Subaru sighed. “Perhaps we could offer Malcolm an Griest seasonings for his supper in exchange for Anri’s life,” Subaru muttered.

“Subaru, that’s not helping,” Emilia chided.

Subaru thought for a long moment.

“Captain,” Subaru said finally. “Will you help us try to rescue the Princess?”

Antilles hesitated. “Our lives are pledged to House Ithil,” He said finally. “If by my life or death I can save the Princess, I will do so. But I require some possibility of success. I won’t order my men to throw their lives away for a lost cause.”

“Fair enough,” Subaru nodded.

“Might I know your names?” Captain Antilles voice was not quite friendly and Subaru struggled to ignore the way that he was looking at Emilia with raw suspicion.

“This is my fiancee, the Lady Emilia,” Subaru said quietly.

Emilia gave a slight curtsy.

“I’m Subaru Natsuki,” He finished.

Captain Antilles recoiled. “The Butcher of Arlem?!”

The soldiers around them trembled.

Emilia scowled at Antilles and Subaru face-palmed.

“Separate conversation!” Subaru said quickly. “Look, the whole Arlem thing is a bullshit story that got blown way out of proportion! Right now the only thing I want to do is to rescue the princess. I think we can all agree on this?” Subaru asked with an edge in his voice.

Emilia nodded immediately, Antilles and his soldiers nodded more slowly but they did nod.

“Captain, come and take a look at the camp. Maybe some strategy will present itself.”

Subaru, Emilia, and Captain Antilles looked over the edge into the shallow valley. The other soldiers hid in the forest nearby.

“This is not just a Sanshi army,” Antilles murmured. “I see flags from House Craite, House Brokvar, House Hilde, and even House Voivode!” He said in astonishment. “Those freaks of nature drink the blood of the dead!”

“I don’t really care about their eating habits right now,” Subaru muttered.

“I sense spirits down there,” Emilia whispered. “Powerful spirits.”

Once Emilia had mention it, Subaru noticed several tiny balls of light drifting through the camp.

Antilles nodded. “Gusteko magic is heavily spirit arts based. We use spirits in combat the same way as Lagunica relies on elemental spell craft.”

Subaru frowned. “Can anyone guess where Anri would be being held?”

“There,” Antilles said with authority, pointing at a large tent.

“How are you so certain?” Emilia asked.

Antilles gave her an unsettled look. “Prison tents always have guards. That is the only tent with guards standing at post.”

Subaru nodded. “Good point,” He murmured, staring at the tent. “Well, it’s pretty close to the edge of the camp, surprisingly.”

Emilia frowned. “We might be able to sneak in there and rescue Anri,” She said dubiously.

“Maybe,” Subaru admitted. “If we had a distraction. We’d need to persuade anyone patrolling the perimeter to be elsewhere for us to have a chance.”

“What about the guards at the tent?” Emilia asked.

“Hopefully, we wouldn’t even need to deal with them,” Subaru replied. “It’s a tent. You can make a door anywhere you want with a sharp knife.”

“Regardless,” Antilles interjected. “I think it would be naive to assume that an alarm will not be sounded quickly.”

Subaru nodded. “There’s some very tall grass in this valley. That should provide cover for us to sneak up to the camp. It might even cover our escape.”

“I doubt that you will be so fortunate,” Antilles disagreed. “Look there!” He pointed.

They all looked and saw a group of people standing outside the largest tent. Most of them were grizzled old men with the demeanor of senior officers. Three of them were wearing red capes and looked like nobility. There was an enormous man with a short black beard, a slender young woman with dark hair wearing a green robe, and a heavily muscled young man.

“Those are three of the Acolyte Knights,” Antilles whispered.

“The what?” Subaru asked.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“The elite warriors of Gusteko,” Antilles said grimly.

Subaru frowned. “Are those like the equivalent of Royal Knights?”

“Essentially, yes,” Antilles replied.

