Chapter 11: Strained Ties
Balthazar sat on the floor near the foot of Alice’s bed, it was nearly noon, and she’d refused to leave the safety of her bedding, though she was certainly wide awake, she;d gotten up to eat, but had almost immediately retreated back to her room. He’d stepped out earlier to try and get a read on Sienna following the night before, only to find the captain on the opposite ship. Silence then, from either of them. He glanced over to Alice, still staring up at the ceiling.
“You don’t have to stick around, you know,” she mumbled.
“I know. Would you like me to step out again?”
“No, I just don’t think you need to bother with me right now.”
Balthazar glanced back at her worryingly. “We can talk about it when you’re ready.”
Alice blinked slowly, before sighing. “It’s just like before, Balthazar, how am I supposed to respond to any of this? I don’t- Is that really her? Is that Diana?” She rolled over to her side. “I don’t know if I’m supposed to act all giddy that my sister could be right there, or feel heartbroken that I thought she was dead for years.”
Balthazar wondered if the name was pure coincidence, not wanting to say it out loud, knowing it probably wasn’t appropriate at the moment. Nocturne was a new family name in Linia, as far as he knew Alice’s father, Crowe, had been the first raised in Linia, though he hadn’t been born there. “I don’t believe I ever knew what her Mark was, you?”
“No, Dad doesn’t like keeping up pictures of Mom and Diana, or showing me. It always hurts him too much.”
Balthazar turned away for a moment and grimaced. He’d always been an only child, and was too young to remember much in the way of details from all that long ago. “I wish I could be a bigger help to you. I don’t get it, losing someone, only for them to show back up like that.”
“You don’t have to, Balthazar.” Alice sat up in bed, wearing a solemn expression. She was still dressed in her clothes from the night before, except her jacket, lazily thrown at the foot of her bed. “I don’t think anyone can help me right now but me.” On either shoulder she had a tattoo, her left had a black wing, and XIII, while the right had a white wing, and XIX. It was rare among mages to receive more than one, but it could still happen all the same. Alice reached out to her jacket, Balthazar passing it to her as she did. “Dad’s not here to tell me, if this is all just some strange coincidence, or if that’s actually her, my only answers are going to be with Sienna.”
Balthazar stood as Alice turned to get out of bed, stopping herself before fully standing up. He didn’t want to ask if she was alright, it was clear enough that she wasn’t. “Do you want me to go with you?”
Alice sat in silence for a moment, and almost seemed to turn back to go back under her sheets. “I don’t know if I’m ready.”
“We have time, but remember, don’t wait too long on this.”
Alice sighed and finally stood up. “You’re right.” She stepped up to the door, stopping again. “I know I need to, but-” She hesitated.
“Alice-” Balthazar crossed his arms, his eyes stern, but compassionate.
“Right, right.” She cracked open the door, peeking out to find Locke about to knock. “Locke?”
“Oh, you’re still here, good, two things, first and foremost, I wanted to check in on you.”
“Oh, well, that’s-”
“Maybe twelve years I’ve known you, Alice? I know you well enough to know when something’s wrong. Just like I know Balthazar’s in the room too.”
Alice opened the door wider, Balthazar nodding to Locke as he came into view. “A bit too well if you ask me.”
“He is,” a voice called out. “Are we interrupting something spicy?” Peony peeked around the corner of the door frame, frowning on seeing nothing particularly interesting happening. “Weak.”
Alice groaned. “And you’re here because…?”
“Oh, not just me. Cappy’s here too, but she took a fair bit of convincing.” As she stepped into full view she gestured off to the side with her thumb, Alice peeking out to see Sienna, arms crossed, leaning against the wall, staring down at the ground with something of a pouty expression. “Captain, come on, I’m not having you mope around like this forever!”
“Oh, you won’t have it, huh?”
“Hey it’s my job to make sure the ship stays running when you’re not around, and like this, you might as well not be-” She was cut off slightly as Sienna walked past her, and flicked her forehead with her middle finger.
