Re:Zero - The King of Pride

It was mid afternoon. They had been walking since the former slaves left through a chilly evergreen forest in the mountain foothills. They paused briefly to eat lunch and then continued walking.

Subaru's legs begged for rest. The only good part of this was that the throbbing pain was a distraction from reflecting on what had happened at the slave camp. Subaru and Emilia were both exhausted so they didn't talk much. However it took Subaru a while to notice how quiet the spirits had been.

Subaru looked at Puck and Beatrice with concern. They had been sitting on his shoulder the entire walk but they hadn't said anything.

"You guys seem awfully quiet today," He murmured.

Beatrice held Puck close to her chest. The look she gave Subaru was filled with misgivings, "Subaru, what happened in that camp?"

Emilia immediately perked up and listened closely.

Subaru sighed, "Bad things, Beako. A lot of bad things. I knew it was going to be ugly there which is why I didn't want any of you to have to see it. Those men…" Subaru shook his head, "You know, I just hope that there's a special place in hell for people like that."

"That's all well and good, I suppose," Beatrice replied, "But Betty was talking about you!"

"Me?" Subaru asked uncomfortably.

"Yeah, Subaru," Puck jumped in. "What happened to you in there? I felt your magic grow and grow and become overwhelming. I've never felt anything like it! What happened?"

Subaru kept walking, chewing over his answer. He sighed, "I think… I think maybe I finally connected with my Authority. At least for a while."

"Is that a good thing?" Emilia asked in a carefully neutral voice.

"Maybe. It could certainly be a useful thing," Subaru replied with a shrug, "That said, I don't know how I did it. I haven't been able to do again."

"Subaru," Beatrice muttered, "Betty is worried."

"Worried?"

Beatrice shook his head, "Bubby could feel you while you were at the camp, Subaru. Betty doesn't know what you were doing there but Bubby could feel you becoming… dark."

Subaru nodded a little shamefaced, "Yeah, I guess I can't argue with that. The things I saw in that camp… Well, let's just say that they really affected me in a bad way. I tried to keep you all far away from it but I forgot that we're connected at our souls now and that my emotions affect you. I'm very sorry you both had to deal with it. I should have done a better job protecting you."

Beatrice shook her head violently, "That is not what Betty and Bubby are saying, in fact!"

"We love you, Subaru," Puck agreed, "Whatever the problem, whatever the danger, we'll stand with you and look it in the face. You don't have to do everything all by yourself!"

"Listen to Puck, Subaru," Emilia said quietly.

Subaru shook his head weary right down to his bones.

"I just," Subaru sighed, "I just want us all to get somewhere safe where we can lick our wounds. I don't know how much longer I can handle all of this. The thought of one of you, any of you, being hurt or being taken away from me just… I'd just want to die."

Puck nodded, "We feel the same way, Subaru."

"Betty and Subaru belong together. It was a promise," Beatrice agreed.

Subaru stopped and briefly rested his head against Beatrice's side. Cuddling against the two spirits as best he could from this position, "I'm sorry for putting you all through this. It'll be over soon and then we can all take a nice break."

Puck flashed him a smile, "We'll hang in there with you, Subaru. We're with you right to the end."

Subaru chuckled and his eyes started to tear up, "I can't imagine what I'd do without you guys," He said in a thick voice.

Subaru coughed and recovered himself. He flashed the spirits a grin, "But I do suppose my back would appreciate carrying less weight all the time," He joked.

Subaru turned his face away as the two spirits, pretending to be angry, began to poke and slap at him.

Subaru smiled until his gaze fell on Emilia standing forlorn a short distance away, watching the loving family that she was now excluded from by the curse. Staring at two of the three people in the world most precious to her, who were now only tolerating her begrudgingly.

Subaru swallowed hard and extended his hand to Emilia.

She took it with a weak smile and they continued walking.

The sun was going down. This far north and up in the mountains it got cold at night even in the spring.

Subaru was musing over what he'd discovered in the camp today. It was better than thinking about what he'd done there.

Pridebreaker. I wonder what that does. Also, I'm not sure if Pridebreaker is a great name for an ability granted by the Authority of Pride or an ironic one.

So I gained a new power of some kind? So that suggests that my bond with my Authority got stronger. Its power certainly seemed to be flowing through me today in a way I've never experienced before. It felt great…maybe even a little too good. But the question becomes: why? What made my bond with the Authority stronger and how do I do it again if I need to? I keep trying to reconnect with the Authority but it's not working. Nothing has changed about Indomitable and Reason and Judgment once again freezes the world.

What was it about the situation in the slaver's camp that made me connect with the Authority? I didn't feel like I was being especially proud before the Authority… started doing whatever it did and made me drunk on it. I think I just felt…how to explain it? Conviction? Certainty? Righteous indignation? A hunger for justice? What does any of that have to do with pride?

Or does the Authority just really hate slavers and so it rewarded me for killing some of them? Honestly, that might be nice because I think I could make killing slavers my hobby with just a little bit of encouragement.

Damn… did I just say that? I mean, I totally believe that all slavers deserve to die but… being intrigued by the thought of killing is pretty unusual for me…

OK, well that's all secondary, right now the most important question is: What does Pridebreaker do?