Subaru sighed. “Alright. This complicates matters. I don’t want to have to fight three ‘Juliuses.’”

“Fight what?” Antilles asked in confusion.

Subaru shook his head. “Forget it. Alright, so if we can distract the guards long enough to grab Anri and make a break for it, we’ll almost certainly have an alarm sounded before we can clear the valley.”

Antilles nodded. “Indeed, and this is a problem. One Acolyte Knight would be capable of smashing through my men all by themselves.”

Subaru frowned. “Well, that’s just great!”

“The 4th and 5th ranked Acolyte Knights are in that valley,” Antilles said. “I can see Prince Malcolm an Griest, his daughter Lady Deann, and her ‘student’ Duncan.”

“Student?” Subaru asked, picking up on the way the word was emphasized.

“Sir Duncan is not technically an Acolyte Knight,” Antilles explained. “He has been an apprentice of Lady Deann for nearly a decade. The reality is that he could end his studies at any time and he is already more formidable than most Acolyte Knights. However, he is in love with Lady Deann. Prince Malcolm will not give his approval for their marriage so they maintain their teacher-student relationship to allow them to remain together.”

“Clever,” Subaru admitted.

“Sir Duncan is called ‘the Unshakable,’” Antilles continued. “He specializes in a highly defensive style of fighting. He’s been known to wade into whole crowds of foes and then calmly walk out without a scratch,” Antilles continued. “Lady Deann is an incredible sword fighter who uses twin short swords in combat. She claims to be able to slice a man to ribbons before he even realizes that she drew her sword. Prince Malcolm is the strongest Acolyte Knight of those here assembled. He is able to draw a vast amount of power from his spirit partners to enhance his own strength and speed.”

“Spirit partners?” Subaru said sharply.

Antilles looked at him puzzled. “Yes, Acolyte Knights draw their magic from the spirits. They’re all Spirit Knights.”

Subaru frowned and thought hard.

“Subaru, what is it?” Emilia murmured.

Antilles was shaking his head. “Unless we can deal with the Acolyte Knights, the power of the army is irrelevant and escape would be impossible.”

“Captain,” Subaru said slowly. “Let’s… just assume for the moment that I can handle the Acolyte Knights…”

“Do you think you can?” Antilles said in surprise. “I’ve heard that you’re called ‘the Invincible’ but can you truly take on such odds?”

Subaru hesitated. “Let’s just pretend for a moment that I can,” Subaru murmured. “I think that I might have a plan.”

“What is it, Subaru?” Emilia asked eagerly.

“Hang on, give me a minute to polish it,” Subaru replied. “Captain, if our idea has hope to rescue the princess, are you willing to help us?”

Antilles nodded slowly. “I’ll want to hear your plan first,” He said pointedly. “But if it is sound then my men and I are prepared to risk our lives to save the Princess.”

“If I’ve got this right, nobody in your unit needs to risk their lives,” Subaru replied. “Can you give me and Emilia a few minutes to polish this idea?”

Antilles nodded, standing up and brushing the dirt off his clothes. “I’ll go brief my men.”

Subaru and Emilia watched him slip away.

Subaru gestured back toward the forest. “Let’s talk where we won’t be overheard.”

Emilia nodded and they walked a few hundred yards back into the trees.

“What’s the plan?” Emilia whispered.

“OK, so I learned a new trick today… yesterday… Fuck, I don’t know any more. Mili, when was the last time that we slept?!” Subaru mourned.

“Later, Subaru,” She said firmly. “What’s the plan?”

“OK. So when I was fighting Julius, I discovered that my Pridebreaker ability can do more than control mabeasts. It can also control spirits!”

Emilia’s eyes widened. “No wonder the spirits always panicked when you used it!”

“Yup. That’s probably why. Anyway, when I fought Julius, I took away his spirits but I couldn’t figure out how to use them.”

“Did you ever use Beatrice’s magic?” Emilia asked.