“Shut it, you.” She stood in front of Alice. “We should probably-” Sienna was quiet again, neither her nor Alice looking directly at each other.
“Yeah, I agree.” Alice’s eyes wandered anywhere but to the pirate captain, nervously falling back to Balthazar. “Do you mind if Balthazar sticks with me on this?”
“A bit.” Sienna grumbled a bit under her breath. She glanced back at Locke and Peony, who backed off, knowing this wasn’t their place to get involved in.
Balthazar stood next to Alice, speaking softly. “I can stay if you want me to, but I’ll be right outside if you need me if I can’t.” Alice nodded quietly, as he stepped past Sienna, trying to give her an expression to show he had confidence in her, something she noticed and meekly smiled at.
“Let’s just get this over with.” She stepped into the room and slammed the door shut behind her, slumping against it. “Alice.”
“Sienna.” Alice sat down at the corner of her bed, where Balthazar had been sitting. “Or… are you Diana?”
“Right to the point, huh?” Sienna finally met the Light Mage’s gaze. “It’s not a name I’ve heard in years. It’s not a name I want to hear.” Her tone wasn’t particularly biting, rather, one that didn’t care for the past.
Alice’s thoughts started racing. “It really is you, isn’t it? How? Why? Dad and I- We thought you’d died all those years ago.”
Sienna was silent for a moment. “It’s a long story.”
“And it’s why we’re here.”
Silence again. “Not all the details are clear. I was only seven or eight at the time, but the Battle of Linia was pretty infamous, enough that even I heard stories of it, years later. We were evacuating home, when the Ranzian soldiers raided our house. Some stories I heard said if they couldn’t force a surrender, they wanted hostages, others that they wanted to capture a few Mages of their own.”
“I don’t remember much of it really. Balthazar was with us while Dad and his parents were deployed to defend the city. Our neighbors across the way had seen them attack, and seen Mom try and fight.”
“She didn’t make it, did she?”
Silence, this time from Alice. “No,” she nearly whispered. She cleared her throat. “She fought tooth and nail, and she took every single one of her attackers with her. Our neighbors tried getting over to help, but she was already gone, you were already gone.”
“Smashed a damn window open and dragged me out.” Sienna lifted her headband a bit, before quickly letting it snap back in place. “They weren’t gentle.”
Alice almost stood, and reached out. “I can-”
Sienna held her hand out. “Leave it.” She sighed. “I need a reminder sometimes, about the lines I’m willing to cross. This is just that.”
“You’re a pirate, not a monster, right?”
“Yeah, yeah…” Sienna leaned her head back against the door. “They carted us back to the ships, me and a bunch of other kids. No clue what they were going to do with us, all we could do was huddle and cry.” She looked to Alice, who held her knees, a sight all too familiar to her story.
“But that’s not it, is it?”
“No. Whether we were bargaining chips or not, they were headed back south for Ranzian waters. The ship I was on was lagging behind, rough seas, as if the ocean itself were trying to throw it off course, and was intercepted by a nearby pirate ship.” Sienna’s expression only slightly warmed. “Marcus Tempest, the captain of that ship, saved us. Wasn’t exactly a fan of Ranz beforehand, but that really sealed the deal. Had kids of his own, so seeing us like that? Damn near sent him on a warpath. Some of us stuck around, others scattered around the Mist.”
“You didn’t try coming home?” Alice asked, not knowing if she’d like the answer.
“You have to understand, Alice, I was a kid at the time. And you know the body count in Linia was high. When we heard about it all, from each other? None of us thought we had a home to go back to. So, I was someone new, Sienna Tempest.” The two were speechless for a moment, before Sienna continued. “Marcus took me in, raised me with his own. I had new brothers, sisters, a new home.”
“I… see.” Alice hugged her knees a bit tighter.
“I never forgot, Alice. I never could.”
“Neither could we.” Alice sniffled a bit. “I think I’m just glad you’re still-”
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“But, Alice, I’m not even sure you could even still call me your sister after everything.” She gazed off at the floor in a gaze emotionally exhausted, and weak.
Alice scowled at the notion. “You’re still my family, that much never changed.”
