Re:Zero - The King of Pride

Subaru fought his way through knee-deep snowdrifts, a freezing cold wind howling at his back. Angry black clouds boiled overhead but Subaru dealt with nothing but flurries.

He'd walked through Emilia's village without really seeing it. Subaru had been walking through the frigid, silent woods for well over a mile fueled by sheer resentment.

She told me to leave. After everything that we've been through together, she fucking told me to leave! I almost started to believe that Emilia wouldn't eventually say that we were just a mistake and that we should break up but then she told me to-

Subaru shook his head violently, trying to shake off the poisonous thoughts.

She wants to get rid of me… She wants me gone…

A cold voice whispered to Subaru from the depths of his mind. It's not really a surprise. You always knew this would happen eventually. She's started to see you as you really are. Not as a hero or a genius but simply as an inept bumbler who briefly had a lucky streak. The dragon blood is gone. You can't save the forest for Emilia. You can't make everyone remember her. You have nothing to offer her. In fact, you're doing nothing but putting her in danger. Normally, rumors of a witch hiding in a forest would be beneath Reinhard's notice but do you think that he'll ever get tired of hunting the woman he blames for his friend's bewitchment? He'll hunt Emilia down and-

"Fuck" He roared, triggering Indomitable and smashing his fist into a nearby tree.

The trees in the forest were practically ice sculptures themselves and his punch shattered the tree into billions of tiny snow particles.

Subaru grabbed at his hair as if to rip it out. "All I wanted to do was to keep my family safe! Is that really so much to ask?!" He howled.

Subaru crouched down in the snow and buried his face in his hands. "Oh my God, I suck. Beako, I promised you that we'd be together forever. I lost you after less than a month!"

Come on, Subaru! Pull yourself back together! Beako needs you! This isn't the time to be feeling sorry for yourself. This is the time to come up with a plan to get her back!

Subaru stood up and took several deep breaths.

"OK. One step at time. That's how I'll do it. I will get Beatrice back!" Subaru promised. He took a deep breath, "I need a plan."

Subaru triggered Reason and Judgment.

The snowflakes blowing across the snowdrifts slowed down briefly and then the wind sped up and they all blew away.

Subaru coughed and spat out a mouthful of black crud that tasted like ashes.

Fuck! What's wrong with my power?!

The cold voice whispered, In all candor, Reason and Judgment wouldn't help you very much right now. Your intelligence may surge in that mode but this alone will not solve your problem. Your issue is not lack of intelligence but rather lack of information. You can not concoct a plan to rescue Beatrice because you have no idea where she is. This is the most important piece of information to acquire. Unfortunately, it will almost certainly be the most difficult.

The place where Beatrice and Puck are being held wouldn't be bandied about in casual conversation in some bar. Nobody else would care enough about the information to even pass it on. Beyond that, their location might even be classified. They might be considered enemies of the kingdom because of their association with a suspected witch. The kingdom might even-

Subaru's fear and fury rose up to engulf him like some great wave. No! That is not what happened! Felt and Reinhard won't blame the spirits for what Emilia and I did! They'll make sure that they're well taken care of.

The cold voice continued. This is always assuming that Reinhard and Felt actually have custody of the spirits. Crusch might have ordered them to be turned over to her or to the sage's council. Either one is likely to be much less kind to the spirits, both in general and in extracting any useful information…

Subaru's face contorted in horror. "Fuck!" He screamed. He fell to his knees in the deep snow, burying his face in his hands and crying helplessly.

Emilia sat in the cottage, her face buried in her hands. What have I done?! I didn't mean… Subaru! All I wanted was for you to be happy! Why can't you understand?! I love you so much that I can't bear to have you with me because all I do is hurt you! I hate having to see you in pain!

What sort of life could you have here?! A fugitive, hiding away in a cursed forest? Subaru, you could be a King! You could spend every day surrounded by people who love you and think that you're a hero! How could I possibly let you spend the rest of your life in hiding with me? What's even worse is, I know that you're kind enough to throw away everything in your life just for my sake but I can't let you do that! I can't let myself be that selfish!

It's become clear to me that I'm the one who's putting you in danger. Anyone who sees us together will think that you're a Witch Cultist! They won't look at you and see a wonderful person who should be loved and admired by the whole world, they see someone that they think deserves to die! All I can do is put you in danger. Your life would be ten times harder just because I was in it! That is why you need to leave me!

Emilia swallowed hard and looked around the tiny cottage. Somehow, now that Subaru had left, the small house felt even smaller. A set of four walls that now contained the shattered remnants of her meaningless life.

She buried her face in her hands with a wail of despair.

Subaru marched north. He knew that it was irrational to just walk through the forest at random but he wasn't sure what else to do. He wasn't ready to go back to Emilia just yet.

Fuck me. What the hell was I doing, talking to Emilia like that? I'm a fucking asshole. I took all of my frustrations out on her just because… she suggested that we separate.

Subaru stopped and took a deep breath. The chill wind whistled through the empty forest. Subaru was suddenly struck by the loneliness of the place.

He shook his head and kept walking.

Alright, look: I'll freely admit that I completely overreacted and that what I said to her was… seriously not OK but why would she ever tell me something like that? Doesn't she know how much the very idea of never seeing her again kills me?

I'm not lying. I'd rather die at Emilia's side than go on living without her.

I know that Beatrice and Puck need me, need both of us. I get that. But… I'm not going to trade Emilia for them. I can't do it. I won't do it.

The clouds overhead boiled angrily, threatening a violent storm but Subaru only dealt with flurries as he wandered the forest trails.

OK. It's time that I finally faced reality. I've lost all of my friends, most of my family has been captured, and my fiancee is a suspected witch who will be killed on sight. The only thing I've got left to work with is my Authority.

Fuck. All I ever had to work with was my Authority. That's why Beatrice chose me, why Reinhard and Felt followed me, and… it's probably why Emilia fell in love with me…

Fuck me. I almost wish that there was a cliff handy that I could throw myself off of…

Alright, whatever. OK, so there's absolutely nothing good or admirable about me except for my witchcraft… which actually kind of means that there's nothing good about me whatsoever.

…God, I suck.

Subaru left the trees and began walking across a wide meadow.

Come on! Knock it off! You have the Authority of Pride! The strongest Authority imaginable and you need to master it! That is the only way to get Beatrice and Puck back and it's the only way that you can keep Emilia safe. You are going to master the Authority, period.

Yeah but how? And is the Authority even working anymore? Reason and Judgment seems… jammed. I keep throwing up when I try to harness the power. I can still use Indomitable and Pridebreaker but what's wrong with Reason and Judgment? Am I overusing the Authority? How do I make it stronger?

Beatrice told me that the Authority would get stronger as I gave into my pride. Sounds simple enough. The only problem with that plan is that I am Subaru Natsuki, the most worthless, pathetic waste of space on two different worlds. I let Beatrice and Puck get kidnapped, my fiancee has been cursed, my friends all turned against me, and the entire world is hunting me down.

Jeez, Roswaal even flat out told me that the Authority seeks out the most pathetic people that it can find. The Authority must be really satisfied with how things have worked out so far. Selecting pathetic people seems a little counterproductive for Pride but I guess I just still don't understand how magic works.

Subaru, still deep in thought, found himself climbing a tall hill in the middle of the meadow.

God, I keep acting like something brought me to this world for a reason. Maybe I've got this whole thing backwards. Maybe the Earth was just so embarrassed to have me around that it flung me somewhere and didn't give a shit where I wound up as long as it was far away. Maybe I should just be grateful that this planet even has oxygen.

Subaru reached the top of the hill and saw something out of the corner of his eyes. He looked up and saw the hill was covered in crude snowmen, dozens and dozens of snowmen.

