Chapter Seventy-One
The Royalist flag fluttered in the wind as the ship made a gentle landing just outside the fortress city of Newcastle, landing on the dirt and sinking deeply within it. A group of flying dragon knights made their way quickly from the city's fortified walls towards the fallen ship, and as they began to circle it, a lonely knight detached itself from the rest.
"Hark! Who are you!?" the man's voice was boisterous, and in the silence that followed, it was Louise who spoke first.
"We are Knights of the North Parterre!" she said with the manliest of voices, her mask firmly set on her face. "And assorted adventurers, and civilians, and orphan children," as if to enunciate the point, the children behind Tiffania all waved cheerfully upwards. "We come from Londinium-"
"The city was beset by the Undead," the Knight replied, landing its white dragon on the deck, and descending nimbly. "It was a given that all those that could have escaped headed for the countryside, and the Reconquista would not allow a ship to escape their blockade this easily."
"My partner burned down their palace," Louise said roughly, gesturing at Saito. "And defeated the Necromancer involved with those blasphemous acts against the Gods," she added. "If you don't believe us, then send someone to spy on the capital, and tell if their palace still stands or not."
The knight narrowed his eyes, staring at Louise first, and then at Saito. "You expect us to believe this tripe?"
"I expect you to verify it before calling it tripe," Louise snapped back, a hand rested at ease on her swordwand. "We are Knights of the North Parterre, and with the ascension to the throne of Lady Charlotte, royal knights sworn in her service! If you wish to question our word, then do so at your own risk, Sir!"
"Peace, peace!" the Knight replied with a hand raised. "If your words are the truth, then they are most welcomed, Sirs. Our scouts have yet to report on Londinium's status, but if your words ring true, then perhaps Reconquista's back has been broken, and with it, everything they wanted to obtain."
The man sighed, "The fortress has little to offer, it was under siege until just a scant week ago, but with the countryside cleared we have begun to recover what provisions we could. It also helps that the blockade has indeed been lifted."
"You were testing us," Louise said hotly.
"I was merely making sure you were whom you said you were, Knights of the North Parterre," the knight answered. "I am Sir Lohrac Vale, and it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. But please, have patience just a little bit. We have to check the ship from scaffolding to anchor before allowing it to dock properly."
"Fine," Louise huffed, "We'll wait. Captain Bleu? Lower the boardwalk. The children could use some running around in the fields, unless they are dangerous criminals in the eyes of Sir Vale?" Louise added, giving a dry smile at the knight of Albion who simply chuckled, and gestured for his men to descend.
The children were quite happy to touch solid ground after a long time spent confined in the ship itself, and as they ran around cheerfully, the rest of the men proceeded to check the ship from top to bottom, spending most of the day tapping on the wooden walls or opening up crates and boxes.
When the Albion knights were done, and felt confident enough that there wasn't a secret Reconquista army inside the ship, they allowed them to embark and follow them to a proper docking pier within the fortress city itself. Disembarking for the second time, Saito scratched the side of his head at the amount of people pressed into the city. While there weren't nearly as many beggars as there had been in Valier, those who were indeed watching them felt as if they had seen true horrors, and survived to speak the tale.
"It helped us that most of the country saw us as nearly defeated, and backed in a corner," Lohrac spoke at Saito's inquiring gaze, "We did not have much in the way of provisions, and mostly only those loyal to the Crown of Albion and their families kept following his Highness. When the army broke, we were pretty much resorting ourselves to a final charge," the man sighed, "It would have been glorious, but again, if the Gods did not wish for it, then so be it."
"The Gods don't want men to waste their lives away," Louise said dryly, "Not when they can serve the Founder better by being alive."
"We would have died anyway, killed by those traitors!" Lohrac said while spatting to the side. "The Undead plague was the answer we needed from the Gods as proof of their unworthiness! Let us see them now convince the commoners that they'll bring food to their tables! Let us see them, their bodies eaten alive by the dead, speak the same!" he lifted a fist to the air. "The Gods have spoken! The Crown is the sole rightful ruler of Albion, and let those who claim the opposite meet their end passed by the sword of justice!"
"Long live the King of Albion!" one of the knights nearby said.
"Long live His Highness, Wales Tudor, By the grace of the Gods, King of Albion!" a few other knights soon joined in cheerfully. The procession stopped in the halls of the castle, where only the two Knights were allowed to proceed further in order to meet with the King in person.
"We'll be fine, Sir Saito, Sir Louis," Josette said cheerfully, "Captain Bleu said he'll need a hand preparing the ship for departure once more anyway-so we'll help him!" she waved them goodbye like an over-excited kid, right in the middle of a group of knights who could not help but chuckle at the affectionately childish display.
Jeanette blushed lightly as she waved goodbye, "Sir Saito-thank you once more for your kind words," she made a prim and proper curtsy, before averting her gaze quite shyly.
Jacques was a simple man, so he simply nodded his head towards Saito and raised his thumb up, as if approving whatever was in his head concerning the boy and Jeanette. This did make the Japanese splutter, but also smile warmly at the faint sense of praise and approval he was receiving.