Subaru glanced at Emilia who held his hand and Beatrice who rode on his shoulder with Puck in her arms.

Alright, important safety tip: Do not trigger a completely unknown magic when my family is at ground zero for whatever it's going to do.

Subaru shivered violently. The night was becoming chill.

"Mili, I'd like to keep walking but I'm worried that maybe we need to make camp. It's getting really cold out," Subaru said.

"It is?" Emilia asked.

Subaru looked at Emilia, Beatrice, and Puck and realized that he was the only one shivering.

"Our mana keeps us warm," Beatrice answered his unspoken question, "Subaru needs to learn how to do this, I suppose."

"Sounds great," Subaru replied, "Can you teach me?"

Beatrice rubbed her lower lip, "Betty isn't sure. Subaru has a great deal of mana but it behaves funny."

"Funny how?"

"It's the exact opposite of normal mana, I suppose."

"Beako, that answer didn't help me understand it at all," Subaru complained.

"Don't blame Betty, in fact! Betty's Subaru does not perceive mana. Perhaps you could explain the difference between colors to someone who's blind, I suppose!" She sulked.

"Fair point," Subaru sighed. He shook his head, "OK, let's see if we can find a campsite. I think we'll want a fire tonight and that means we need to find a place where we can hide it."

"I think I might be able to use magic to heat our tent," Emilia offered.

"OK, that sounds promising! Um, how confident are you that you can control this magic?" Subaru asked.

Emilia rocked her hand back and forth uncertainly.

"In that case, maybe we should practice that spell another night. This is the only tent we've got, Mili."

They found a sheltered glen where they were out of sight of the road and the group spread out to gather firewood.

After about half an hour in the bitter cold they'd located enough wood to stay warm for the night and they returned to the tent.

"Hey guys, before we call it a night there's something I want to try," Subaru said.

"What's that, Subaru?" Emilia asked.

"I think… I might have a new magical ability," Subaru explained.

"What does it do?" Beatrice asked excitedly.

"I dunno. I haven't tried it yet," Subaru shrugged.

"When did you get it?" Emilia asked.

Subaru blanched and ignored her.

"Anyway, I'm going to try to use it," Subaru said walking a fair distance away from the tent and turning his back on his family.

Being far away and facing away from everyone should make them safer. Gee, I really hope that this Pridebreaker thing doesn't make fireballs shoot out of my back, Subaru mused.

The wind was picking up. Subaru took a deep breath and triggered Pridebreaker.

He felt the power sweep out of him in a great wave. The sound of the wind became muted. Actually all sounds became faint and quiet but Subaru didn't sense anything else.

Subaru turned around to look at Emilia and saw the three of them looking puzzled.

Well, nothing seems to be happening here. Maybe I should try to hit something. Or be hit by something.

Huh. The other thing is that whatever this Pridebreaker thing is, it's got a seriously long recharge timer. I can feel it. No idea how long until I can use it again but I guess that's not a huge problem since I don't know what it does in the first place. I'll need to have a better experiment prepared to try and test it when it finally comes off cooldown.

Actually I'm not even sure if Pridebreaker's 'effect' is over or if it's still going on.

Subaru shrugged and walked back over to the group, "Well, that was anti-climatic," Subaru sighed, "Anybody notice anything? I have no idea what it did, if it did anything."

"Maybe you should try using it again," Emilia suggested.

"Can't. I don't know how long I have to wait before I can use it again but it's going to be a while. Definitely not tonight," Subaru sighed, "Did anyone notice anything?"

Emilia rubbed her chin, "Subaru, the spirits have all left," She murmured.

Subaru looked at Beatrice and Puck in confusion.

"Not them, Subaru," Emilia shook her head, "The lesser spirits. All the spirits in a wide area fled when you used that power."

"Did you guys feel anything?" Subaru asked Beatrice and Puck.

Beatrice folded her arms looking frustrated, "You did… something. Betty felt it but she can't figure out what you did because it didn't affect Betty. It might not affect Subaru's allies, I suppose."

"Those spirits were terrified, Subaru," Puck added, "I've never seen spirits so freaked out. They always tend to be afraid of Betty and me but those spirits raced out of here like they were being chased by a terrible monster and I think some of them might still be running."

Subaru shrugged, "So… maybe it's some kind of anti-spirit magic? I doubt that will be too useful," He sighed.

"Do not try to use Betty as target practice, in fact!" Beatrice cried.

"Nope, Beako is way too cute to be target practice. Well, alright let's get inside and get some sleep. With the wind picking up like this there's probably no point to starting a fire anymore."

Late that night, Garfiel, Felt, and Crusch were looking at the map.

Felix came rushing in, "Crusch, we just got news sent magically from a garrison!"

"What is it?"

Felix walked over to the map and grabbed a red pin, "Subaru and the witch have been sighted here!" Felix pushed the pin into the map, "Almost directly north of the capitol."

"The fuck?" Garfiel yelled, "We've totally been looking in the wrong place!"

"The hell is the boss doing all the way over there?" Felt asked, "That's the middle of frigging nowhere!"