Huh? Do little kids come way out here to play? Why would they?

Subaru examined one snow man more closely and noticed that there was ice under the coating of snow. Subaru delicately brushed the snow away revealing the figure of a woman with pointed ears. Her clothes and terrified expression were captured in perfect relief in the ice.

"Holy shit," Subaru whispered, looking around in shock, "This must be… where it happened…"

Emilia sat at the table, staring at the wall. She found that she had no interest in moving, eating or sleeping.

She just sat there.

"I did only what was best for him," Emilia murmured to herself in a dead voice. "That's all that that matters. Nobody in this world even remembers me. Nobody cares about me. What happens to me doesn't matter. I need to be thinking about Subaru. Subaru deserves the world. Now that I'm no longer holding him back, he can have a happy, wonderful life. I should be happy for him. I will be happy for him."

She heard a faint knock on the door.

Emilia's heart leaped into her throat. "Subaru?" She breathed. She took a deep breath. "Come in!"

The door opened a crack and Emilia's face fell.

"Good morning!" Anri said cheerfully. "Are you guys ready to go?"

"Go?" Emilia asked in confusion.

Anri looked awkward. "You know, to Iruk?" Anri reminded her. "I already fed and saddled Patrasche and everything! We can head out any time," She hinted.

"Is Patrasche still here?" Emilia asked sharply.

Anri frowned in confusion. "Well, yeah, why wouldn't she be? She's right here," Anri replied, opening the cottage door a little wider and revealing the riding dragon standing just outside.

If Subaru didn't take Patrasche then he hasn't left the forest! He'll never get out of the forest on foot! Maybe that means that he'll… come back?

Or was he just too angry to think straight when he left and when he calms down, he'll come back for Patrasche and then leave me alone forever?

…He wouldn't even need to see me. He could just take the dragon and leave. I'd walk outside, find that Patrasche is gone, and realize that Subaru has left and that he's never coming back…

…Which is good. This is what I want, remember? It means that Subaru will be happy and safe.

I need to stop being so selfish…

"Where's Subaru?" Anri asked, stepping inside the cottage and closing the door behind her.

Emilia bit her lip and her face fell.

Subaru was surrounded by dozens and dozens of ice statues. He knew that they must all have been Emilia's friends and family.

God. I knew that this happened in the forest but… somehow I never really thought that I might end up here. I never imagined that I'd be out walking and just run into all the ice statues that Emilia made the people of the forest into.

The statues were frozen in poses of frantic flight. Their faces were contorted in fear. Many looked behind them, clearly terrified of whatever had been chasing them.

Shit. It's no wonder that Emilia is so desperate to help them. She once told me that she came out here every day to clean them off. I guess they all look like snowmen because of the daily snowfall in the forest coupled with a few months of nobody tending to them.

Subaru bit his lip. He rummaged around in his satchel and pulled out Petra's handkerchief. He cleaned off most of the snow with his bare hands and then used the handkerchief to remove the finer bits.

I doubt that the elves care if their bodies are covered in snow. Hell, I doubt that they're are even aware of it but… I don't know what else to do here. Besides, maybe Emilia will appreciate my efforts if she comes out this way.

…Or maybe she'll just be mad that I was sneaking around the forest and looking into her affairs…

Subaru kept brushing the snow off the statutes. Each was face was different but they were all terrified.

With every statue I clean off, I feel like I'm uncovering the scene of some ancient tragedy. Or the evidence of a crime scene. All of these statues used to be people. They used to be Emilia's friends and family.

It took hours but Subaru cleaned off all of the ice statues. He noticed a strange frozen blob near the middle of the assembled statues that had been partially melted.

That must have been where Puck thawed Emilia out of the ice.

Subaru looked around at the frozen elves. He was surrounded by dozens, hundreds of frozen bodies like the world's strangest cemetery. The weight of Emilia's guilt and self-loathing hit him like a truck.

Their faces are the real killer. These people were terrified and running for their lives before Emilia cursed them. Their faces are all contorted in fear. They're panicking but they're still all running away together. No one is breaking away from the group or trying to save themselves at someone else's expense. I can see lovers holding hands, families desperately trying to help the younger kids keep up. The elderly and infirm being carried on the backs of the young and strong. These were good people.

And all of their lives were cut short by Emilia's curse.

Subaru shook his head.

Emilia came here everyday to keep them free of snow and to confront her own mistake.

Fuck me. I told Emilia that she had to get over her guilt. Now that I'm actually standing here, I'm amazed that she isn't suicidal. I probably would be. Of course she's desperate to save them. Who wouldn't be? But now that the dragon blood is all gone, we have only one hope for saving them: the Authority of Pride.

Subaru brushed the bits of snow off of Petra's handkerchief and put it back in the satchel. The frozen elves standing around him were at least free from snow now.

He sighed. "Maybe it's time that I finally go back to Emilia and begged for forgiveness," He murmured to himself, slinking down the enormous hill.

Subaru kept moving at a brisk pace trying to make for Emilia's cottage. He'd been out here for hours. The sun was already starting to descend and the cold was deepening. His thoughts about Emilia's unspeakable burden and what the kingdom might do to Beatrice and Puck kept racing through his mind, despite how hard he tried to suppress them.

He just needed to keep moving. He felt like if he ever stopped moving, his despair would catch up with him and he'd be unable to move at all.

"Emilia," Anri asked in disbelief. "Why the hell would you do that?!"

Emilia didn't answer.

Anri shook her head. "Come on, Mili! You know that this isn't what you really want!"

Emilia sighed. "I'm afraid that this is bigger than what I want, Anri. Since the day that we met, Subaru has ignored his own interests. He's done nothing but think about me and how to make me happy. How long can I possibly let him keep doing all of this? Could I really just let him waste his entire life on me?"

Anri looked skeptical. "If you asked him, do you think that he'd say a life spent with you would be a 'waste?'"

Emilia sighed and bowed her head. "Anri, if you could be a King, if you could spend your days surrounded by people who admire and adore you, would you really be willing to hide in a forest for the rest of your life with some loathsome witch?"

Anri gave Emilia a steady gaze. "Couple of things, Mili. First of all, you're not a witch. Very important point. Secondly, and you can take my word for this, power and prestige are seriously overrated. And as far as I can tell, if he stayed with you, Subaru would be spending his life with someone who admires and adores him. Why would that be a mistake?"

Emilia sighed and wrapped her arms around her chest as if she was trying to hold herself together. "I'm just… I'm just worried that one day he'll wake up some morning and realize that… we were just a huge mistake…"

Anri thought about it. "I suppose in the end, all marriages are mistakes," She admitted. "At least in the sense that a more suitable partner could have theoretically been found. But it's the people who willingly stand by us, who choose to endure whatever life throws at us, who are our true soul mates."

Emilia was crying. "That's… that's very wise, Anri," She sniffed. "It sounds like something that Subaru would say."

Anri gave Emilia half a smile. "Well, I can't really take any credit for it, Mili. It's a quote from one of my favorite romance novels," She chuckled.

Before Emilia could respond she heard a thunderous noise echo across the forest. A great rumbling cry, less a roar than a strangled cough that rattled the rafters and then faded in the distance.

Emilia looked at Anri in shock.

Anri looked terrified. "Um. Whatever made that noise, I don't think that I want to meet it."

Subaru froze in his tracks as he was walking in the forest. The thunderous sound shook the trees like a great wind.

"Emilia!" He whispered and then took off for the village at a run.

"Where are we going?!" Anri screamed, desperately trying to keep up with Emilia who raced through the forest, following Subaru's tracks in the deep snow. "What was that thing?!"

The pair sprinted across a small meadow.