“Um. No, not really,” Subaru admitted. “If magic needed to be used, she basically just did it herself. I thought of Beatrice as more of a little sister than a partner in combat.”

Emilia nodded. “When things settle down, I’ll have to give you a few lessons in spirit arts.”

“Worry about that later,” Subaru said dismissively. “Anyway, if these three are all spirit knights and if I take their spirits away, they should be crippled.”

“With Indomitable, you should be able to defeat them easily,” Emilia nodded.

Subaru winced. “Um. Emilia, that’s the other thing. Apparently, while I’m using Pridebreaker to control the spirits… I can’t use Indomitable.”

“What?!”

“Yeah, I was pretty upset to find out too,” Subaru replied. “Also, remember that I was in a fight when I figured this out.”

“But if you couldn’t use Indomitable then how did you fight Julius?” Emilia said, looking aghast.

Subaru sighed. “I think dumb luck had a lot to do with it,” He admitted.

Emilia shook her head in disbelief. “You tried to fight one of the best duelists in the kingdom and you didn’t even have any magic?!” She asked incredulously.

“It wasn’t my idea!” Subaru protested. “Look, the point is that if I use Pridebreaker on them, they won’t be any good for fighting.”

“But neither will you!” Emilia reminded him.

“Hey! I beat Julius, didn’t I?” Subaru reminded her.

Emilia did not look reassured.

Subaru sighed. “Look, I might not even have to deal with them in the first place. If my plan works then we’ll panic everybody and they’ll run for the hills.”

Emilia folded her arms across her chest. “Alright, so what is this plan?”

Subaru sighed. “So first, we’re going to need a distraction.”

Emilia shook her head. “There are only fifty soldiers, Subaru. I don’t think that would be much of a distraction.”

Subaru snorted. “It wouldn’t be any kind of distraction! Any competent commander would realize that nobody is going to attack ten thousands men with fifty! They’d know it was just a distraction and start looking everywhere for the other shoe to drop. And that’s even ignoring the fact that none of the men who formed our distraction would survive!”

“Then what’s our distraction?”

“We’ll head back to the forest and gather up the mabeasts that I… tamed or whatever you want to call it. We’ll bring them back here and use them to menace the camp. A horde of mabeasts will attract a lot of attention from the soldiers. I’ll tell them to play cat and mouse and try to lure the soldiers out.”

“Alright,” Emilia nodded.

“While that’s going on, you and I will sneak into the camp from the rear and rescue Anri. Then we’ll flee into the tall grass and make our escape, hopefully before anyone sees us.”

Emilia looked dubious. “I don’t know, Subaru. This plan seems like it will take an awful lot of luck.”

Subaru nodded. “I know. That’s why we’re going to have to assume that the army will be hot on our heels. While we’re gathering up the mabeasts, I’m going to tell the soldiers to start painting the tall grass in the far part of the field with sesame seed oil.”

Emilia blinked, looking confused.

Subaru smirked. “Sesame seed oil makes a ton of smoke when it catches fire, Mili. My mom used to cook with it from time to time. Usually badly,” He added. “We’ll have Antilles’s men standing by to ignite the field with fire arrows as soon as we get clear. When the sesame seed oil burns, it will start to smoke intensely. The fire probably won’t spread very much, I doubt that grass is really dry enough to burn and sesame seed oil isn’t much of an accelerant but the soldiers in the field are going to be disoriented and gasping for breath and dodging brush fires. They’ll give up the chase and we can get away!”

Emilia thought it over and then slowly nodded. “That makes sense, but what about the Acolyte Knights? Do you really think that we can lose them that easily?”

Subaru shrugged. “If we can’t then I’ll use Pridebreaker on them and then I’ll fight them.”

It’s going to be three on one without Indomitable. Can I actually win this fight…

“We’ll fight them,” Emilia corrected.

Subaru blinked. “What?! No!”

Emilia stared at him incredulously. “Excuse me?! Subaru, I am not going to let you fight three powerful knights all by yourself!” Emilia said.