"I'm guessing he plans to cross the border into Gusteko," Crusch muttered, "That's probably been his plan all along," She shook her head with a snarl.

"Huh?" Felt asked.

Crusch gave her an angry look, "Think about it! He's a man on foot who managed to stay ahead of an army of trained scouts and experienced trackers. How? Because he kept leading my troops through dense forests where the riding earth dragons couldn't go and the surge in mabeasts required them to stay in larger groups for their own safety. He forced us to pursue him on foot and reduced our ability to search because we couldn't spread out! That nullified our advantage of having a large and well equipped army! I kept wondering why he went to Arlem. He did it because the path to the border was wide open territory with no cover where the scouts would have found him easily! By appearing in Arlem he forced me to redeploy all of my forces southernly and left him a clear path through the eastern grasslands and up to the border! He just wanted to confuse me and to keep moving my scouts around to leave the border lightly defended! Subaru Natsuki has outsmarted me again!" Crusch roared, slamming her fist down on the map.

"Crusch, what would the witch want in Gusteko?" Felix asked.

Crusch scowled at the map. "It's possible that they just want to get out of the country for a while," She suggested, "The army can't follow him anywhere close to the border without risking an international incident and Reinhard can't cross the border either."

"Crusch, what are we going to do? We can't get any significant troops there in a reasonable amount of time, nya," Felix said, "We only have a few riding dragons."

"We can send a few people on the dragons though," Crusch mused.

"I'm going!" Garfiel asserted.

"Me too," Felt agreed.

Crusch ignored them, "Reinhard might be able to catch up with him before he crosses the border," Crusch mused, "He should be here soon."

"Reinhard needs to rest tonight!" Felt said flatly, "End of discussion! I'm not going to let him die from exhaustion! You will not tell him about this intelligence until dawn, understand me?!"

Crusch scowled, "If the witch crosses the border-"

"Then she's another country's problem!" Felt spat back.

The two women glowered at each other.

"Uh," Garfiel cleared his throat, "So what else was in the report, Felix?"

"Apparently, Subaru located a camp of slavers and killed most of them and then freed their slaves. According to the report, at the witch's urging he gave them the wagon that they were using and some gold and sent them back to Lagunica while Subaru and the witch continued on foot. The garrison was led to the camp by one of the former slaves and they located dozens of corpses, several of which the officers described as looking like they were torn apart by wild animals," Felix replied watching as Crusch and Felt continued to glare at each other, "They also located the partially decayed body of Duke Osril."

Crusch finally looked away from Felt and stared at Felix. Felix nodded and Crusch shook her head with a disgusted face.

"Who's Duke Osril?" Felt grumbled.

"A lecher of the worst kind, a profound hater and abuser of women, whose rank has too long allowed him to escape punishment," Crusch replied.

"Well, luckily the Captain got his hands on him," Garfiel smirked.

"I never suspected that Osril was involved in the slave trade but neither am I terribly surprised. The world is well rid of him," Crusch sighed. She drummed her fingers on the map for a moment, "Very well. First thing tomorrow we will send Reinhard van Astrea to attempt to head off Subaru Natsuki. This is our last chance."

"If we have riding dragons, then I'm going too!" Garfiel asserted, "The dragons might not be able to keep up with Red but if he runs into the Captain I want to be close by."

Crusch looked darkly at Garfiel.

"I'm going too," Felt murmured.

This made Crusch feel better. Felt could certainly keep Garfiel under control, "It's late, it's time that we all retired for the night," Crusch said.

Crusch Karnstein had readied for bed and was nursing a glass of wine before retiring.

Felix sat next to her.

"Crusch, what do you think we need to do about Subaru and the witch, nya?" Felix asked.

Crusch swirled her glass and stared at the wine's color, "Our situation has not improved, Felix," Crusch murmured, "Captain Falric's life was directly threatened by Subaru Natsuki. Subaru promised to kill Falric if he should try to attack the witch but the Captain still refuses to even consider the idea that Subaru might be working with the witch of his own accord. When I attempted to broach the subject, Falric was so shocked that I needed to pretend he had misunderstood me."

"In all fairness, Crusch, Falric's report said that Subaru warned him he would die if he tried to attack the witch. He might have assumed Subaru was actually trying to warn him that he had no chance against her," Felix replied.

"Naturally. That makes perfect sense if you're engaged in motivated reasoning," Crusch sighed. "That's the problem, Felix. Nobody wants to consider the possibility that maybe Subaru Natsuki isn't really the good guy he seemed to be. Everyone is bending over backwards to try to explain what's going on without implicating Subaru as a conspirator. This means that instead of trying to track them down and kill them, people are focusing on trying to protect and rescue Subaru. This is a crippling limitation in our operation. I'm guessing that is why Subaru Natsuki is making sure to do so many good deeds as he flees. He wants people to be indecisive about confronting him."

"I received word from the sage's council today about our latest report," Felix said awkwardly.

"And?" Crusch asked.