Emilia, for her part, was utterly indifferent to if Anri followed her or not. Emilia's thoughts were fixated on one thing: Subaru. Got to find Subaru!

What could have made that noise? Whatever it was must be enormous! I would have guessed the White Whale but Subaru and Reinhard killed it. Could it…

Could it be the Black Snake?

Oh Gods. Please, not again!

"Emilia!" Subaru shouted as he ran out of the trees.

"Subaru!" She shouted, grabbing him in her arms.

"Are you alright?" He demanded.

She nodded. "I'm fine! Subaru, are you-"

"I'm alright. Emilia, what the hell was that?!"

"I don't know!"

"Um," Anri muttered, startling both of them as they had forgotten that she was even there. "What is… that?"

Emilia and Subaru both turned where she pointed. There was a massive Guiltylowe standing in the trees on a small hill.

Then he realized that the Guiltylowe was backing away and snarling at something else.

Subaru looked past the Guiltylowe and saw that something was moving through the forest. A vast, creeping pool of viscous black sludge was flowing up the hill toward the mabeast.

The Guiltylowe stood its ground and roared at the oozing muck. The beast raised one great paw and smashed the sludge. This had no more effect than stomping on a mud puddle.

The creeping muck, suddenly quick as a striking snake, formed long strings and enveloped the beast's paw, then flowed up and over the thrashing mabeast.

The Guiltylowe tried to leap away but it couldn't break free, struggling against the strangling, black tendrils of sludge that were crawling all over its body as if the beast were being buried in black spiderwebs.

The blob's tendrils were like clutching fingers as they pulled the pool of sludge up and over the beast's body and engulfed the Guiltylowe. The muck piled more and more of itself onto the struggling mabeast and then contracted until every muscle and sinew of the beast was starkly outlined under the black murk. The Guiltylowe's roar of pain trailed off into a gurgling wheeze.

Then the blob suddenly collapsed in on itself, falling back to the earth and becoming a flat puddle once again.

The sludge began to flow away. There was no sign left of the Guiltylowe except for tiny scraps of fur and a few small bones.

"Emilia," Subaru said as he and Emilia clung to each other trembling. "What the hell is that thing?!"

"I don't know!" Emilia whispered, her face white.

"It's the Black Water!" Anri gasped.

They both looked at the girl whose face was contorted in horror. "I've read about it in books!" She said in a strangled whisper. "When the Black Snake roams the world, sometimes it leaves behind pools of its venom. Its venom is alive and has the same desire to kill as its creator. The Black Water is much more deadly in Gusteko than in the other nations because of the cold. The Black Water can lay dormant in frozen lakes for years or even decades before a break in the ice frees it."

"Frozen lake?" Subaru whispered to himself.

Oh no. What the fuck did I do now?!

"I don't think that it sees us," Emilia whispered.

"I'm not sure that it even has eyes!" Subaru hissed. He watched it. "At least it's… flowing away from us."

"We need to get the hell out of here!" Anri breathed in a shrill voice. "We have no chance against this monster! Absolutely none! The Holy King would immediately send out all of his Acolyte Knights if the Black Water was spotted! We need to get out of here and sound the alarm!"

"You don't need to tell me twice," Subaru muttered. "At least it's not heading toward the village."

Emilia nodded but then she stiffened. "Oh, Gods! It's headed right toward the hill of the villagers!" She screamed out loud.

Emilia tore herself free of Subaru's arms and raced after the monster.

"Emilia!" He screamed, racing after her but Emilia easily outpaced him.

"No!" Anri screamed. "You can't! There's no way that you can fight that thing!"

Emilia raced toward the monster. Her mind was blank. Her only thought was to protect the helpless villagers that stood frozen on top of the hill.

I can't let it reach them! If this monster devours the villagers then there is no hope, no hope at all! I have to protect them!

The Black Water slowly inched up the hill with the villagers' statues at its summit.

Emilia flew toward the hill and scrambled up after the Black Water. Emilia reached deep down into herself, summoning all the magic that she could muster and flung a wave of absolute cold at the beast.

Emilia panted for breath as the magic, like a vast pale blue wind, tore after the monster. In the magic's wake, the snow on the ground froze to solid ice which then cracked and shattered from the sheer cold.

The magic struck the monster full on. The creature twisted and boiled, making a thunderous 'coughing' sound. The flat puddle grew long tentacles of sludge that rolled and writhed until the creature resembled a gnarled, black thorn bush of immense proportions.

The monster's black skin began to grow patches of white frost that steadily crept along its body. The beast slowed its thrashing, its tendrils growing stiff under the spreading frost.

The magic began to crystallize the monster. More and more of it froze solid until the Black Water was nothing but a twisted, eldritch ice statue of flailing tentacles the size of a house.

Emilia fell forward onto her hands and knees, gasping for breath.

I don't think that I've ever used that much magic in my entire life…

It's all that I can do not to pass out just from kneeling here.

But my people are safe. That's what's important. Now I can go home and rest to my heart's content.

She heard Subaru racing up behind her.

"Mili! Are you OK?"

She nodded, having no breath to speak as Subaru knelt down beside her and put his arms around her.

Subaru stared in amazement at the enormous ice sculpture that looked like a forest of brier shrubs.

He shook his head. "Mili, let's get you home," He whispered.

There was a rumbling sound. Subaru and Emilia both looked up in horror as the frozen Black Water shivered. Fissures spread up and down its frozen tentacles as the ice began to crack. The Black Water squirmed and shuddered. The frozen statue trembled.

Then the Black Water shattered its bonds.

The nightmarish creature rose up before them like a standing wave, twenty feet tall. It grew gnashing tendrils in profusion from its inky black body.

The beast's whip like tentacles lashed out at Emilia and Subaru threw himself in front of her.

A tendril, blacker than pitch wrapped around his arm.

Subaru's mind screamed in agony. He had triggered Indomitable a second too late. He look down at his arm and nearly passed out. Between the places where the monster's tentacle had wrapped around his forearm, his limb looked like meat that had been dunked into a deep fat fryer. The skin had turned a yellowy brown and his flesh steamed where the monster had grabbed it. It looked like the skin was dissolving and the muscles underneath were starting to come loose off the bone.

Subaru desperately shoved Emilia away from the creature and she went skidding across the snow. Anri raced to her side.

Subaru gave the monster an Indomitable punch but it felt like punching Jello. The monster quivered a bit but the force just flowed through the beast and his blow did no damage.

This thing's grip is like iron! I can't break loose! I can't even trigger Reason and Judgment! Indomitable is preventing that thing from dissolving my arm but once it times out my body is going to melt like butter on a skillet!

I can't even punch the thing! It's a gelatin!

Five seconds.

What the hell do I do?! I need to save Emilia but she's too tired to run right now and all of her magic is used up!

Four seconds.

I need the real power! The kind that manifested at the slaver camp! But how do I do it? What triggered it?!

Three seconds.

Pride. I need to harness my Pride. Give me the power! It's mine! I deserve it! I need it. I want it! Give it to me!

Two seconds.

Let's make a deal! I'll give you whatever you want just help me! Help me save Emilia!

One second.

Subaru's mind began to thrash in desperation. I'm not going to let everything end this way! This is my story! Mine! I'm not going to die in these accursed woods! I am going to protect Emilia and rescue Beatrice. And God help anyone who gets in my way! This sludge has threatened my wife and I'm going to show it what a terrible decision that was!

Indomitable timed out and Subaru tried to sustain it on pure will. But instead of the heart-squeezing pain that he usually felt, this time he felt a terrible tearing sensation deep within his chest, as if something inside of him had ripped wide open or ruptured.

Then the power started to flow and Subaru stopped worrying about it.

"Pridebreaker," He whispered.

