Arc 1 Chapter 8: Questions, Answers and a show of power

(Richard POV)

How could this have happened? I was currently at the mercy of my enemy. That was evident with the rope that restraint my hands. I knew what I was getting into when I volunteered to lead the first wave into the kingdom of Wessex. That’s why I mentally prepared myself to die. Even as a prisoner, I prepared myself for the worse… yet this feeling in me. This feeling of utter confusion… why? Why…?

“Can we get more tea over here?”

“I want more sweets Caty.”                           

“Don’t call me that… anyway, I’m making something so just wait.”

“Hmm… that smells so good… Catalea’s sweet sure are heavenly. Especially this cake… Mhmm… Delicious”

… WHY IS THERE A TEA PARTY HAPPENING RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. We were currently in a big chamber. The officials have left earlier, and now, only the queen and her companions were here. Artura herself was sitting down as a butler catered to her every need. The butler himself seemed formidable as an aura of pure energy surrounded him. At the back of the party, two girls were making something. The girl called Catalea somehow brought a cooking device into the room where she and the black haired girl, Lily, began making food for the group. May was also there. She was happily munching on some bread looking things alongside the Elite Guard Commander, Sara. Lastly, the blonde hair girl. She just sat there, her legs crossed as she continued taking small sips of her tea. I swear, she looks very familiar somehow.

“You know; you should be a bit less conspicuous.”

“Meh… you know how it is. As long as you don’t show them anything divine, there’s no way in hell the humans would be able to tell I’m a goddess.”

“Shh… That was a bit loud you know. The only ones who fully know who you are the ones in our group.”

“Meh… who cares. Speaking of which, this tea is getting too boring to drink. HEY CATY, do you have any alcohol?”

“Stop calling me that, and no. I don’t. Regardless, you shouldn’t be drinking period. The last time you got drunk, you killed over forty people in one go.”

The girl began pouting.

“At least they were the enemy.”

“Yeah… the ones I actually wanted to keep alive.”

“… ah mou… hey you, pretty boy.”

“Pretty boy?”

I looked at the girl slightly dazed.

“You want some alcohol right… so that means Caty should bring us alcohol. Right?”

“Duhh… ahhh…”

I did not know how to reply. I’m oddly confused with their dialogue though I didn’t hear some of them. Catalea looked towards the blonde girl.

“Oye, Frey. No fraternizing with the enemy.”

“Ehh… come on. Be less of a stuck up and have some fun. It’s your uptight personality that kept you from graduating if it wasn’t for me.”

The girl instantly grabbed at the air. She was holding a fork that was aimed towards her. I couldn’t help but stare at awe.

“Oye Caty, you shouldn’t throw things at your lover now should you.”

“SHUT UP! If you don’t stop talking, I won’t make anything for you.”

“EHHHH??! please forgive me.”

“Madame Frey, your personality is showing again.”

“Oops.”

Lily reprimanded Frey as she carried back a tray filled with treats. Just what is going on? Isn’t this supposed to be a meeting to decide our fate? Yet, they’re just calmly going about their way as if we didn’t exist. Ugh… if they won’t take us seriously, then we should use this time to escape. I looked over at Riesse. To my surprise, she was already a step ahead as she tried to cut through the rope with her nails. It was slow, but you could see progress. I guess it’s my job to keep them distracted.

“Umm… I know you guys are having fun and all… but, why exactly are we here?”

“Ahh, yes. Give me a sec, I’m supposed to be questioning you guys.”

It was Catalea who replied to me. She was walking back now. She was also carrying a tray, though this one was filled with circular looking things.

“COOKIES. YAY!”

“Cookies you say? Catalea, why aren’t you my wife?”

“Shut it!”

She instantly kicked the blonde girl who gracefully dodged it. As for May, she managed to catch the tray that Catalea threw in the air.

“Ugh… I swear you’re so annoying.”

“Ehh… come on sweetie, I’m just playing around with you.”

You could see the look of irritation Catalea had. She began to breathe slowly before sitting in front of me and Riesse.

“Sorry about that. As you can see, their bit of a… handful. Anyway, moving on to why you both are here. I have some questions for you.”

“Isn’t it polite for you to speak your name first?”

“My name? Oh… right. Forgive me for that.”

She stood up and took a curtsy.

“My name is Catalea, advisor to the sub commander of the defense ministry.”

Out of respect, I also gave a small nod to her.

“Now then, to the questions. I would like to know several things. First up, your leader. Who is leading you right now?”

“… You think I would tell you?”

“Hmm… true. Moving on. Did you lead the bandit group?”

“This I can answer, no. We were only on a joint cooperation.”

“So basically, they had their own command structure.”

“Yes.”

“Hmm… If that is true, then why is it that the bandits took commands from her?”

She pointed towards Riesse who immediately stopped what she was doing.

“Well… they do take orders from us, but their main task was to defend the organization. Of course, any loot they gain from the field can be kept, but aside from that, we normally do not have that much interactions.”