"The council was," Felix hesitated, "Somewhat skeptical of our concerns. They don't believe that Witch of Envy is free. They claim this is just another Witch scare and they refused to declare a state of emergency without evidence. We have been ordered to maintain the information of Subaru Natsuki being missing as classified. The council believes that Subaru may have been abducted by the Witch Cult and the hero of the land being abducted by them could cause a panic."

Crusch shook her head, "Wise fools," She said, draining her glass.

"Crusch, we need to find proof of Subaru deliberately working together with the witch, nya. That's the only way to revive your campaign for the throne, Crusch," Felix said.

"The hell with my campaign," Crusch shook her head, "We need to think about the fate of the world. The Witch of Envy nearly ended the entire world before and it's only a matter of time before she tries to do so again."

"Maybe not, Crusch, nya," Felix replied.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know why yet but all the evidence suggest that the Witch is working for Subaru Natsuki. That suggests that her magic would only be utilized to further his goals. He won't want the world destroyed, he'd just want to rule it, nya."

"Is that supposed to be better?" Crusch asked.

Felix thought for a moment, "That is better, Crusch. Empirically," He replied.

"Point taken," Crusch admitted, "Regardless it is a choice of evils, both of which should be avoided." She drummed her fingers on the her chair, "Felix, we will have to take care of this situation ourselves."

"What do you mean, nya?"

"Our odds of convincing anyone of Subaru Natsuki's treachery are vanishing down to a very low order of probability. Therefore, we'll need to clean up this mess personally. You, me, and my personal guard. They'll listen to reason and follow instruction."

Felix frowned, "Then we hunt down the witch ourselves?"

"Yes. We have limited resources if we restrict ourselves to our own faction but we'd still have the best trained and equipped men in the kingdom at our side. We track down the Witch and we eliminate her."

"And what about Subaru Natsuki, nya? Would he suffer an 'accident?'"

Crusch looked at Felix with annoyance, "Felix, I am not an assassin."

"You're also not very realistic, Crusch," Felix retorted, "If you attack the witch then Subaru will absolutely try to stop you. We'll all need to be prepared to treat him as a hostile combatant. If Subaru was bewitched then killing her might break the spell but it might not. If Subaru is not bewitched, and we somehow captured him alive, imagine how that would play out. Remember, Crusch, nobody except us, Subaru's companions, and maybe Captain Falric really believes that this girl is the Witch of Envy and Subaru Natsuki will be going around assuring everyone that she was not. A few hints that you killed an innocent woman with an unfortunate appearance whom Subaru had helped escape from the clutches of the Cult, Crusch. That's all it would take."

Crusch scowled, "Very well. We will deal with the situation as we must. The Witch is and remains the target. Depending on the outcome, Subaru Natsuki… may need to be sacrificed."

Subaru stared up at the tent ceiling. He couldn't sleep. The spirits lay on top of him and Emilia dozed beside him.

I can't believe the things that were going on at that slaver camp. I can't even understand it. What kind of person could look another human being in the eye and treat them like a thing?

If I had been the one who locked those girls up in cages, I would not be OK. Hell, I'd be lucky if I could ever sleep again.

And Ayane… she was a baited trap. She tricked people over and over again into slavery for a little money. She deserved to die.

What I did at the camp felt… very different to what happened when I killed the Gusteko soldiers or even the cultists.

Those men were slavers. They were evil on a level I can't even comprehend. I might just take Lye and Roy over a slaver.

I'm glad that they're dead. But… I can't help but think that there was something wrong about the way I did it.

If I'd been in a rage, hunting them down in a fit of righteous indignation then what I did would be understandable, maybe not admirable but understandable. Instead… I fell under the Authority's spell and started killing them because… they offended me. They offended my sensibilities. I didn't just kill them. I ripped them apart. I killed them with a studied detachment and felt nothing. I even killed some of them to satisfy my own curiosity.

What's happening to me? What's this Authority doing to me?

"Subaru, are you still awake?" Emilia whispered.

"Yeah," Subaru whispered. He paused, "Emilia, I'm really sorry about yelling at you earlier."

She sighed, "No, you were right. If it hadn't been for me, we'd all be home free. Instead, I was careless and soon everyone will know right where we are." She closed her eyes, "I put everyone I care about in danger. Again."

"We've both been under a ton of pressure lately. We're going to slip up," Subaru mused, "I'm sorry that I took my frustration out on you. You didn't deserve that."

They were both quiet a moment.

"Subaru, I can tell that something is bothering you. What happened to you in the camp?" She asked, "What happened to those girls?"

Subaru was silent for a moment, "I don't want to tell you," He whispered.

"I can handle it, Subaru," Emilia replied.

"Can you? I'm not so sure that I can," Subaru said.

"Subaru! You told me that I proved myself in the Sanctuary," Emilia whispered sounding slightly offended.

"You did but this is different," Subaru murmured.

"No, Subaru, it isn't," Emilia said, "I can feel how much it hurt you. I want to carry that burden with you."

"What sense does that make? If something hurts me you want it to hurt you too? How does it help for us both to be in pain?" Subaru snorted.

Emilia was silent for a moment, "Subaru, do you not want talk about it because it won't make you feel better or because you're trying to protect me?"