"Subaru!" Emilia screamed. She tried to get to her feet but her knees buckled under her.

The Black Water engulfed Subaru like a breaking wave, burying him under gnashing tentacles and thick black sludge.

"No!" She screamed, reaching for her magic but she was well and truly drained. She tried to crawl forward but Anri grabbed her shoulders and held her back.

There was a thunderous detonation that shook the earth.

Emilia and Anri were both thrown backwards by the force and the Black Water exploded out into a great dome thirty feet across. The previously opaque black sludge now looked filmy and translucent, as if the monster had been stretched to its very limits.

The monster staggered, slowly unpeeling itself from around its prey. Then it collapsed to the ground stunned, like a starfish that had been flung up on the beach, its huge tendrils sprawling in every direction, wisps of steam were rising from its body.

Emilia looked feverishly for some sign of Subaru but she was forced to avert her gaze as a great gush of steam struck her eyes when the monster withdrew itself from around him. The heat billowing out from under the Black Water's dome melted the snow for yards around it.

Emilia looked up and her jaw dropped. Subaru stood there calmly, one tendril still clutching his arm, but he had changed.

When Subaru had been at the slaver camp, Emilia had been too far away to sense him. She hadn't understood what the spirits had been so concerned about.

She understood now.

Looking at Subaru was like looking at the sun. The power radiating off him was enough to make Emilia want to shield her eyes, instinctively knowing that her frail body was never designed to stand this close to such power and that it could reduce her to ashes without effort or even ever noticing her presence.

Mana poured out of Subaru like heat flowed from a bonfire but this mana was strange and unnatural. Emilia sensed the spirits, the forest, and indeed the whole world recoil from it.

"You dare?" Subaru asked the Black Water quietly.

The Black Water reverted from a thick sludge to a more viscous liquid and began to flow away.

The monster made it less than a yard before it jerked to a halt.

Emilia realized that, despite being a liquid, Subaru had somehow managed to grab the creature by its tendril and was holding it fast.

"Filthy wretch," Subaru murmured. "Misbegotten by accident and toil. You dare to challenge me?"

The creature fought to get free, flowing away, stretching itself into a long slender rope but it could not seem to shake off Subaru's grip.

"You are a mindless abomination," Subaru said, sounding as if he'd found a cockroach in his cupboard. "A beast bereft of heart or mind. Pathetic wretch. I am the principal aspect of this world and in your unthinking assault against me you have dared to lay hands upon the world itself. Did you think that I would ignore your trespass? Think you that, because the winter storm lacks agency, its offenses against me should go unacknowledged? Madness! Be you agent or be you principle I know the terrible malice that animates you! Think not that clemency nor mercy shall be afforded to you for your presumption, you lifeless thing! I would strike the sun if she offended me!"

In desperation, the Black Water turned and fought. It attempted to envelope Subaru again but its withing tentacles… slowed.

The creature rose up and tried to engulf Subaru but it was moving as if in slow motion.

Steam was pouring from every inch of the creature's body. Water was dripping from every tentacle as if the monster was sweating from unimaginable heat. The tentacles were shrinking, growing stiff as its sludgy body dried out.

"Fie on you, you filthy, aborted thing," He whispered. "This world has been given into my hand. I am the rightful master of all that I survey and it is by right and by duty that I shall impose my order on this realm." Subaru shook his head in contempt.

The monster's entire body was shrinking. It's coloring was steadily growing darker and more opaque as the Black Water concealed and curdled.

It's tentacles were shrinking, retracting, becoming nothing but stiff stubs.

The waves of steam were thinning and the water flowing out of the monster diminished to a slow trickle.

The creature finally stopped moving. It looked like a stiff, gnarled thorn bush.

Subaru gave it a look of deep contempt for a long moment.

Then he punched the desiccated corpse.

It shattered into dust.

Emilia stared at Subaru with her jaw hanging open.

Emilia jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

It was Anri.

"Emilia! What the hell just happened here?" Anri whispered in disbelief as she helped Emilia climb to her feet. "I've never seen magic like that. I've never even heard of magic this strong! What was that?! Yin magic?"

Emilia turned to Anri, her mind racing for plausible explanations for Subaru's power. "Yes!" She agreed immediately. "Subaru is an extremely powerful wielder of Yin magic. He was even contracted to the Great Spirit of Yin!" She said proudly.

"Wow!" Anri breathed.

"Emilia," A voice croaked.

Emilia turned back to Subaru and saw his eyes roll up in his head. Subaru collapsed limply into the half melted slush.

"Subaru!" Emilia screamed, staggering over to him.

She fell to her knees in front of him and gathered his limp body onto her lap.

Subaru moaned, shaking his head. Emilia stared down at his arm in horror.

Emilia could sense the vicious curse that the beast's touch had imposed. The skin on Subaru's left forearm was bubbling like bacon grease over a hot fire. The bubbles popped and left open sores and painful looking lesions in their wake.

"Subaru!" Emilia screamed.

Subaru moaned. "Emilia," He whimpered with his eyes closed. He seemed barely conscious.

Emilia spun around to stare at Anri. "Anri! You said that you were a healer! Please, can you help Subaru?! There has to be an antidote for this poison, right?!" She begged.

Anri stared down at them and bit her lip. She seemed to be thinking about something. Behind Anri, Emilia saw Patrasche racing across the meadow, attracted by her partner's cries.

Finally Anri nodded. "Yes. There's an antidote."

"Please! You have to make it! You have to help him!" Emilia cried. "I can't lose him like this! I can't! There's so much that I still need to say! So many things I still have to make right!"

"Don't worry, Mili. We'll help him," Anri said seriously. "But we need ingredients. We need to get to Iruk."

"Iruk?!" Emilia objected. "Anri, this is no time-"

"I don't have time to argue, Emilia!" Anri said flatly. "I need the ingredients to make the cure and the only place nearby that we might find them is in Iruk. We need to go now."

Even in her terror, Emilia couldn't help but notice the change that had come over Anri.

She's gone from a smiley, bubbly girl to someone who's all business and clearly accustomed to giving orders.

Patrasche raced up, to nuzzle at her master with a cry of dismay.

"Patrasche!" Anri shouted. "Perfect timing."

Anri quickly went to mount the dragon.

Patrasche gave the girl a sharp look and for a moment it seemed like the dragon might throw her off or even attack her. But Patrasche looked down at her wounded master and seemed to decide to tolerate this for now.

"Emilia! Come on!" Anri barked as she sat down in the saddle.

Emilia picked up Subaru's limp and trembling body. His arm burned against her skin with the heat of an oven. "Anri, how are we going to keep Subaru on Patrasche?" Emilia shouted as she stumbled over to the riding dragon.

"You climb up in front of me. I'll control the dragon, you hold on tight to Subaru," She said matter-of-fact. "Also, remember to give me directions because I have no idea where I'm going!"

Anri reached down and helped Emilia climb onto the dragon with Subaru in her arms.

Emilia struggled to get settled in front of Anri while still holding Subaru tight. Anri tried to hold onto Emilia.

"Emilia!" Anri shouted. "Which way?!"

"That way!" Emilia shouted, pointing across the meadow.

Anri kicked Patrasche's ribs and the dragon took off like an arrow shot from the string.

"Anri! Why are we going to Iruk?!" Emilia demanded.

Anri was digging something out of her bag, seemingly leaving their direction to Patrasche. "Because… there's someplace in Iruk that I think I can get medicine…"

"Anri! There is nothing in Iruk!" Emilia protested. "I've seen it. It's a tiny one road town! I don't think that there was even a store there!"

"Emilia!" Anri shouted back. "Listen! I…" She hesitated and then sighed. "Look, I've already told you more than I should have!" She said, sounding as she was reproaching herself. "You're just going to have to trust me!"