“Is Dad okay?” Sienna asked somberly.
“Everyone always says he just hasn’t been the same ever since it all happened. He tries his best though. I think Mom would be proud of him.”
“She’d always be proud of him.”
***
Crowe wasn’t particularly fond of the way the Council of Lords glared down on him as he stepped into the room. It wasn’t that he was insecure of his height, though he was all too familiar with how many of these Lords would try and find any possible way to assert themselves over him, or find some weakness to exploit. Anne stood at his side, alongside elders from the Mage council, none of them particularly happy. Crowe stepped up to the podium at their end of the council chamber first. “Let me get this straight, you attempt to conceal the death of King Escalus from us, and hold off on involving us with the formation of a judicial committee, with a matter that most certainly concerns us. We are still allies, are we not?”
“You are invited to this Council, but we do not recognize you as a proper territory of Deponess.” A speaker from the war faction stood in protest to Crowe. “An appointment of a judicial force was deemed necessary, our laws and rulership are ours and ours alone.”
“Are our mages not involved in the ascension of each of your kings? I am not denying a need to investigate the assassination, sir, but we very much are within your borders, and involved in your nation.”
“That’s enough, Lord Williams.” Duke Kaian raised his hand to silence the lord within his faction. “My apologies if he gave you any offense, Master Nocturne, but this was a matter we felt we could not so casually release. I and many others would rather not have our Ranzian neighbors find any reason to try and invade us once again. You of all people should understand that, after all, you left quite the impression on many of those within my territory, the Scarecrow, they call you.”
“I prefer to leave that behind me, Kaian.” Crowe tapped his foot in frustration. “I believe you owe us details on the matter of this judicial force.”
“We have sent a moderate force for the sake of retrieving Prince Atma and his companions for investigation and trial.”
“His companions as well?! Surely you couldn’t call them involved in all of this?!”
“Largely superficial in their case, Master Crowe, but we have an obligation to be thorough in our investigations of all potential information concerning the death of King Escalus. They simply may have testimony in favor of or against the Prince.”
Prince Escalus stood at the far end of the council chamber, at a raised pedestal in between the rows of Lords. “I find your declaration of a ‘moderate force’ to be insufficient in description, Duke Kaian, but whatever sees my brother’s name cleared.”
Anne stepped up inquisitively. “What do you mean by that, Prince Escalus?”
“Duke Kaian, in discussion with the Knights’ Council, with further input from myself and Duke Ryner, have elected to send four members of the Knights’ Council, and deployed detachments of their troops with them.”
“Four?! That seems rather excessive, does it not?” Historically, the presence of one or two was often enough to turn the tide of battle, but the deployment of so many to a given assignment had not been ordered since the war.
“Under normal circumstances, I would most certainly agree, Master Avelus,” Escalus started, “But if, as I fear, this is the beginning of an attack on Deponess itself, I will not leave my brother unguarded.”
Anne shot the elders and Crowe glances to read their opinions on the matter, none particularly excited concerning the idea of such a massive deployment. Begrudgingly, she turned back and nodded. “And the Knights going?”
Kaian raised his voice to be heard once more. “Present, we have 13th seat Dante, 12th seat Stein-” Anne flinched ever so slightly. “6th seat Agravain, and 1st seat Raine.”
Some murmuring spread among the elders, concerning the deployment of the 1st seat Knight, though Anne focused more on the 6th and 12th. From noble families, both of them. Agravain was a well known butcher of the battlefield, not for any particular reason, he simply acted as a wild animal they unleashed on their enemies. Stein, she feared more, being more familiar with him. They’d known each other before the war, worked together at a small medical practice, even. He’d been a kind man, once. Now, he was a broken husk, obsessed with death and the macabre. Neither Knight she would trust in protecting much of anyone. Raine, though, of all people had a stake in seeing the group back safely. “And I take it these knights are set in stone?”