Subaru mulled it over, "I don't know. Both?"

Emilia was quiet for a time. "Subaru, do you remember what you told the spirits today? Well… I think that you and I are connected at our souls too and your emotions affect me. I want to help you you feel better even if it makes me feel worse. Wouldn't you do the same?"

"Mili," Subaru said after a moment, "Do you think you could do me a favor tonight, please?"

"What?" Emilia asked.

"Could you just… hold me for a little while?" Subaru whispered.

Emilia looked Subaru in shock and then nodded.

Subaru laid his head down on Emilia breast and began to cry as she stroked his hair.

"It's alright, Subaru," She whispered, "As long as we're together, everything will be OK."

The next morning, Subaru and company broke their camp and continued moving north along the road.

About mid morning they heard a wagon approaching them from the north. It was driven by a fat man with a long white beard. Subaru waved him down.

The man came to a stop, "Sorry mate, I don't take passengers," The man said with an apologetic shrug.

"That's alright. We're going the other way, anyway," Subaru replied, "Can you tell us how far to Orcos?"

"On foot?" The driver said dubiously, "I'd guess three or four days."

"OK, and how far to the border?"

"Two days," He answered.

"Any inns or places to stay in between here and the city?" Subaru asked.

"Yeah, Maude runs a pretty nice one right across the border."

"Great, thanks for your help, sir," Subaru said with a wave.

"Safe journey," The man said driving off.

Subaru sighed, "I really thought we were closer."

"It's still only two days until we're safe," Emilia reminded him, "Four days until we get to the city and, best of all, two days until we can sleep in a nice warm bed!"

"Betty agrees with the elf, in fact. Betty very much misses a bed," Beatrice said.

"We all miss beds," Subaru chuckled at Beatrice, "But Emilia is right, this is the home stretch. Just another day or two and we can finally relax."

"So, Subaru, if we're about to be somewhere safe for a while, what's our next step?" Puck asked.

"Hm?"

"I mean, are we still assuming that something has modified our memories instead of yours?" Puck asked. He still looked at Emilia skeptically but without overt hostility.

Subaru gave Puck a steady look while Emilia glanced away uncomfortably, "Yes, Puck. We are still assuming that," Subaru said patiently.

"OK, so… how are we going to fix it?"

Subaru scratched his chin, "I don't really know yet. I guess the first thing we'll do is start writing letters to Felt and Reinhard and see if we can open up a dialog. After that, we'll need to do some research. Beako, do you have any ideas where your mother's other books might be located?"

Beatrice shook her head, "Betty has no idea. The world has changed a great deal since mother's day. It is possible that the location where the books were secured no longer exists, I suppose."

"That's a happy thought," Subaru grumbled, "Well, Orcos looks like a big town. I bet there's a large library there where we can do research."

"A library?" Beatrice's face lit up.

Subaru chuckled, "I thought that would make your day."

"Subaru," Emilia murmured, "I'm sure that they have libraries in Orcos but how would we get inside?"

"What do you mean?"

"How would we convince one of the local nobles to let us use his library?" She asked.

Subaru thought for a moment and then face palmed, "Shit! You're right! They don't have public libraries in this world!"

"Public libraries?" Beatrice asked.

"It's a big thing where I come from," Subaru sighed. He shook his head, "OK, fine. We'll get to town and then breeze around and find out who has a reputation in the area for being extremely wise and learned. We'll get a meeting with him and… explain that we're servants of Roswaal I guess, and that he sent us here to do research on a strange curse and witchcraft that's affecting someone important."

"Do you really think that they'll believe that?" Emilia asked dubiously.

"It's just a broad outline, Mili. We'll polish it after we learn more about who we're going to be talking to and what things are like in Gusteko. If nothing else, maybe we can find someone to bribe," Subaru shrugged.

"I believe they have some public libraries in Kararagi and Vollachia but I couldn't vouch for their quality, I suppose," Beatrice said.

Subaru shrugged, "Well we'll cross those borders when we come to them. We'll start by just looking for men with a reputation for being wise and educated and go from there. It's possible a little bit of judicious flattery would unlock all the information that we need."

"Betty is skeptical, I suppose. What makes Subaru think that a bit of flattery will persuade someone to share their knowledge with you?" Beatrice asked.

Subaru looked at Beatrice and hid a smile.

The next night they made camp near the foot of a small cliff in the woods to protect them from the wind.

They all spread out to search for firewood. Emilia deliberately followed Puck into the woods.

The flying cat looked around for dry branches.

"You know, Emilia, you might have more luck finding firewood if you didn't search places that I just looked," Puck said, not looking at her.

"I know. I was…," Emilia hesitated, "I was just hoping that maybe we could talk."

"What do we have to talk about?"

"I just wanted to talk about Subaru," Emilia said.

Puck sighed and drifted down until he was looking her in the eye. He leaned back and folded his paws across his chest, "Talk."

Emilia took a deep breath, "Puck, I feel terrible about what I did to Subaru and Felt. I am so terribly sorry and ashamed of what I did."

"Yeah, I remember you telling me that. Anything else?" Puck said in a bored tone.