Emilia bit her lip and slowly nodded.

Anri pulled something out of her bag and handed it to Emilia. "Here. Put this on Subaru," She said, shifting her attention back to the dragon's frantic passage through the forest.

Emilia took it and looked at it. "A belt?!" She asked incredulously.

"Put it on his arm!" Anri said impatiently. "Tie it on his arm above where the poison is and make it tight! Make it as tight as you possibly can!"

Emilia nodded and frantically slipped the belt around his upper arm and clinched it tight.

Subaru flinched and moaned.

"Anri! The belt is hurting him!" Emilia protested.

Anri sighed. "Not as much as that poison flowing into his organs will! Make the belt tight!"

Emilia hesitated and then pulled the belt as tight as she could.

Subaru flinched and started to fumble for the belt in his sleep, trying to loosen it.

"No!" Emilia said, taking his hands and holding them tight.

Subaru whimpered.

"Just… try to be calm, Subaru!" Emilia said desperately. "We're going to get you medicine and you're going to be all better. You have to be all better…" She whispered.

She shook her head. "Subaru! Just hang in there and we'll fix this and then we can go back to the forest or… I don't know where we'll go but we'll go somewhere, Subaru. We'll be fine as long as we're together. We were meant to be together…"

Patrasche thundered through the forest and Anri and Emilia could do nothing but hang on. The sky had opened and great clumps of wet snow fell onto them as they went.

"We're almost there!" Emilia shouted.

"Good," Anri muttered as she reached around Emilia to peel back one of Subaru's eyelids.

Emilia gasped. Subaru's eye had a network of strange black veins running through it.

The trees began to thin around them as they reached the forest edge. Patrasche burst through the last of the underbrush and raced across a wide open field that shifted from winter to summer in a single stride.

The heavy snow instantly changed to pouring rain.

"Hey, Emilia," Anri shouted. "I've never actually been here before. We need to find the church. Do you have any idea where that is?"

"I don't even know what a church looks like!" Emilia said in dismay.

Anri shook her head. "Don't worry about it. It should be easy to find. Churches are big and they have a lot of decorations outside. We should find it pretty easy."

"And that's where the medicine is?" Emilia asked desperately.

Anri bit her lip. "I sure hope so," She murmured.

Patrasche raced into the village.

I've never been this close to Iruk, Emilia thought, but it looks like what I told to Anri was correct. This town is terribly poor.

There are only a few houses here and they're all small and poorly maintained.

On the bright side, the rain seems to be keeping everyone inside this afternoon so at least nobody is seeing us come into town.

"There's the church!" Anri shouted, steering Patrasche toward the largest building in the village. It looked like nothing more than a slightly larger house with a small, squat tower on top.

"We're almost there, Subaru," Emilia whispered to him.

His sallow face twitched but he didn't respond.

Anri reined Patrasche to a halt in front of the church. She helped Emilia climb down with Subaru in her arms.

Then Anri sprang down off the dragon and threw herself at the church door, pounding at the stout wood.

"Who is it?" A low voice asked from the other side.

"Natalie!" Anri said in a great voice that trailed off. She bit her lip and cursed under her breath, looking as if she had just realized that she should have said this more quietly.

The door quickly opened and a beautiful woman with short blond hair emerged. She wore black pants that were probably leather of some kind, a tight white shirt, and a red beret.

"Princess!" She said in delight. "Man! Make me worry some more next time, why don't you?! I've been going out of my fucking mind just sitting here with my thumb stuck up my ass, wondering if you were safe or not. I was debating if I should go out and search the whole fucking road between here and Pardochel looking for you! What the hell happened? Where are…" The woman trailed off as she stared at Emilia in astonishment.

Emilia flushed and realized that she'd forgotten to pull up her hood.

All wet and bedraggled by the rain, I must look like more of a witch than usual.

"What the fuck," The woman said in a hard voice. "Is that limp-dick cock-sucker doing here?!"

Anri froze in place. "Victoire, you… recognize him?" She asked slowly.

Victoire looked offended. "…Of course I recognize him!"

Anri nodded looking sheepish. "Right. You've been working in Lagunica. I forgot." Anri hesitated for a moment. "Look, apparently the incident at Arlem was almost all lies! I assure you, Subaru is not a butcher or a mass murderer. Besides, he may be an enemy of House Voivode but that doesn't make him our enemy! Vlad an Voivode is just Prince Malcolm's attack dog anyway," Anri said dismissively.

"What is he doing here?!" Victoire repeated.

"They're friends of mine, Victoire. Subaru was badly poisoned fighting the Black Water," Anri said, pushing past the woman and gesturing for Emilia to follow.

"Fighting the what?" Victoire said in disbelief as Emilia swept past her with Subaru in her arms.

Emilia tried to ignore the looks of abject loathing that the woman was giving her.

The door led them into a cluttered kitchen. It wasn't very clean or well organized but the enormous spice rack that dominated one wall was fully stocked with oils and herbs of all kinds.

"Don't worry," Anri muttered as she studied the spice rack. "He managed to kill it."

Victoire's jaw dropped. "He did what?!" She exclaimed. "Are you telling me that this scrawny, little-"

"Look, Victoire, it's a long story and we've got no time to discuss it," Anri said dismissively as she pulled down several bags of dried herbs. "Where is everybody?"

Victoire, who was staring at Subaru with loathing, blinked as she finally realized that she'd been asked a question. She bit her lip and flushed. "Uh. I'm not sure if there's a way to break this gently, Princess," She said awkwardly. "But… I think I'm the only one who made it…"

Anri stared at Victoire in horror. "What?!" She gasped.

Victoire sighed. "We kept splitting up, trying to throw off pursuit and… I guess those freaks just kept… picking us off, one by one. I got here and waited for the others to show up but it's been three days now and no word. The others are either dead, or hiding somewhere and unable to help us."

Anri nodded slowly. "Yes… let's hope for that," Anri whispered.

"Anri!" Emilia whispered urgently, Subaru in her arms.

Anri jumped. "Oh! Victoire, is there a bed nearby? Somewhere that he can lay down?"

Victoire nodded but her face was still twisted in disgust when she looked at Subaru. "Sure. There are beds down the hall," She said reluctantly, pointing to a hallway next to the kitchen.

"Great. Emilia, why don't you lay Subaru down there. Victoire, I need a pot," Anri continued to gather herbs.

"Princess," Victoire said with an edge in her voice. "Forgive me for questioning your 'wise and puissant judgment' and all that garbage, but do you know what's going to happen when people find out about this?"

"Find out about what?"

Victoire fumed for a long moment. "Princess, think about it. If you're seen in the company of that little piss-ant, all the other Houses are going to think that you've made an alliance with Lagunica! Plus everyone thinks that he's a mass-murderer!"

Anri hesitated.

"Yeah! Picture it!" Victoire said pointedly. "So far the other Great Houses have sat out of this mess. I know you'd like them to take your side but if they think that you're dragging the southern lizard-worshipers into Gustekan affairs, they might join House Griest in fighting against you!"

Anri bit her lip and thought for a long moment. Finally she sighed. "Subaru has been poisoned by the Black Water and I'm going to mix up a cure," Anri replied firmly, continuing to gather ingredients.

Victoire grumbled as she started to rummage through cabinets looking for a pot. "And you… know how to do that?" Victoire asked skeptically as she handed Anri a pot.

Anri just nodded. "I was studying medicine as a child so I could help my brother with his… Look, I've been required to study fencing for most of my life. I decided to study medicine as well. A good commander will keep her troops alive for the next battle and that means knowing how to tend to their wounds."