“After much deliberation, yes.” Escalus then gestured to a woman standing off to the side of the council chamber, closer to the Mage’s council representatives. She was dressed in the Kingdom’s officer uniform, black, with red cuffs, and a red collar. She had lighter brown hair and steely eyes, with a stoic expression to her. “I do, however, wish to extend you the offer to review the special investigator we commissioned for this judicial force. She is, after all, one of your citizens enlisted with us.”
“Lieutenant Watts, reporting.” She saluted.
Anne was familiar with her, though it had certainly been a few years, she had fought alongside Watts in the front in Duke Kaian’s territory. Watts had been a fresh graduate, serving in the special forces unit Anne had been assigned to. A serious individual to be sure, even as a young recruit. She hadn’t fought particularly long before the war ended, but Watts had more than earned her commendations in battle. “Watts has certainly performed well in the field from my own accounts.” She turned back to deliberate briefly with the elders. They were a bit more willing to default to her opinion on the matter. “We can agree on this assignment.”
“Then it’s settled?” Duke Kaian turned back to Prince Escalus.
“I believe so, unless there are any other objections?”
Murmurs, which settled into silence.
“Very well then. The judicial force departs at dawn via airship. This council is dismissed, but I ask you to remain in the area of Castle Deponess, while we await their return. May the Goddess smile upon us all.” Escalus bowed, to a silent respect from either side of the Council of Lords.
Duke Kaian was among the last to leave, stopping to speak with Crowe. “My sincerest apologies to you, old friend.” He sighed.
“I’d call us acquaintances, Kaian, not friends.” Crowe glared at the nobleman, not particularly fond of his words during the council.
“You saved my life in the war, the lives of many of my people, Crowe, and for that I will be eternally grateful. My home too was broken by the war, as you know. I apologize for letting my passions take me, for reopening wounds with you.”
Crowe exhaled deeply. “Then you should know why I’m not proud of the monster I let the war make me. I understand you just fine, Kaian, but I want to move on, if I’m still capable of doing so.” He turned to leave, and reunited with the rest of the Mage delegation.
Kaian shook his head as the Dark Mage left, glancing over to the woman dressed in gray next to him, acting as his assistant. She was a brunette, with a blank, cold gaze. She didn’t bother turning her head to face Kaian as she spoke. “Not a man you should seek to make enemies with, nor one you seem successful at making friends with.”
“He’s like trying to reign in a cat, that one. Though I believe you were standing by to observe at the moment.”
“Consider that an observation then.” She kept in pace with the Duke as they stepped out of the Council chambers.
***
Lieutenant Watts stopped at a local tavern for dinner, it being her favorite local spot, relatively quiet, with far better food than the barracks provided. The bartender she knew and trusted, having been a regular for years. The place let her eat and sort through her files concerning the case at hand, which she kept hidden in mage script in a notebook she kept on her person. With the severity of her current case, she felt it would be the last chance she would have to enjoy herself before she deployed in the morning. She readjusted the circular spectacles on her face, reviewing her notes. As a habit, she kept points as to why any given suspect could be innocent or guilty, though Prince Atma was certainly more difficult to keep balanced. The only marks against him were vague and uncertainties raised by the war faction, possibilities concerning an immediacy of inheritance, or to ensure that the King made no second choices. It was hardly anything to go off of. She was fairly certain then, that he would be found innocent. In that regard, she rather hated this particular assignment, with how clear cut it seemed.
Watts sighed and closed her notebook, about to return to her meal, as a woman stepped into the tavern. She was fair skinned, and well dressed, with furs on her coat, gloves, and a clicking of her boots as she stepped in. She had gray eyes, with hair of a similar color. She was likely around Watts’ age, somewhere in her mid-late 20’s. By her guess, the woman was a rich businessman or noble’s daughter, and Watts was completely entranced with her. She felt her heart skip a beat as the woman met her gaze, and again as she drew closer. To most, she would have seemed just as stoic as ever, but Watts struggled to hold back an overwhelming feeling of blush as the woman came closer.
“Can I help you?”
The woman bashfully looked away. “Hard to say. I’ve seen you come by here and there, but I don’t think I ever got your name.”