Emilia's face fell. "I… It really was an accident, Puck."

"Of course it was a accident!" Puck snorted, "I knew that the second that you did it!"

Emilia stared at him, "Then why won't you forgive me Puck?"

The little cat shook his head in frustration, "You really just don't get it, do you, Emilia? The fact that you did it by accident makes it worse."

Emilia stared at Puck in confusion.

Puck sighed, "Subaru once told me a saying from his world: 'What we most need to fear is not a competent enemy but an incompetent ally.'"

Emilia blinked.

"I knew that you cursed Subaru by accident as soon as you did it. That didn't make me any less angry with you because I love Subaru. But… Subaru loves you. You make him happy. So I've really tried… to accept you, Emilia, but you keep making it absolutely impossible!" Puck shouted.

"Puck," Emilia whispered.

"You curse my Subaru and you almost kill him. The Witch Cult was able to track Subaru specifically because he was with you. And best of all, since everyone thinks that you're Satella, now the entire Kingdom is hunting us down. Subaru is my entire life, Emilia. To me, there is no point to a world that doesn't have my Subaru in it. I'd destroy the world before I'd let that happen."

Puck closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "The world fears you because of your hair and your race," Puck said more calmly. "That is not your fault. I can forgive the fact that the Witch Cult and the Kingdom are both after you. If we were a family, united, then we would deal with whatever the world threw at us. Because that's what family means. What I can not forgive is how you keep putting Subaru and Betty in danger not because of your birth but because of your actions!"

"What do you mean?" Emilia asked.

"Remember the night at the hunter's hut when you sneaked off to have a cry about how mean the big bad cruel world had been to poor little Emilia? Do you remember how Subaru followed you? Can you even begin to imagine how terrified Betty and I were when we woke up and he was missing?!"

"That's not fair, Puck! I didn't know that Subaru was going to come looking for me!"

"Did you ever stop to wonder how Subaru would feel if he woke up and saw someone he loved, who was being pursued by the Witch Cult, was gone?!" Puck shot back.

Emilia flinched.

"Of course Subaru was going to go looking for you. And the Cult might have found you both! You cursed Subaru with frost flowers because you couldn't control your own magic. You talked Subaru into risking his life to save a group of enemy soldiers from the Guiltylowe. Then just yesterday you told all those slaves who Subaru was and who you are and you didn't even realize it until Subaru pointed it out!"

Emilia stood there crying.

Puck turned his back on Emilia and folded his arms across his chest, "You are not an evil witch, Emilia. Contrary to what the peasants say, there really are very few evil witches. Witches as a group are mostly just careless. Witches have too much power and they destroy lives by being careless with that power and the people around them pay the price. This would all be easier if you actually were evil. If you had done all this damage deliberately then at least maybe I could believe you if you finally promised to stop. But you did it all by accident."

Puck turned to stare at Emilia, his expression cold and hard, "You are just a spoiled little girl who has gotten accustomed to other people taking care of you. Maybe Subaru is willing to do that for you, Emilia but I'm not. Every time you put my family in danger I get that much more tempted to get rid of you, no matter how Subaru reacts. Even if he hates me for it, it's better than losing him due to your carelessness. It's time for you to grow up and accept some responsibility for your own actions. You are not family, Emilia. Subaru might be in love with you but I can't trust you not to bring harm onto Betty and my Subaru, Emilia. And where there is no trust, there is no family."

Puck floated away, looking for firewood.

Emilia fell down on her knees and cried.

The group had set up their tent and were sitting around a small fire. They were all exhausted.

"Alright guys," Subaru sighed, "It's been a hell of a week but it's almost over. Tomorrow we cross the border and we spent the night in a warm bed with good food. Maybe we'll spend two. Then we head off to Orcos and find a place to settle down for a bit."

The spirits nodded in ascent but didn't say anything.

Poor Betty and Puck, Subaru thought. They must be completely exhausted. What's worse is they're probably still wondering why we're doing this at all. They don't really believe my story about Emilia, they're just doing this for me. Although at least they've been less hostile toward Emilia lately.

OK, we can make this up to them. Once we're someplace safe and warm and they get a chance to rest, they'll start opening up to Emilia. They'll realize she's a good person who wouldn't have bewitched me. They'll come around.

Ironically at some point I need to tell everyone the truth about my Authority, that I'm the one who has been bewitching people. My Authority has been influencing them to care about me. Except for Puck, ironically, because he cares about me due to another person's Authority! Gee, isn't that reassuring?

I need to wait a few weeks before I bring that up. Beako and Emilia are already running on fumes. Can you imagine their reaction when I admit that the person doing all the bewitching was me? That it was my Authority that made them care about me?

They're going to be shattered. They're going to be furious with me.

Maybe I deserve that.

Well, that's a problem for later…

Beatrice jumped, "Subaru! Something is wrong!"

"What?" Subaru asked snapping out of his reverie.

"I don't know, in fact!"

"Something is moving around in these woods," Puck growled, "Something strong."

"A mabeast?" Subaru asked.

"Maybe. Whatever it is, its power is immense," Puck answered.

"Fuck. Is it coming this way?" Subaru asked.

