Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-One
- Location
- https://discord.gg/z9tBvbh
Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-One
Alhambra castle could not be reclaimed, because there was no castle to reclaim. The building had detonated sky-high, the water wells had been poisoned, and the fields scorched. The elf route had forced the two thousand survivors through a non-stop trek straight into the Sahara, because Alhambra would offer them no respite, nor aid. As I stared at the destruction wrought on the land, I could see it, like faint echoes of ghostly pasts.
There, near the ridge, the men opened fire on the incoming army. By the wells, they threw down rotting carcasses. The fields they scorched, the castle rigged to explode with the Gendarmerie's explosives. The buildings had been excavated and torn, walls shredded by spirit magic because they had fought house by house, my men. House by house.
"They fought...for each inch," I murmured, a hand clutching my mouth as I stared at the destruction. "Where are they?" I asked. "Where are they?!"
"Your highness-we found a plot of land that seems to have been moved recently-" a man said, swallowing thickly. "It is possible their remains-"
"Excavate them," I said firmly. "Confirm their identities. Have them buried properly." I stared at the blown-up castle, and chuckled. "Whoever was in charge, he was one mean bastard."
"Lord Belmont, your highness," Remis de Montpassant said by my side. "Lord Jean-Claude Belmont," he added.
I nodded, "Have him assigned the Twin Staff medal posthumously. If he had any family left-" I grimaced, "Make sure to warn me. Set to clearing the area, reinforcing what defenses remain-and then, hopefully, we can take a breath." I glanced at the skies. "Gods know we need it."
The borders reinforced with the Windland standing at the ready, I marched half of the remaining troops back home together with the wounded. An elvish counter-attack was unlikely, but then again, I had been blinded once already, so twice wasn't really out of the table.
The return to Lutece wasn't triumphant. It was worthy of Caesar, the mighty Emperor of Rome. If I had been a pop idol and the population of Gallia a mass of teenagers on hormones, then they still wouldn't have reached the level of screaming that they did. I waved at the crowd, and more than one young women fainted as it seemed I had been waving at them. By the time I reached for the throne room, most of the nobles assembled there fully began to applaud, and those few who didn't still clapped far more vigorously than normal.
Isabella had her crown fixed, apparently, and she was glowing. Her smile could have lit the whole room.
"Your royal majesty," I spoke, "Alhambra is ours. Gallia's borders are once more safe."
"We have received the news," Isabella replied, "A victory the likes of which Halkeginia has never seen before, dear husband. You must be weary, take your seat now, the celebrations will begin shortly."
The celebrations did begin the moment I took my place by Isabella's side. More than begin, they perhaps continued. By the sides of the court room, the nobles excitedly spoke of Gallia's prowess, of the nation's strength, of the power it now wielded and the show of force it had made manifest to all.
To me, it rang hollow.
What strength were they talking of? Theirs? Of Gallia? I had lost more than half an army of people that I had spoken with, chatted with, played cards with, and while many were cheering, many more were grieving. My stomach was twisting by itself, and if it weren't for the fact I'd probably create a rumor mill of epic proportions concerning a fabled battle wound, I would have already abandoned the festivities five seconds after their beginning.
I didn't, however.
I didn't and, to this day, I am glad I did not.
For the lights suddenly went out as a sort of middle-eastern music began to play, some mixture of Arabian violins and maracas, perhaps? Smoke began to fill the floor as lights shot out from the sides, and I could not help but feel the dawning realization that the headache that was coming inside my head could only be the product of a single person, or well, a specific couple of them to be honest.
There was a puff of smoke, and within it materialized two figures. One was wearing a short-sleeved desert robe, his skin was tan and he had a pair of thick rimmed sunglasses on. The second one wore her robes as a cross-shaped front to cover her assets, and both had loose cloth trousers. The man's head was covered with a turban, upon which were pinned half a dozen different baubles.
"We have returned from Rub!" the man said cheerfully, "And it was great!" as he said that, I could feel the meaty smacking of a hand against a face, a low-murmured curse that seemed to be increasing in strength with each passing second from my side.
"We also bring gifts!" the young girl by the man's side said. "Who wants to eat dried snake? It's good chewed! Oh, and you've got to try this plant smoked-"
"Father, father's familiar," Isabella said through gritted teeth as the lights returned within the palace's court room, the drapes that had as one appeared disappearing by magic -ah, as if Anne hadn't been involved in it. "Your return is...unannounced."
"She's cross, Anne," Joseph said in a murmur loud enough to be heard by everyone. "She's really cross."
"Maybe it's because she doesn't get enough...oomph, if you catch my drift," Anne replied, wriggling her eyebrow. Joseph laughed, and then looked at me.