“So, if they find let’s say, an unconscious girl, they first bring it to her to see if they can take her out for a test run?”

Something is weird with this question. I looked at Riesse only to see her shaking.

“Riesse. What did you do?”

“Umm… well, the guys found a girl. They’ve been saying things about their libido becoming out of control for the past weeks so I allowed them to take in a girl.”

“… Did… what… you do know our policy is to keep the people safe?”

“Yes… but the bandits work on a different set of ethics. It was a sacrifice for the better good.”

“Oh… so you didn’t know anything. How about the prisoners. Did you know about their conditions too?”

Riesse looked at the girl.

“No… what happened?”

I felt bloodlust from two directions. One was from Catalea, the other was from the Elite Guards.

“Basically, the men were beaten. The girls raped. Really, you ought to think about who you’re working with.”

I stared at her silently. I could feel the anger from her eyes and something tells me she wants to vent it out.

“Well… anyway, at least you weren’t aware of it. Sorry Sara, I guess revenge will have to wait on the second batch.”

“It’s no problem mistress.”

“Now then, follow up question. Do you know the leader of the bandit group?”

“… Even though he’s a bandit, I have no reason to…”

I started chocking as my feet was dangling in the air. I looked at the face that was now in front of me. Her piercing red eyes stared into me as her hair seemed to be on fire.

“I really don’t like hearing the word no… I’ll let the other one slip, but the bandits name… I won’t take no for an answer.”

Her grip suddenly tightened even more before she let me go. I coughed, trying to grasp at the air.

“Now then, tell me the name.”

“… Vas… Vas the purge”

“Hmm… Vas huh. That’s perfect. Hey Artura, inform your men that my guys are coming in.”

“Uh… sure.”

“Oh, and tell them that my guys are… a tad special.”

“Ok.”

Artura quickly got one of her guards and told him to pass the message. The guard saluted and exited the chamber.

“Now then, while we wait for that. I want to know when is the Empire going to invade?”

“Hah… you really think I’ll tell you?”

“Nope, but you did just confirm that they’re invading. Based on the amount of preparations you’re doing; it’ll probably be around six months.”

I stared at her in shock.

“How?”

“Oh… I visited the empire for a bit, and let me say. I did not like what I saw. Anyway, at least we have a timeframe to work with. That honestly is a good amount of time.”

She began walking back to her chair. I looked at Riesse frantically who had continued to cut her way through her bonds. Just a bit more. I mouthed towards her,

‘Warn them.’

She quickly nodded as she started on the last strands of the rope.

“By the way, it would be best if you try not to escape.”

Catalea stared right at Riesse.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“… Ho…how long?”

“Since the beginning. I have a guy that’s been watching you the entire time… and let me tell you, he’s been itching to pull the trigger.”

Trigger? What does she mean by that? Well, either way. We have to inform the Empire. Riesse looked at me for conformation. I nodded. She cut the last strand and instantly made a dash for the door. I was sure she got away… to my horror, she didn’t. None of us noticed it, but her leg was cut cleanly from the knee. It took a while for the pain to register to her, but a few moments later she began screaming.

“Stupid girl… you don’t just wave off a warning.”

Catalea began walking towards the girl.

“WAIT. PLEASE. Let her go. It was by my co…”

She slapped me in the back.

“Calm down prince charming, I’m not going to kill her.”

She once again walked to the girl and raised her hands.

“[Heal]”

A green light enveloped Riesse and to my shock, her leg regrew. It didn’t even take a second. One moment it was missing and the next, boom. It was back. Just what kind of magic is that?

“With this, at least you learned your lesson”

She instantly brought another rope and tied it to Riesse’s hands. She then dragged the poor girl back to where we are.

“Well that was exciting. Now then, I have one last question for you prince.”

I winced. Why did it feel as if he was chastising me with that one word?

“How do you treat the people you’ve conquered?”

That’s a very odd question… very specific really.

“Why do you want to know?”

“It’s because, I want to know what kind of person you are. So tell me, how do you treat the kingdom you’ve conquered.”

“… we treat them like the Empire’s citizen. Under our jurisdiction, they become part of our system and receive the benefits given to the empire’s citizen. This has been our doctrine ever since we’ve started conquering others.”

“…”

She stood quiet as she stared deeply into my eyes. Suddenly, I heard a commotion. You could hear metals clashing and loud thumps on the floor. It then suddenly died down and a knight entered the chamber.

“My queen… the umm… group you mentioned appeared. Our guards were kind of freaked out so they attacked them… but the misunderstanding was quickly solved.”

Artura sighed.

“Didn’t I tell them not to attack anyone?”

“… well… I mean… yes you did… but although you want to punish them, they probably won’t be getting up till they heal.”

The look of surprise was plastered all over Artura’s face. She then fully understood what he meant and regained her stoic look.

“Let them in.”

“Hah.”