"Not right now, I suppose," Beatrice said after a moment, "Whatever it is, it's a lot stronger than a Stormcrow or even a Guiltylowe."

Subaru bit his lip not liking the images flying through his mind, "Alright, let's put out the fire," Subaru directed piling dirt onto it.

"Should we run?" Emilia asked.

"Run where?" Subaru replied, "Beako, where is it?"

Beatrice pointed off into the dark woods toward the road, "Somewhere in that direction."

"OK, well then we're not going that way," Subaru sighed, "Let's stay here for the moment. Hopefully whatever it is will just pass us by. You guys are exhausted. You should try to get some sleep, I'll keep watch."

"Subaru, you're exhausted too!" Emilia objected.

"Yeah, but I have an Authority! That probably lets me go for days without sleep," Subaru replied.

"Is that true, in fact?" Beatrice asked skeptically.

"Maybe. I don't know," Subaru shrugged.

"Subaru!" Emilia hissed.

"I don't think that Betty and I are going to get much sleep with that thing stalking around the woods tonight," Puck commented, "Let's just see if it moves off."

Puck glanced at Emilia, "You can go to bed if you want," He said not unkindly.

Emilia looked at Puck with a heavy sigh.

Subaru looked over the nearby hill peering out into the dark forest, "Guys, any idea what this thing is? What's bigger and badder than a Guiltylowe?"

"A variety of things, I suppose, but they're all very rare," Beatrice muttered, "Whatever this thing is, it's not local to this area. The mana in these woods wouldn't support it."

Subaru hesitated, "Betty, is it Regulus?" He whispered.

Beatrice stared into the dark for a moment and shook her head, "It's too far away to tell."

"I think it's searching the woods for something," Puck muttered, "If we stay here it'll probably stumble over us sooner or later."

"So either it's another happy little mabeast driven out of its home turf by all the fighting, or its something the Witch Cult stirred up deliberately to come after us. Or maybe it's one of the Archbishops themselves. Happy choices," Subaru muttered. He turned to Puck, "Is it moving fast? Could we maybe sneak by it?"

"It's moving pretty fast," Puck replied, "We'd have to get lucky to get by it. Maybe if it goes far enough away we could sneak past…"

"But then we're just going down the road which is a pretty lousy place to hide," Subaru grumbled.

"Subaru! It's coming straight for us!" Beatrice exclaimed.

"Fuck!" Subaru said jumping to his feet.

Emilia started frantically breaking down the tent.

"Mili, forget the tent! We'll worry about it later!" Subaru hissed.

"Subaru, I don't think that you can survive the nights up in these mountains without it!" Emilia hissed back.

She makes an excellent point but we still need to live long enough for that to be a consideration. Something worse than a Guiltylowe… Whatever it is, I think my evening is about to become pretty interesting…

Subaru and the spirits stood there ready for anything. There was a blur at the top of the hill.

Subaru's heart sank, "Reinhard," He whispered as the red headed knight slipped Felt off his back.

Subaru stepped forward trying to shield his family.

"Subaru," Reinhard murmured. "I have come to rescue you from this witch's terrible curse."

"I am not under any curse, Red!" Subaru shouted. "Emilia is the one who's been cursed! You have to believe me!"

"Subaru!" Felt screamed, "You have to listen to us! Everything that you're saying is crazy! Put yourself in our place for a second! If we were telling you the same story you're trying to sell us, would you believe it? She's tricking you! You have to get away from her!"

Oh God, what do I even say to that? Fuck! When I am going to wake up from this nightmare?!

Subaru took a deep breath, "I'm ashamed to do this, Red, but as your lord I am ordering you to let us get across the border so I can seek out the cure to Emilia's curse," Subaru said flinching.

Reinhard stared at Subaru with unshed tears standing in his eyes. Felt stood behind him looking frightened.

"Subaru," Reinhard said, "I am to blame for this terrible curse that has warped your mind so badly. I followed a false report of the Black Snake and then was too foolish to question an obviously forged letter from Roswaal. If I had thought to stay at your side then none of this ever would have happened. Therefore I will atone for these wrongs here and now by righting them myself."

Subaru took a deep breath, "Red, that kind of sounds like you intend to ignore my instructions not to harm Emilia. That's not exactly knightly behavior, is it?"

"Yes," Reinhard agreed simply, "I am ignoring a direct command from my lord. My honor and my knighthood are both forfeit for this crime and my life may soon be as well."

Subaru recoiled at seeing how far Reinhard was prepared to go.

"I will free you from this curse no matter the cost. I promise you this as my final act as your knight, and I give you my word as your friend. When the curse is lifted, my lord will mete out whatever justice he sees fit. I am ready to accept the consequences of my actions." Reinhard pronounced drawing the terrible Dragon Sword from its sheath.

"Today I redeem your faith in my friendship, Lord Subaru, by freeing you from this curse that has so twisted your mind. The witch must die!"

Subaru looked behind him and saw Emilia standing there frozen in terror. The spirits stood beside Subaru, trembling.

