Desperately hiding.
Princess Cordelia gi Randgreiz, Archduchess of Gallia, was doing her best to stay still and
not make a sound.
"Tch, filthy darkies." She could hear an imperial soldier nearby his voice filled with distain as his rifle barked, screams echoing in time with the shots. "Why does his highness want to keep them around?" Cordelia held her breath as the man's footsteps came toward her, stopping just on the other side of the flimsy wooden wall. "The whole lot is worthless, sure we can use them but it really isn't worth the trouble when we can just rid of them all.
The man continued to grumble as Cordelia's mind raced. When she went to sleep last night she was in Randgriez having a peaceful sleep for the first time in months since the invasion and insurgency had been stopped. The wars finally over and her country could recover but now…
Somehow she had woken up in the countryside, which by itself wasn't too bad if it wasn't accompanied by the sound of gunshots and blood curdling screams. Somehow the Empire had returned and were hunting her people like dogs. Somehow they had occupied her beloved country. Somehow, somehow,
somehow…
Cordelia shoved the spiralling thoughts away, they wouldn't help her right now. The why can be dealt with once she safe-there was a mouse. She was in a abadoaned barn and there was a mouse chewing on a frayed rope.
It looked at her with uncomprehending eyes even as she silently tried to wave it away, and then-
*Snap!*
"Eh?" Oh no. "Who's there?!"
She scrambled to the side as bullets perforated the wall.
"Dirty little-trying to hide huh?"
*C-C-Crack!* The soldier burst through the dead wooded wall and waved his gun from side to side. "Come on out darkie…" He glanced around as Cordelia hid behind a hay bale. "I know you're there."
*Bang! Bang!* Single shots rang out as the man shot the most likely hiding places. Right to left eventually the only place left was-"Hah!" …Nobody was behind the hay." "...Must have imagined things." The soldier clicked his tongue as he turned to leave-
Cordelia tackled him, and the man cried out as he lost hold of his gun and it went sliding away. "You little-" He got out before she drove a fist-full of nails into the gap between helmet and chestplate.
She was breathing heavily as she watched the man choke on his own blood trying to reach of and strangle her before going limp, and without a word she fell onto her back to stare at the ceiling.
Cordelia was no stranger to violence, not after being kidnapped once and captured twice, but taking a life with her own hands…she hoped she never got used to it. Even if it was necessary.
Turning an ear to the outside she didn't hear anything. No screams no shots, no footsteps…it seemed she was safe for the time being.
But if the rest of Gallia was like this…she eyed the dead man's armor. She couldn't go out undisguised, not with how Darcsens were treated.
…She knew that very well.
Perhaps once this was over she could do something about it but for now, she thought as she stripped the soldier's armor off, she had to survive.
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AN: As I said, I'm not letting Cordelia fall into the Empire's hands if I can help it, and she certianly isn't either.
Considering she didn't just surrender to the Empire she clearly has no intentions of getting caught, which likely means she's from a later point in the Valkria timeline, and she got some steel in her spine at that point.
Cause in point the above. She might be in a bad situation but like hell she'll be used against her country.
@Kingster @ShepardCom