Subaru just stared at her for a long moment. “Emilia, you can’t fight these guys! These are trained warriors! Killers!”

Emilia blinked in surprise and then her expression turned outraged. “I fought the Bowel Hunter!”

“And you almost died!” Subaru remind her.

“You nearly died fighting her too, if you recall!” She retorted.

Subaru took a deep breath and fought for calm. “Emilia. You don’t have any training at fighting.”

Emilia threw up her hands in exasperation. “Neither do you, Subaru! Since when did you let that hold you back?!”

Subaru sighed. “Look, Emilia-”

“Subaru, if you’re going to try to tell me to just sit back and watch while you fight three knights alone and without your magic then you can just save it!” Emilia snapped.

Subaru thought for a moment and took a deep breath. “Emilia, listen,” Subaru said in a placating voice.

“Subaru,” She said firmly. “You are about to go into a fight with your life on the line. Yours and Anri’s! You can’t really expect me to just sit by and watch!”

“Well, what if I get flanked or something?” Subaru asked uncertainly. “I’ll need someone to stay behind and watch my back!”

Emilia’s face was stony. She folded her arms across her chest. “Subaru. Please don’t tell me that you really thought I was dumb enough to fall for that.”

Subaru threw his hands in the air. “OK, fine! I’m trying to protect you. I’m trying to keep you out of the fight because I’m afraid you’ll get hurt again,” He said earnestly.

Emilia scowled at him. “I can take care of myself!” she protested. “I’m not just… baggage that you have to carry around!”

Subaru sighed. “Mili!” Subaru said in exasperation. “I don’t have time for this! We’re working against the clock here! We’ll have to talk about this later. We don’t-”

Emilia cut him off. “I’m just as competent in a dangerous situation as you are, Subaru!” She said with a defiant toss of her head.

“Mili-”

Emilia wasn’t listening. “Maybe better! I’m stronger, faster, and have more endurance than you! And that’s not even counting my magic. And my magic doesn’t have a five second time limit!”

“Mili-”

“Ever since we left the Sanctuary, I’ve been pulling my own weight, Subaru! And I want you to acknowledge that!”

Subaru slapped his palm against his forehead. “No, you haven’t been, Mili!” He shouted. “Alright?! I’m not sure if this ever dawned on you but every time you try to fight, you just make things worse! Remember cursing me and Felt when you tried to fight Lye? Remember almost dying to Elsa and making me and Anri go find medicine to save your life?! Every time that you try to fight you just make a bigger mess for me to clean up!”

Emilia looked Subaru full in the face. Her anger had faded and in its place was an expression of such surprise and hurt that it nearly stopped Subaru’s heart.

Subaru clapped a hand over his mouth in shock.

Emilia shook her head. “You… really don’t respect me at all, do you, Subaru?” She whispered.

Subaru looked horrified at himself. “Emilia. I didn’t mean that,” He swore.

Emilia glowered at him. “Yes, you did. You were finally honest with me about how you really feel. For once!” Emilia snapped, her face livid.

“Emilia, I’m sorry,” Subaru said fervently. “I was angry and I wasn’t thinking and I didn’t mean what I said!”

Emilia just shook her head, grinding her teeth. “Everything,” She snarled. “It was all for nothing! I might as well have not have even bothered to try!”

“Emilia! I’m sorry!” Subaru begged, reaching out for her.

Emilia pushed him away. “Don’t touch me! Everything that I’ve done since we split up in the capitol… it was all for nothing. It was a waste of time. Roswaal… was right about everything!”

Subaru blinked. “Roswaal?! What does Roswaal have to do with anything?”

Emilia whirled on Subaru, blazing fury in her eyes. “Roswaal convinced me to separate from you because he said that was the only way that I could convince you that I could do things for myself! He told me that you saw me as helpless and pathetic. I believed him. I went with him when we left the capitol to try and prove that I could be more than that!”

Subaru frowned trying to puzzle out what Emilia was trying to say.