What the fuck do I do?! I have no chance against Reinhard, none at all! I can maybe block one swing from him before Indomitable times out but even that's questionable. Red moves like lightning. If he just tries to move around me to strike down Emilia I have no way to stop him. The spirits' magic or even Emilia's magic won't do a damn thing against Reinhard.

Subaru triggered Reason and Judgment but that didn't help at all. His odds against Reinhard were effectively zero.

He tried to reach out to his Authority but nothing happened.

"Subaru!" Felt begged, "Please get away from there! That's Satella the Witch of Envy! She's put a spell on you and she's planning to destroy the world!"

"You have no evidence of any of that!" Subaru roared back at Felt who flinched. "None! Everything you just said is based on pure speculation and assumptions! Even if you assume that she did brainwash me, can you point out any action that I've taken I wouldn't have taken anyway? What is she controlling me to do?"

Out of the corner of his eye Subaru saw Beatrice stiffen and gaze off in the distance as if listening to something.

"She's relying on your soft heart to manipulate you, my friend," Reinhard declared sadly. "A witch has sought out the very best of men and seeks to turn him to her own ends. This is unforgivable," Reinhard said sternly.

Subaru took a deep breath and desperately looked for an option that wasn't there.

"If I let you kill me," Emilia cried out, "Will you promise to leave Subaru and the spirits alone?"

"No!" Subaru yelled at Emilia as Beatrice ran in front of Subaru with Puck in her arms.

"Reinhard will not hurt Betty's Subaru, in fact!" She proclaimed.

Beatrice turned to face Subaru and Emilia and waved her hand, striking them both with a hurricane of wind that sent them both flying backwards-

Into a black portal that closed and then they were gone.

Reinhard raced forward but not even he could catch up to Subaru and Emilia before the portal closed.

"Beako!" Felt protested, "What have you done? You've sent Subaru away with that witch!"

Beatrice did not turn around. She and Puck stood there staring at the place where Subaru had previously been.

"Beako, why did you do that? Reinhard could have killed the witch!" Felt demanded.

Beatrice seemed to be gazing a thousand miles off, "Killing the witch would have killed Subaru, I suppose. Betty knows that Subaru would not have been willing to live in a world without the witch," She said listlessly.

Felt gasped.

Beatrice sighed, "Betty has faith in her Subaru, I suppose. Subaru will find the answers. He will find the flaws in this bewitchment and turn against the witch," She said quietly. Beatrice paused, "And if this 'Emilia' is under a curse then Subaru will break it, I suppose."

"How?! Now he's alone with her! There's no one to help him!" Felt demanded.

"Betty's Subaru will discover the solution and fight his way back to Betty and Bubby. Betty and Subaru belong together. It was a promise and that promise means more to Betty's Subaru than anything," Beatrice whispered.

"Lady Beatrice," Reinhard said kneeling down in front of her, "You must tell me where you sent Subaru and the witch! Subaru is in great danger. I have no idea what the witch is planning but she nearly destroyed the world a few centuries ago and doubtless she intends to do the same as soon as her power is recovered!"

"Betty can't tell you where her Subaru is. Betty doesn't know, in fact," Beatrice murmured.

Reinhard and Felt looked at each other helplessly.

"Forgive me, Lady Beatrice and Master Puck. I have been," Reinhard bowed his head, "Directed by the royal council to bind your magic with sealing stones until we are certain that you have not been influenced by the Witch Cult or Subaru's abductor."

Felt turned her face away in shame and Reinhard bit his lip.

Reinhard sighed, "My deepest apologies, Lady Beatrice and Master Puck," Reinhard said sadly wrapping a bracelet of tiny black rocks around her wrist and Puck's.

The spirits did not resist and the bracelets immediately shrunk and tightened until there was no way they could be removed. Puck slowly settled into Beatrice's arms, no longer able to fly.

Beatrice kept staring at the place her contractor had just stood.

"Betty trusts her Subaru, in fact," She whispered.

"Subaru!" He heard Emilia scream.

Subaru's body regained consciousness begrudgingly. He felt cold, terribly cold.

He opened his eyes and looked up to see Emilia staring down at him in a near panic.

"Mili, what happened?" He asked looking around.

Subaru was lying in a snow bank. His robes were soaked clear through and the wind was bitterly cold.

"Subaru, are you OK?!"

Subaru rubbed his brow with a trembling hand, "Yeah, I think so. What happened?"

Emilia looked scared, "Subaru, Beatrice send us through a portal to escape Reinhard. Judging by all the snow, we're probably somewhere in northern Gusteko."

"Ugh. Not many cities up there," Subaru commented, looking around at the dense and trackless forest they sat in.

"No. And going through the portal we lost the food bags, the map, and the tent."

"Ugh, my head!" Subaru muttered shivering violently. "OK, that's really bad. Beatrice, do you at least know approximately where we are?"

Beatrice didn't answer him.

Emilia bit her lip. "Subaru," She whispered, "I need you to be really brave right now."

Subaru stared at Emilia in horror. He pulled his way out of the snowbank and leapt to his feet.

"Beako?!" He shouted out into the forest. "Puck?!"

There was no answer but the howling wind.

"Beatrice!" Subaru screamed.