Watts cleared her throat, a bit flustered. How could someone so stunning have slipped past her attention. “Apologies. Melissa Watts- Lieutenant Melissa Watts.”
“Lieutenant, huh? I figured you were something with the uniform and all, but that’s amazing.” She smiled, “You can call me Mona. And I have to say, I always thought the uniform was a great look, but you really do something special with it.” She touched the tip of the table. “Do you mind if I join you for a drink?”
“Not at all.” Watts’ stoicism chipped away, bit by bit as Mona sat before her, raising her arm and calling out to the bartender for a pair of drinks. Her eyes seemed to pierce right through her, with a face she could describe as no less than angelic. She tried averting her eyes as Mona took off her fur coat, and revealing a somewhat revealing dress beneath, Watts’ mind tracing the curves of the woman, despite how much she tried to tell herself not to. Mona took immediate notice of the red in the officer’s face, leaning forward playfully to fluster her more, obviously getting a kick out of her response. “Maybe a bit.”
“Meanie.” Mona smiled. “But, I like a tough soldier in uniform.”
Watts let out a deep and obvious exhale, a confident soldier she may have been, but flirting was beyond her, especially with a woman like the one before her. “I’m flattered, really.” Her face grew redder, an expression so unfamiliar that those familiar with her might not have recognized her as she was. She accepted her drink, as the bartender passed it to her. “But I’m not sure I’d say tough.”
“Well you must be if you’re a Lieutenant.” Her tone shifted into something a bit more sultry. It was like every word that left her lips was an absolute, something to be followed, completely believed. “And the cool, collected soldier type you present yourself as? Now that’s what I like.”
“That so?”
“Very much so.” The two sat and drank together, Mona toying with an increasingly flustered Watts as the night settled in, red blush taking up their faces. Eventually, Mona stood to leave, wobbling a bit, Watts catching her before she fell. “Aren’t you just the sweetest?” She hugged her sloppily, the officer flinching a bit at her warm touch. “You mind helping me back to my place?”
“N-not at all.” She helped Mona with her coat, and made their way into the crisp night air, the night surprisingly quiet as the two strolled together, Mona leaning against Watts all the while. The officer had a feeling she’d regret her decision to drink with the woman once morning and her new deployment rolled around, but opportunities to meet someone like Mona felt once in a lifetime. Mona led her towards a richer area, even for the castle town, something similar to what Watts had expected, right up to a manor, silent with the night, a couple guards posted at the front gate, though little else.
Mona stumbled at her words at first, before collecting herself a bit. “I’d rather not have my family see me like this, so I’ll sneak around back, near the gardener’s shack. She’s off for now anyways.” She practically dragged Watts with her towards the back entrance, not a person in sight. “Thanks so much for your help. And really, thank you for being such great company.”
“Not a problem, Mona.”
Again, that sultry voice that was so hard to resist. “Would you care to keep me company a while longer?”
Watts had to fight to say no, but every part of her knew that drinking with some rich man’s daughter, and spending the night with her might certainly seem worth it in the long run, but between her job, and potential repercussions from Mona’s family, she could just logic out her response. “Not tonight, Mona. I have to go tomorrow morning, but, wait for me at the tavern, and I promise I’ll be back.”
Mona’s eyes drifted down, a bit of disappointment to them, before a playful light returned to them. “Well, before you go then-” She with an unexpected force that caught Watts off guard, pulled the officer in close, and kissed her, deeply, and held her in place for a moment. She pulled away a moment later, and took a deep breath, inhaling a wispy smoke, as Watts went limp in her arms. ‘Mona’ let her drop to the ground, dead, and swallowed the last bits of wisp. Her expression and manner in which she carried herself returned to be as if nothing had ever happened, drinks and all. “You really were fun, you know. Shame, really, I think you’d have been more fun still.” She snapped her fingers, the woman acting as Kaian’s assistant emerging from the shadows.
“Mistress. I take it you had an enjoyable night out?”
“Nemesis. I only wish it had lasted a bit longer.” She smiled, and with whimsy to her step, dragged the corpse onto the manor grounds of Duke Kaian.