Emilia looked away and her face grew morose. “We were trapped in the Sanctuary and I just… I wanted to die. Everyone could see how worthless I was. How helpless. I couldn’t do anything to save hundreds of other lives. I couldn’t do anything even to save my own life,” Emilia whispered to herself. She turned to Subaru and gave him a look of contempt. “Then you told me that you believed in me. You said that you knew that I could do it,” She sneered. “But it was just words, wasn’t it? You never really believed that I could do anything! You’re just like Daddy!”

“What are you talking about?!” Subaru said, completely lost.

Emilia turned her face away, snarling very bad words under her breath.

He shook his head violently. “Emilia! I… I don’t understand! What are you trying to say?”

Emilia took several deep breaths and finally she turned to glower at Subaru. “Subaru, I went to the Sanctuary to show that I was someone who should be respected. I fought through those horrible trials to try and prove that!” She snapped.

Subaru hesitated. “But you are! Emilia, you did complete the trials! You saved everyone in the Sanctuary! I know that people’s memories have been twisted but as soon as we fix that, everyone will remember you. They’ll all know that you really are a hero! They’ll all think of you as someone worthy of respect and admiration. I promise!”

Emilia shook her head violently and stamped her foot. “Subaru, you are so incredibly stupid!”

“What did I say?!” Subaru asked helplessly.

“Subaru! I wanted you to respect me! That’s why I did all of this! I wanted to prove that I was someone worthy of your respect!”

“I do respect you, Emilia!” Subaru protested.

“No, you don’t, Subaru! You don’t think that I can handle the dangers in our lives. You don’t see me as a equal or a partner! You’re just like Daddy! You don’t think that I can do anything!”

“That is not true,” Subaru refuted immediately. “I know how much you can do. I watched how hard you worked every day since we met. I watched you talk to people who thought that your ears and hair made you a devil and convinced them to give you a chance. I watched you fight your way through the Sanctuary trials. I watched you endure the loss of Puck and all our friends. You are a hero, Emilia. You are the person I most admire in two worlds and I’ll never see you as any less than that,” He said firmly.

Emilia gave him a hard look. “But you still won’t let me fight with you.”

“No.”

Emilia bared her teeth at him.

Subaru spread his arms wide. “Look, Emilia, I refuse to feel guilty about this! I love you! I want you to be safe! It’s not a bad thing that I’m trying to protect you. I want you to be safe even if I can’t be. I want you to get away even if I can’t,” He paused. “I want you to be happy even if it means that I can’t be there to share it with you,” He said quietly.

Emilia’s scowl faded just slightly. “How could I ever be happy without you?” She muttered.

Subaru shook his head. “Emilia,” He began.

Emilia raised her head imperiously. “Subaru, if you won’t let me fight beside you, I’ll interpret it as you saying that you never really loved me,” She said in a deathly whisper.

Subaru flinched and stared at Emilia wide eyed. “What… How… How could you even say that?” He whispered.

Emilia took a deep breath. “Subaru, I need your respect,” Emilia said firmly. “If you can love me but not respect me then I don’t want either one. I’m looking for a partner in my life not just another caretaker. I don’t want a husband who feels like he aways needs to protect me. I want someone who knows that I’ll always be there to help and support him the same way as I want him to help and support me.”

Subaru hesitated and took a deep breath. “Mili, you fighting in this battle will put you in incredible danger! Can you even imagine how I would feel if something happened to you?!”

Emilia stared at him in astonishment for a long time and then she clenched her teeth and rolled her eyes skyward. “Subaru! You are so unbelievably selfish and stupid!” She screamed.

“Excuse me?!”

“Of course I can imagine it, you dummy!” She snapped. “I have imagined it. I imagined it when you fought the troll and when you battled the Archbishops. I imagined it when Elsa attacked you and when we faced the Snow Blight. I imagined it when Roswaal tried to make you his slave and when the Black Water nearly killed you. I’ve been imagining it since the day that we met and you never even noticed!”