Emilia just stared at Anri in shock, barely able to follow the conversation.

Anri noticed Emilia's baffled gaze and shifted awkwardly. "Look, Emilia," She sighed. "I'm sure that you have plenty of questions right now but first you need to put Subaru to bed. Make sure that he stays warm. We rode through a freezing storm to get here and the last thing we need is for Subaru to come down with pneumonia."

I don't know what that is but it sounds bad, Emilia nodded and carried Subaru down the dark hall.

"Hey, Princess!" Victoire said in a strangled whisper, not realizing how good Emilia's hearing really was. "This place is supposed to be a secret! House Griest already has us by the balls and they're picking us off one by one. More people knowing about our safe-houses is the absolute last fucking thing that we need!"

"They saved my life, Victoire," Anri said patiently. "I need to help them in return."

Emilia walked slower, listening carefully.

"Yeah well, forgive me, Princess, that's really fucking noble of you and everything but don't we already have enough frigging problems without you dragging a she-elf and that… prick, into it?!"

"He's going to die if I don't heal him," Anri said firmly. "So I'm going to heal him! Period. If you want them to be gone faster then build up the fire and help me get the medicine ready. I'm sure that they both want to be gone just as badly as you want them gone!"

"Princess! Do you know what your Uncle and Grandfather are going to say?! These two know about the safe-house and we're just going to let them walk away? We usually kill people just to-"

"Enough, Victoire!" Anri's voice crackled.

Victoire fumed. "Princess, when your Uncle and Grandfather find out about this, it's going to be my ass!"

"And you'll tell them that you were following my orders," Anri said in a tone of finality.

Victoire didn't reply and Emilia heard Anri gathering more ingredients.

Emilia opened a door down the hall and found a big, cozy bed with a heavy fur blanket lying on top.

She gently took off Subaru's clothes and laid him under the covers.

Subaru didn't stir.

Emilia checked his arm and saw that thin veins of black were beginning to creep up past the belt. The flesh below the belt looked yellowed, shriveled, and dessicated. It looked like the limb of a person long dead.

Emilia, in desperation, tried to tighten the belt a little more.

Subaru whimpered in his sleep.

"It's going to be OK, Subaru," Emilia whispered.

I'm not going to cry! You only cry when there's nothing else to do! Anri is making medicine and Subaru is going to be all better so I won't cry!

Emilia forced a smile on her face that looked like a grimace. She took one last lingering look at Subaru and then returned to the kitchen.

Emilia walked silently down the hall. Even from outside the room she could hear Anri and Victoire's whispered conversation.

Anri sighed. "By the Gods. I… I just can't believe that things have gotten so bad in just a few weeks…"

Victoire nodded. "Yeah. Things are pretty fucking shit back home."

"I can't believe how badly the war is going!" Anri said incredulously.

"It's weird," Victoire growled. "It's almost like Malcolm an Griest knows what we're going to do before we do it! I think he may be using some kind of strange magic…"

"What kind of magic could do that?" Anri asked in a worried tone.

"Dunno. I'm not a mage. But something is weird here. I've met Malcolm an Griest. He is not this clever."

"Maybe he just has a new adviser," Anri suggested.

"Maybe," Victoire admitted. "But the last I heard, he doesn't listen to his advisers. Prince Malcolm is not a smart man and like most stupid people he thinks he's absolutely fucking brilliant and that he doesn't need any advice."

"My Uncle once said that a stupid enemy is a gift from the Gods," Anri said.

"Normally yeah but for whatever reason, this war isn't going well for us. Siros is under attack. The city isn't surrounded yet but the armies are choking off all the trade routes. What's even worse is that something is eating the entire Shadow organization bite by bite. Your Uncle and Grandpa are in a desperate situation."

"Did they sent any advice or instructions for me?" Anri asked desperately.

Victoire shook her head. "Nah. Things are bad though. I think they were probably expecting you to run to Lagunica and take shelter there-"

"I can't do that!" Anri protested indignantly. "My people are in danger! I can't just run away and do nothing!"

Victoire sounded guilty. "Hey, Princess? Sorry, but I've got to be pretty fucking blunt here."

"Well gee, that's a shocker," Anri rolled her eyes. "I've never known you Shadows to speak any other way."

Victoire snickered. "Look, I'm just saying, reading between the lines of your Grandpa's last note, I think that they're standing out in the woods with their breeches down-"

"Wow. That's an image," Anri murmured.

Victoire continued. "The trade routes have all been blockaded and supplies in Siros are running short. Worse, your grandfather wrote that the other Shadows have learned of a second column of soldiers scheduled to depart from Sanshi to assault Siros within the next few days."

"Another column?!" Anri said incredulously. "How many soldiers does that madman have?!"

Victoire snorted. "Hey, Sanshi has a lot of people. You know what those sluts are like. Buy a Sanshi girl a beer and her thighs are open before she finishes it. The point is, I've got to tell you, Princess, I think it might be time for you to consider some… drastic action…"

"What kind of drastic action?"

Victoire hesitated. "Well… there's always the thing in the Vault below the Grand Archives…" She murmured awkwardly.

Emilia stepped into the kitchen and found Anri and Victoire sitting at the table. A cauldron of something with the consistency of mud bubbled over the fire.

Anri was silent for a long moment. Her voice was strangled, "How did you-"

Victoire sighed. "Please, Princess. The Shadows have served your family for centuries. We're spies. We're supposed to know things that we're not supposed to know."

Anri closed her eyes. "Victoire, I think that sentence almost broke my brain," She moaned.

"What I'm saying is that finding out stuff that we're not supposed to know about is kind of our whole deal. It's what we do. You don't just fucking turn that on out in the field and then forget about it when you're back home. My boys and I are… aware of a lot of stuff that folks might prefer that we aren't. But we need to know about it if we're going to give you good advice, right?"

Anri's voice was hard. "No one is supposed to know about this, Victoire. If Grandfather even suspected that you knew, he'd order the Shadows to kill you!"

Victoire had a grim look on her face. "Yeah, Princess, believeme I am well-fucking-aware of the fact that owning up to what I know is putting my head on the block! That's why I never brought it up until we were absolutely-fucking-desperate.

"On a related note, your Grandpa might want to think twice before ordering the execution of any Shadow who knows something that they shouldn't. The service would end up pretty fucking empty by the time he was finished. Anyway, I told your Highness what I know and why I know it. What you do with that information is up to you. I could give you vows and assurances of my loyalty and all that crap but hey, if you trust me then you don't need those assurances and if you don't trust me, why would you listen to any of the bullshit that fell out of my mouth?" Victoire finished matter-of-fact.

Anri made a face at Victoire, then covered her eyes with her hand. "Gods, I just love dealing with you Shadows," She sighed.

Victoire laughed. "Yeah, I've heard your Grandpa make similar comments, Princess."

Emilia deliberately stepped on a squeaky floorboard.

Anri jumped and Victoire looked darkly at Emilia.

"Oh!" Anri said. "Emilia! How's Subaru?"

For a moment, Emilia thought that she would burst into tears but she fought them back and managed to dry her eyes. "Where is the medicine, Anri?" She asked plaintively.

"It's cooking right now," Anri said, pointing at the cauldron.

"Cooking?" Emilia asked in surprise.

Anri nodded. "The 'Draught of Unquenchable Flame' is a potion that can curse many kinds of witchcraft poisoning but it spoils in a matter of hours. It needs to be made fresh for each use."

"But how long will that take?!"

Anri shook her head. "Not long. It will be ready soon, Emilia. I promise."

Victoire cleared her throat. "Hey, Princess, maybe the elf should go and keep an eye on her… man. We, uh, do have a couple of… privatethings to discuss."