"How's the married life treating you, Henry? It's the tomb of love, isn't it?"
"Not really, Joseph," I replied with a small smile, hopping off my throne to reach down for him, arms wide, "We have to get ourselves a drink and catch up!"
"H-Husband!" Isabella half-choked out from her throat even as I was already down on the floor together with Joseph and Anne. "That's...oh, very well...we are celebrating, father, our beloved husband's most glorious victory over the elves-"
"Really?" Joseph raised an eyebrow, "Well, good for him!" he patted my back heartily. "Elves are a bunch of sissies," he grumbled. "I went past Adiir to reach Rub, and let me tell you! They stopped pursuing us only after...how many broken bones, Anne?"
"Five," Anne replied pointedly, "But I state here and now that I want that Haste spell too. It's too cool you get to stop time and break things, and I can't."
"You set fire to the rain that time with the flying crocodiles!" Joseph retorted, "That was swag!"
I shuddered inside as a tiny part of me -no, many parts of me, at the same time- died. I admit, my emission of cringing noises must have been heard by the duo in front of me, because Joseph smiled and snaked an arm around my shoulder. "Anne's been telling me all about her world during our trip! They got the strangest words, bro! And these sunglasses? People wear them because it's cool, and being cool means being in, and being in means...getting into places!"
"Happy as I am to see you both," I said with a strained smile, "Please speak the Crown's Gallish or I will go fetch the soap and wash your tongues myself."
"See? We come back bearing gifts and wanting to see your grandson, and that's how they treat us," Anne huffed, but it was clear she was joking. "I say we blow this joint up and get ourselves something nice to eat by the table. I'm famished, Jojo-"
My brain screeched to a halt.
"Talk with you later, Henry!" Joseph said with a wide smile as he walked by Anne's side, the two headed straight for the refreshments without a second of thought.
Isabella joined me a few minutes later, and as she belatedly realized I wasn't moving, she grabbed hold of my arm and pulled a bit to catch my attention. When that failed, and feet-stomping failed too, she decided that spraying cold, freezing water on my face would work.
It did.
"Isabella, let's run away," I whispered.
She simply laughed, and gently patted my arm, now linked with hers.
"I already have the luggage ready, my beloved."
That's why I love you, Isabella.
Truly, that's why.
Alhambra castle could not be reclaimed, because there was no castle to reclaim. The building had detonated sky-high, the water wells had been poisoned, and the fields scorched. The elf route had forced the two thousand survivors through a non-stop trek straight into the Sahara, because Alhambra would offer them no respite, nor aid. As I stared at the destruction wrought on the land, I could see it, like faint echoes of ghostly pasts.
There, near the ridge, the men opened fire on the incoming army. By the wells, they threw down rotting carcasses. The fields they scorched, the castle rigged to explode with the Gendarmerie's explosives. The buildings had been excavated and torn, walls shredded by spirit magic because they had fought house by house, my men. House by house.
"They fought...for each inch," I murmured, a hand clutching my mouth as I stared at the destruction. "Where are they?" I asked. "Where are they?!"
"Your highness-we found a plot of land that seems to have been moved recently-" a man said, swallowing thickly. "It is possible their remains-"
"Excavate them," I said firmly. "Confirm their identities. Have them buried properly." I stared at the blown-up castle, and chuckled. "Whoever was in charge, he was one mean bastard."
"Lord Belmont, your highness," Remis de Montpassant said by my side. "Lord Jean-Claude Belmont," he added.
I nodded, "Have him assigned the Twin Staff medal posthumously. If he had any family left-" I grimaced, "Make sure to warn me. Set to clearing the area, reinforcing what defenses remain-and then, hopefully, we can take a breath." I glanced at the skies. "Gods know we need it."
The borders reinforced with the Windland standing at the ready, I marched half of the remaining troops back home together with the wounded. An elvish counter-attack was unlikely, but then again, I had been blinded once already, so twice wasn't really out of the table.
The return to Lutece wasn't triumphant. It was worthy of Caesar, the mighty Emperor of Rome. If I had been a pop idol and the population of Gallia a mass of teenagers on hormones, then they still wouldn't have reached the level of screaming that they did. I waved at the crowd, and more than one young women fainted as it seemed I had been waving at them. By the time I reached for the throne room, most of the nobles assembled there fully began to applaud, and those few who didn't still clapped far more vigorously than normal.
Isabella had her crown fixed, apparently, and she was glowing. Her smile could have lit the whole room.
"Your royal majesty," I spoke, "Alhambra is ours. Gallia's borders are once more safe."