Subaru frowned. “That’s… I mean, that’s… different…” He said lamely.

Emilia shook her head. “Subaru Natsuki, you are nothing but a spoiled child,” She said in a voice of contempt. “Your whole objection to me fighting is that you don’t want to have to worry about the person you love getting hurt. I’ve been worried about that since literally the day that we met and you never gave it a second thought! Now, after just a few days of worrying about me, you’re already prepared to cry quits! Does that sound fair to you?!”

Subaru hesitated. “Well, no…” He admitted.

Subaru struggled to put his thoughts into words. “I… Look, Emilia,” He whispered, reaching out to take her hands. She reluctantly allowed him to take them, her face still sullen. “You are everything to me! I can’t handle even the possibility of losing you. If you died, I’d have nothing to live for!” He said earnestly.

Emilia just rolled her eyes. “Well, you’d still have more than me, Subaru!” Emilia snapped, without an ounce of sympathy.

Subaru blinked.

“Without you, Subaru, I have nothing! Especially if Anri dies too. There is no one, literally no one on this entire world who can love me or call me friend. If something happened to me, you would still have Puck and Beatrice, Reinhard and Felt, and even Garfiel, Rem, and Ram. If you died, I would be all alone. Forever.”

Subaru just stared at her.

“We are planning to be married, Subaru,” Emilia said intently. “But I will not be your house pet. If I’m going to be your wife then we will face every challenge side by side. I don’t care how dangerous it is. If you’re in danger than I’m going to share that danger with you. End of discussion.”

Subaru swallowed hard. “What if… something happens to you?” Subaru murmured in a frightened voice.

Emilia sighed. “Subaru,” She said in a more conciliatory tone, “I need you to trust me right now.”

Subaru shook his head. “Emilia, I trust you with my life.”

“Do you trust me with mine?”

“Huh?”

“Subaru, you don’t want me to fight with you because you’re afraid that I’ll get hurt. I don’t want you to fight alone because I’m afraid that you’ll get hurt.”

Subaru hesitated.

“Subaru,” Emilia said, stepping closer to him. “If we are going to have any chance at all in curing my curse and reuniting our family, it is going to be extremely dangerous. It will be dangerous even with both of us working together. It would be impossible for you working alone. That’s why I need you to trust that I can help you and that I won’t let you down in a dangerous situation. I need you to trust that, no matter what happens, I can protect myself and be there to watch out for you. The same way I trust that you can protect yourself and that you’ll look out for me.”

“I do trust you, Mili,” Subaru assured her.

“No, you don’t, Subaru! You’re trying to keep me here safe and out of the way because you don’t trust me. I’m not talking about trusting me not to betray you. I mean trusting me not to mess up when it matters the most. You feel that you can’t trust me to be able to help you when things get desperate or even to be able to protect myself from danger so that you don’t have to do it. You think that I’m more of a hindrance than help.

“You don’t trust me. And I understand why! I’ve let you down so many times! It was my fault that Roswaal separated us, it was my fault that Felt and the others turned against us, and it was my fault that Reinhard found us and took the spirits away! I know that you have no reason to trust me right now. I am the most pathetic failure of a woman on the face of this world!” Emilia said, bowing her head with tears standing in her eyes.

Subaru’s jaw dropped but he didn’t know what to say.

Emilia sighed and raised her head. She looked Subaru square in the eye and said firmly. “But I’m also the woman who killed the Bowel Hunter. I’m the woman who fought the stormcrow to protect you. I’m the woman who fought the Snow Blight at your side. I’m the woman who pulled you out of the icy lake and brought you home safely. I’m the woman who got us out of Ganaks and who freed the Sanctuary. I did all of that because you needed me to!” She proclaimed in a loud voice. “Subaru, I need you to have faith in me just one more time! I need you to believe in me when I say that if the man I love really needs me to succeed then there’s no way that I’ll fail!”