Victoire glared at Emilia with contempt. Emilia endured her gaze without blinking, having seen far worse.

"Look, her name is Emilia, not 'the elf'," Anri's voice crackled with suppressed fury. "She saved my life." Anri took a deep breath. "Victoire, I realize that lots of people in Gusteko have a low opinion of demi-humans," Anri said in a more composed voice. "But Emilia and Subaru have been my rescuers and my friends when I was in a desperate situation. They offered me aid and shelter when I had nothing to offer them but my thanks. I see no reason not to trust-"

"It's fine, Anri," Emilia sighed. "We all have secrets that we'd rather keep hidden. While I certainly would be willing to keep your confidences, you don't know me very well and for me to be elsewhere while you have a private discussion would give you one less thing to worry about."

Anri looked guilty. "I mean, I don't want to kick you out, Emilia…"

"Please don't worry about it, Anri," Emilia forced herself to smile. "Frankly, I'd rather be with Subaru right now anyway."

Anri nodded. "Of course. I'll be in to check on him shortly. The medicine will take a while to cook but we can at least make him more comfortable in the meantime."

Emilia took a deep breath and sank into a curtsy. "I am truly grateful… Princess."

"Hey! It's 'Anri!' And please, skip the bowing! I get so sick of all that formality back home!" Anri said with a chuckle. Her expression grew more serious. "Don't worry about it, Mili. Helping Subaru is the least that I can do. You two saved my life after all."

Emilia nodded and left the kitchen to return to Subaru's bedside.

She wasn't trying to listen to their conversation as she walked back down the hall but she couldn't help it.

"Do you have any letters from Grandfather?" Anri asked.

"Well, I did, Princess. But I ate them."

"…You ate them?!"

"Hey! It's standard protocol! Get a message, read it, memorize it, destroy it. You know how this fucking works."

"Couldn't you have just… burned them?" Anri asked in distaste.

"Princess, I'm a fucking spy! I don't usually carry lit torches around with me when I go to check drop-boxes. They make it pretty fucking hard to blend in."

"Never mind," Anri sighed. She paused a moment. "Hey, Victoire, did you know… Hunnicutt?"

"Not very well. I only met him for the first time when I met you in Pardochel. Uh, Princess? You used the past tense. Did he…?"

"He died trying to get my away from the assassins," Anri said quietly. "We were attacked by mabeasts but he managed to save my life and get me safely up a tree before he died."

Victoire sighed. "Yeah, that really bites, Princess. But speaking as a Shadow, I can tell you with absolute-fucking-certainty that he would be frigging stoked to see that you got here alive and in one piece."

Anri sighed. "Maybe. But I'm not really looking forward to trying to explain to his family why their loved one had to die…"

"He died saving his Princess," Victoire said bluntly. "Most Shadows I've met would consider that a high achievement."

Anri sighed. "Victoire, did Grandfather… mention the Grand Archives in his missives?"

"Nah," Victoire replied. "Not that those notes would be a smart place to discuss these kind of secrets anyway. Messages can always be snatched and intercepted, even when they're being guarded by Shadows. I'm just bringing up the Vault because frankly, we're running real fucking short on any halfway decent options…"

Emilia opened Subaru's door.

Anri took a deep breath. "I'm not ready to discuss that… yet, at least. The Vault was sealed for a reason. We should pursue other options first."

"Whatever, Princess. I'm totally at your command and all that stuff," Victoire yawned. "So my only other idea is to get over the border for a while. I know some places in Lagunica where you could hide out until the dust settles. I don't think that Griest wants you badly enough to risk a war with the dragon kingdom to get you."

"I can't do that!" Anri protested.

"Damn. Just keep shooting down my ideas, why don't you?"

Anri gave an exasperated sigh. "Victoire, our people are fighting in a war. I can't just… run away!"

"Well, we need to do something pretty fucking soon, you know?" Victoire said quietly. "Your Grandpa's last note said that he thinks that Griest might know about our network of safe-houses."

"I… I just don't know… what to do…" Anri whimpered.

Victoire sighed. "Look, Princess," Victoire said in a kind voice. "I know that we were never as close as you were to some of your other bodyguards-"

"That's not true, Victoire," Anri said reassuringly. "We had lots of fun in Pardochel. Remember when you sneaked me out that night so we could visit that dance hall?"

Victoire snorted. "I thought you needed a break after all those boring conferences. I mean, sure you're a fucking Princess but you're still a kid. You need to have some fun in your life!"

"When we finally got back, Vera looked she was going to have a stroke!" Anri giggled. She sighed. "I hope that Vera is OK…"

"She's the most experienced Shadow around, Princess," Victoire said firmly. "If I had to put my money on just one of us surviving, it would be her. I refuse to believe that someone like me, who is obviously just devastatingly beautiful but not the most experienced Shadow, fucking lived through this disaster and Vera didn't!"

Anri laughed.

"Look, Princess, what I meant to say," Victoire continued in a soothing voice. "Is that I'm still here and I'm not leaving you. I'll take care of you. This magnificent lady is going to get you home again safely, no matter what it takes. I know that we weren't especially close compared to you and Vera, but… so long as I'm the only one you have left, I'll do whatever I fucking have to. I'll keep you safe."

Emilia closed the bedroom door behind her.

She quietly sat down on the bed beside Subaru, trying not to disturb him.

Subaru was moaning and squirming under the covers.

Emilia began to stroke his forehead until he settled down slightly.

She peaked under the covers and saw that the thin streaks of yellowy brown that had been creeping up Subaru's arm were beginning to surmount his shoulder.

Emilia took a deep breath and bit her lip so that she wouldn't burst into tears.

Subaru saved me again and now he's lying here in pain and we don't know if he'll even live!

This is just like Elsa all over again! Subaru saved my life that night and all I could do afterward was sit there, hold his hand, and cry!

He saved me… and I could do nothing for him…

Roswaal and Reinhard summoned the best healers in the capitol. They told me all about Elsa's poison and how it prevented the wounds from clotting. They didn't know how to close the wounds.

The healers were kind but they all said that there wasn't much that they could do and that I should ready myself for the worst.

That night was one of the most miserable nights of my life. Almost as bad as the night that I cursed the forest.

I'm always so helpless. I can never protect the people I love.

That night, I told Puck that we should go back to the forest. If I couldn't even protect Subaru then I didn't want to be King. I didn't deserve to be King. How could I lead a nation if I couldn't even keep my only friend safe?

I was about to tell Roswaal that I would be leaving the next morning to return to Elior when the healers told me that Subaru's wounds had stopped bleeding. They called it a miracle.

I was ecstatic. I didn't want to leave. I wanted to be right there when Subaru woke up so that I could tell him how grateful I was.

Roswaal convinced me to go back to the manor with him since it might be days before Subaru woke up. He promised that he'd invite Subaru to come visit straightaway and he reminded me that so long as I was in the Royal Selection, I had responsibilities.

Reinhard assured me that Subaru would have the best care possible and I agreed to go home with Roswaal but I begged Reinhard to tell Subaru how grateful I was and that I wanted to see him again so that I could thank him personally.

And now, here we are again. It's been two months but we've finally come full circle. Subaru has saved my life one more time and now he's lying here terribly wounded and I don't know if he's going to live or not…

And once again, I can do nothing. I don't know if Anri's potion will work. It could be vegetable broth for all I know!

Why am I always so useless…

Subaru coughed weakly.

Emilia laid down beside him and wrapped her arms around him.

Don't die, Subaru. Please don't die. You're all that I have left in this world.

Puck has disowned me. Our friends want me dead. Without you, I have nothing!

I am very selfish, Subaru. I need you to be alive in order to be happy. If you died, I'd want to…

Emilia lay there, crying.