He quickly stepped aside and had two other guards open the door. Some kind of bear was standing in front of us. Not only that, it was big and was wearing bulky armor that had intricate designs on it. It was carrying a huge tower shield on its left hand and on its right hand, a huge battle axe with a gem in the middle could be seen. Behind him, four people stood. Armor covered their entire body, though you could tell the two in the front were male and two on the back were female. They had the downscale version of the bear’s armor. The four were carrying shields and banners that had one insignia etched into it. Behind this group, four other people could be seen. They seemed to be paladins and they were carrying strange weapons. It was a stick which jutted out on the bottom and had a spear point underneath instead of in front of the shaft. Truly a weird weapon.

“I believe there was no problem bringing him here Rester?”

“No my liege. He was very passive so punishment was not in order. Also, forgive me. I may have roughed the castle’s guards a bit.”

Catalea shrugged.

“Better than dead in my opinion. Anyway, bring him in.”

The bear instantly threw a person in front of him.

“Vas?”

He looked at me, anger in his eyes.

“You did this to us didn’t you?”

I wanted to reply, but instead Catalea replied for me.

“Blaming others already huh. Blame yourself for picking this life, scum. Anyway, you’ll make a great example for the others.”

The man struggled, but the bear called Rester prevented him from moving.

“Throw him.”

“Yes mistress.”

Vas cursed and screamed as he was thrown in the air.

“[Decompression]”

Instantly, the cruelest thing happened before my eyes. The man began to implode into himself. You could see he was in pain as he tried to yell. Bones began cracking and his skin began to tear. Blood began spilling but Catalea was somehow disintegrating them before they hit the ground. She then took a box out of nowhere and placed the lump of flesh into it.

“Now then, now that I’ve taken revenge for those who’ve suffered, I believe this meeting is finished. As for you two, you will remain as prisoners until the end of this war. You will be provided enough comfort, but just know that escape is impossible. I have already set two guards to follow you and trust me. You cannot beat them.”

With this, she exited the room followed by her entourage. Scary… I think the empire has picked a fight with the wrong kingdom. I looked at Artura and surprisingly, she also seemed to be frightened though the butler is trying to calm her down. As for us, we were currently being taken by two guards. They were the paladins from earlier.

“I’m so glad I’m not fighting her…”

That was the last thing I heard from Artura before we were sent to our prisons.

_________________________________________________________________________

(Bryan POV)

I couldn’t help but sigh as I was staring at the moon. It was already nighttime. That meeting sure did take a while, though it didn’t really give me much answers. I mean, I could have taken Richard’s memories and learn from it… but the questions I’ve asked him seemed to show that he was in the shadows.

“Protect the people… treat them like the empire’s citizen… the only thing I saw was enslavement.”

I couldn’t help but whisper to myself. There really is too many questions left unanswered.  At least I managed to take revenge for the Elite Guards… but now, where facing an unknown enemy. I know for a fact that the Asvarian Empire are just a pawn in this game… so who. Who is pulling the strings in this game of chess?

“You ok?”

I looked back to see Marlana. She wasn’t in the meeting since I had her search up information concerning the empire and the Gaulic nation.

“Yeah, I am… did you find any information?”

She sighed.

“No… I’m sorry. The only thing we know is that they’ve been occupied for a while.”

“… well you’re not wrong, but that’s what I know so it really doesn’t help.”

“… Speaking of which, why are you still on your female form.”

“Too tired to change. Ugh… why is this so hard to figure out?”

“Well, it’s not like you don’t have time. You have six months right?”

“Normally… but once news reaches the empire, they’re bound to start earlier.”

She stood quiet.

“Well… just take it slow. Who knows, you might be able to figure out something by then.”

She gave a quick smile before bowing and leaving the area. As for me, I continued looking at the moon. Well… thinking about this won’t help. I just need to look at my resources and look at all the options I have. Like the old saying… slow and steady wins the race. Yeah. I just need to do exactly that. I silently thanked Marlana as I jumped out of the castle window. The day is ending… but soon, another day will come. Another day to prepare and another day to live. Watch out world, I won’t let you conquer me so easily. I smiled as I felt the wind caress my face. I have never felt so free in my entire life. To pick what I want to do and what I don’t want to do. I guess this is what true freedom is. A life of ups and downs. A single choice that leads to an unknown future.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Authors Note:

Surprise a new chapter. Although I've been saying, 'IT'S AN INFO DUMP' in the end, it became not an info dump chapter. I don't know, it feels better to keep everyone guessing what's going to happen... or maybe its just so obvious that I don't really need to explain it... well either way, this does answer some questions... but it raises more questions. Lol... even I'm annoyed at myself, but it does move the story forward. So until then ONWARDS.

P.S. I had no idea how to end the story, so I just ended it like this XD

 P.S.S. I just now realized after watching some footage from the newest final fantasy sequel that I had unknowingly thought of the same concept for the soldiers later on in the story. Them imperial soldiers looked amazing XD