"We have received the news," Isabella replied, "A victory the likes of which Halkeginia has never seen before, dear husband. You must be weary, take your seat now, the celebrations will begin shortly."
The celebrations did begin the moment I took my place by Isabella's side. More than begin, they perhaps continued. By the sides of the court room, the nobles excitedly spoke of Gallia's prowess, of the nation's strength, of the power it now wielded and the show of force it had made manifest to all.
To me, it rang hollow.
What strength were they talking of? Theirs? Of Gallia? I had lost more than half an army of people that I had spoken with, chatted with, played cards with, and while many were cheering, many more were grieving. My stomach was twisting by itself, and if it weren't for the fact I'd probably create a rumor mill of epic proportions concerning a fabled battle wound, I would have already abandoned the festivities five seconds after their beginning.
I didn't, however.
I didn't and, to this day, I am glad I did not.
For the lights suddenly went out as a sort of middle-eastern music began to play, some mixture of Arabian violins and maracas, perhaps? Smoke began to fill the floor as lights shot out from the sides, and I could not help but feel the dawning realization that the headache that was coming inside my head could only be the product of a single person, or well, a specific couple of them to be honest.
There was a puff of smoke, and within it materialized two figures. One was wearing a short-sleeved desert robe, his skin was tan and he had a pair of thick rimmed sunglasses on. The second one wore her robes as a cross-shaped front to cover her assets, and both had loose cloth trousers. The man's head was covered with a turban, upon which were pinned half a dozen different baubles.
"We have returned from Rub!" the man said cheerfully, "And it was great!" as he said that, I could feel the meaty smacking of a hand against a face, a low-murmured curse that seemed to be increasing in strength with each passing second from my side.
"We also bring gifts!" the young girl by the man's side said. "Who wants to eat dried snake? It's good chewed! Oh, and you've got to try this plant smoked-"
"Father, father's familiar," Isabella said through gritted teeth as the lights returned within the palace's court room, the drapes that had as one appeared disappearing by magic -ah, as if Anne hadn't been involved in it. "Your return is...unannounced."
"She's cross, Anne," Joseph said in a murmur loud enough to be heard by everyone. "She's really cross."
"Maybe it's because she doesn't get enough...oomph, if you catch my drift," Anne replied, wriggling her eyebrow. Joseph laughed, and then looked at me.
"How's the married life treating you, Henry? It's the tomb of love, isn't it?"
"Not really, Joseph," I replied with a small smile, hopping off my throne to reach down for him, arms wide, "We have to get ourselves a drink and catch up!"
"H-Husband!" Isabella half-choked out from her throat even as I was already down on the floor together with Joseph and Anne. "That's...oh, very well...we are celebrating, father, our beloved husband's most glorious victory over the elves-"
"Really?" Joseph raised an eyebrow, "Well, good for him!" he patted my back heartily. "Elves are a bunch of sissies," he grumbled. "I went past Adiir to reach Rub, and let me tell you! They stopped pursuing us only after...how many broken bones, Anne?"
"Five," Anne replied pointedly, "But I state here and now that I want that Haste spell too. It's too cool you get to stop time and break things, and I can't."
"You set fire to the rain that time with the flying crocodiles!" Joseph retorted, "That was swag!"
I shuddered inside as a tiny part of me -no, many parts of me, at the same time- died. I admit, my emission of cringing noises must have been heard by the duo in front of me, because Joseph smiled and snaked an arm around my shoulder. "Anne's been telling me all about her world during our trip! They got the strangest words, bro! And these sunglasses? People wear them because it's cool, and being cool means being in, and being in means...getting into places!"
"Happy as I am to see you both," I said with a strained smile, "Please speak the Crown's Gallish or I will go fetch the soap and wash your tongues myself."
"See? We come back bearing gifts and wanting to see your grandson, and that's how they treat us," Anne huffed, but it was clear she was joking. "I say we blow this joint up and get ourselves something nice to eat by the table. I'm famished, Jojo-"
My brain screeched to a halt.
"Talk with you later, Henry!" Joseph said with a wide smile as he walked by Anne's side, the two headed straight for the refreshments without a second of thought.
Isabella joined me a few minutes later, and as she belatedly realized I wasn't moving, she grabbed hold of my arm and pulled a bit to catch my attention. When that failed, and feet-stomping failed too, she decided that spraying cold, freezing water on my face would work.
It did.
"Isabella, let's run away," I whispered.
She simply laughed, and gently patted my arm, now linked with hers.
"I already have the luggage ready, my beloved."
That's why I love you, Isabella.
Truly, that's why.