Sometime later, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Emilia murmured.

The door opened and Anri crept inside. "Hey, Mili," She said gently. "How are you holding up?"

Emilia took a deep breath. "I'm doing better than Subaru is, I suppose," She said in a broken voice.

Anri grimaced as she sat down down on the bed beside her. "Let's take a look."

Anri peeled back the blanket and inspected Subaru's body. Emilia clapped a hand over her mouth to hold back a scream. The yellowy color had crept up his collar bone and his entire left arm looked like fried meat.

To Emilia's shock, Anri's face brightened. "This is great!"

"What?!" Emilia gasped.

"This is outstanding, Emilia!" Anri said excitedly.

"How can you even say that?!" Emilia demanded.

Anri looked at her and winced. "Oh. Sorry, Mili. I guess that was a pretty tactless thing for me to say," Anri said shamefaced. "What I meant is that the venom is progressing very slowly," Anri explained. "His arm is pretty bad but that can be healed. It might take a bit of magic but you can always heal a ruined limb. Ruined organs, not so much. The tourniquet that you put on his arm is really doing it's job. The venom still hasn't reached any vital organs. All we need to do is give him the medicine and it should neutralize the poison. Really, his condition looks very good," Anri said, trying to be reassuring.

Anri doesn't sound like she's lying but how can anyone say that this looks good?!

Anri made a face and coughed. "So… You must have a lot of questions about… me and Victoire and what we're doing and… everything else," She said awkwardly.

"No, not really," Emilia sighed.

Anri looked at her in surprise.

Emilia smiled sadly. "No offense, Anri, but at the moment I wouldn't care if you and Victoire were plotting to release the Witch of Envy. All I want is to get that medicine for Subaru and make him better."

Anri nodded. "I understand. He's going to be fine, Mili," She promised.

They sat in silence for a time.

"Are you really a princess?" Emilia asked, mostly just to end the silence.

Anri grinned. "Yeah but don't get too excited. The title is a lot less impressive in Gusteko."

"What do you mean?"

"How much do you know about Gusteko?"

"Almost nothing," Emilia sighed.

Anri chuckled. "Well, Gusteko is a clannish society. There are six Great Houses and hundreds of minor ones. Each Great House controls its own province and they're all fiercely independent. The country is only united by the Church; by the Hierocracy of Patriarchs led by the Holy King. The current Holy King is dying and all the great Houses are starting to maneuver for his replacement to be selected. The Great Spirit, Odglass, is the one who has the right to choose the Holy King."

Emilia nodded. "I've read that she occupies a role similar to the Divine Dragon in Lagunica."

"Yeah, something like that. The Kingship of Gusteko isn't inherited. Each House will present the scions it views as worthy to inherit the throne. The Hierocracy will vet them and the ones approved will be presented to Odglass for her choice. Each Great House is ruled by a Prince or Princess. So it would be roughly analogous to a Lagunican Duke."

"Strange system," Emilia murmured in disinterest.

Anri shrugged. "It's sort of a throwback to the old days. Two hundred years back, Gusteko was just a collection of tiny independent kingdoms and each was ruled by a King. Then when the country was technically unified, calling oneself 'King' became taboo. It's provocative to the other Princes. Calling yourself 'King' makes people think that you have expansionist urges."

Emilia didn't respond.

They sat in silence for a bit.

"My real name," Anri continued, "Is Kairei vas Sirosse an Ithil."

Emilia took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

Honestly, I don't want to talk right now. I could care less about Gusteko politics or even Anri right now. But if the conversation stops then all I'll be able to hear is my own miserable thoughts.

Finally, Emilia mustered the energy to continue the conversation. "Why did you pick 'Anri' for an alias?" Emilia muttered.

"I didn't. 'Anri' is a real nickname for 'Kairei.'"

Emilia looked at her. "How do you get Anri from Kairei?" Emilia asked in a barely curious tone.

Anri chuckled. "Foreigners usually find Gusteko nicknames very complicated. Every given name has a bunch of nicknames associated with it. Beyond that, it's common to refer to someone by their baptized name or their matronymic names, both of which outsiders have a hard time keeping straight. I even read that a popular Gusteko novel was published in Lagunica and Kararagi but that they needed to add a spreadsheet of what nicknames referred to what characters just so that readers could follow the story!"

Emilia didn't respond.

Anri stared at her for a time and then sighed. "Emilia, he's going to be alright," She said.

Emilia gave her a look of absolute misery. "You can't know that," She whispered.

Anri hesitated. "I am ninety nine percent sure," She admitted. "Look, Emilia, you're doing no good sitting in here like this. You're just making yourself crazy."

Emilia shook her head. "Anri, why do I keep doing this to Subaru?"

"What do you mean?"

"This is all my fault," Emilia whimpered.

Anri stared at her. "What?! How can you even say that?! This was in no way your fault!"

"I attacked the Black Water, Anri," Emilia hissed at herself, her voice venomous. "Subaru wanted to run but I raced after the Black Water to try to fight it. If I hadn't dragged Subaru into this fight, he'd be fine right now! I'm killing Subaru just by being around him…"

Anri looked at her incredulously. "That's not even close to what happened!"

Emilia gave her a tired, skeptical look.

Anri shook her head firmly. "Hey, Mili, I was there, remember? You didn't drag Subaru into the fight. You ran after the monster and left him behind. He ran after you. This wasn't your fault."

Emilia sighed. She pulled her knees to her chest and buried her face in them.

Anri continued. "And while we're on the subject, let's not forget how freaking amazing what Subaru did actually was. I never imagined that one person could even survive fighting the Black Water, much less be able to kill it! This was an act of incredible heroism, Emilia!"

Emilia looked up at Anri incredulously. "So what?!" She snapped. "Who cares if what Subaru did was heroic?! I want a live husband, Anri, not a dead martyr!"

Emilia belatedly realized that she was shouting at Anri.

Anri flinched and bowed her head. "Right. I know, I know," She said, her voice chastened. "I'm sorry."

Emilia buried her face back in her knees.

Anri sighed. "How long have the two of you been together?" Anri asked.

Emilia lifted her head and mentally added it up and then frowned. She counted again. Impossible. Have I really know Subaru for less than two months? It just… It doesn't seem real. The time before I knew Subaru, before I saw his smile everyday and held his hand and leaned on his determination, those days belong to the distant past.

The old Emilia was a pitiable creature. A girl, lonely and shamed, who never realized how much happiness life could offer her…

Anri watched Emilia get lost in her own thoughts and she frowned at her in concern. "…You said that he was from Vollachia originally?" Anri prompted.

Emilia shook her head. "No. Subaru is from beyond the Great Waterfall."

"What?!" Anri gasped.

Emilia was unable to completely hide her amusement at the expression of shock on Anri's face.

Subaru must be rubbing off on me. Now I'm the one telling someone earth-shattering news as if it was no big deal. Subaru always thought that it was funny to do that to me. This is the first time that I ever had a chance to do it myself. It is pretty amusing, honestly.

…I just wish that he'd stop doing it to me.

"Are you… serious?!" Anri demanded.

Emilia nodded. "Entirely," She said a little smugly.

Anri's eyes darted all over the room, she seemed deep in thought. Finally she cleared her throat and got to her feet. "Look, Emilia, Victoire is making some food. Let's go check on the medicine and have a bite to eat. Sitting here and brooding is doing you absolutely no good."

Emilia didn't answer.

Anri reached out and took Emilia's hand. She gently tugged on her arm until Emilia begrudgingly got to her feet. Emilia seemed to have no strength left to resist. Anri led Emilia out of the room, Emilia looking back plaintively at Subaru's body which was still writhing in pain. She stretched out a hand to him helplessly.