Captain Bleu simply pulled his foppish hat off his head, and then made a nice, flourished movement with it. "Till we meet again, Sir Saito, Sir Louis!"
"I'll be glad to have something better than salted pigeon in my stomach," Marteau said with a chuckle, waving his goodbye too. Tiffania simply bowed as gently as she could, still slightly fearful as she clutched her hat tightly. It was what she did when she was afraid, which simply made her look all the more cuter with the way her elbows ended up pressing against her two noticeable qualities.
"Keep a spot for us," Saito said. "We'll need a brave captain to sail us back to La Rochelle."
"Of course!" Bleu said with a smile, "I'll be waiting for you, Sirs!"
And that was that.
When Saito stepped inside the great room that had been prepared specifically for the King to grant them audience, the first thought that crossed his mind was that the King was quite a sight. He had blond hair, blue eyes, a serene smile and seemed to be holding up pretty well considered what had happened across his lands just a short while before.
The Knight that had led them here -and sent a messenger ahead to relay their story- stepped aside at the entrance and declared with a loud booming voice, "You stand at the presence of His Grace, the Most Rightful King-"
"Enough Lohrac, enough," the King said with a soft chuckle. "I am sure they are tired from the trip, and the search, and would probably love nothing more than a good bed for the night," his eyes moved on to them both, and then he smiled. "Also, do leave us alone, Lohrac." He stood up from his throne -which was simply a slightly bigger chair than the others around the room, and as the knight bowed once and left, closing the doors behind him, the King of Albion drew close enough to both Saito and Louise that it was apparent he had recently bathed in some form of peppermint-scented bath.
"Well," the man said. "Tell me, strong Knights of the North Parterre," Wales had a hint of a smile on his lips now, "How fares my beautiful cousin Henrietta?"
"Henrietta? What Hen-"
Two things happened in quick succession. The first was that Louise's hold on Saito's neck made the boy slam down on the ground faster than the King himself could blink, and the second was that she actually shot him a glare deadly enough to silence him in a split-second. "Kneel you moron!" Louise said in a hiss, "And we apologize, your Highness, but as Knight of the North Parterre-we serve the Queen of Gallia. We have-"
"Everything is all right, Lady Louise," Wales said with a small smile, making Louise catch her breath. "The Cardinal warned me you and your partner would come by," he chuckled. "But you have nothing to fear. Your secret is safe with me," he added with a wink. "Just like I hope mine is with you?"
"The letters were destroyed," Saito said. "I-I saw to it," he added.
The King smiled, and lifted the boy's left hand with both of his own. "I see," he said with a small grin. "No reason to doubt your word, Sir Saito. You did me, and the country of Albion, a great service in also taking care of the Undead from what I am to believe?"
"It was mostly Louise," Saito said, embarrassed. "She took out the majority of their army outside the city. I just-I just cut the head off the snake."
The king nodded, letting the hand go, "I understand," he added. "Still, such acts must be rewarded. I would see you titled, give you land-but you are a Knight of Gallia and a noble of Tristain I am to believe? That does make me wonder on what I could possibly gift you," he tapped on his scepter with his left hand, the right one holding on to it.
"Your highness-if I may be so blunt as to ask," Louise began speaking, and to Wales' nod of the head, she continued, "The Cardinal exchanged letters with you? You, the King of Albion, were supposed to be our...contact."
The King smiled, and then chuckled for a little bit before answering, "Of course, the Cardinal has...a history, of aiding me and my cousin-well, now that is quite the improper thing to say to a Lady of your standing so I shall refrain, but there is little the Cardinal wouldn't do if Henrietta were to ask him, in turn, it is just proper that for her happiness I would do anything, even allow for the proof of our eternal love to be burned rather than recovered. Why wouldn't I? I have been offered the chance to marry her."
"Sorry to bother-" Saito said, "But-well, why didn't the Cardinal just say it outright that we had to reach Newcastle to find his 'like-minded men'?"
"The Cardinal...probably did not trust you with that knowledge," Wales said. "The fact that I am in contact with him, and in turn my cousin Henrietta, might be dangerous fuel added to the scorching fires of Germania's ire, were they to be raised. You might have been captured trying to pass the blockade-or perhaps ended up too drunk during a night of revelry, such knowledge could not be allowed to so casually slip out-"
"But we didn't know where to even start looking for the letters! I found them by luck!" Saito exclaimed, only for Louise to stomp his foot and glare at him.
"You're in the presence of royalty, Saito! You don't question -or interrupt- royalty!"
Wales blinked, and then awkwardly coughed in the palm of his left hand, closed into a fist. "Well, he...probably did one of his 'box within a box' thing. I do not fully understand how the man thinks. Perhaps he has forgotten how he thinks too. He might have suggested you a place to start your research from? He was so sure you would acquire those letters, he wrote he had already begun mobilizing the royal navy of Tristain in his last missive-"
Saito stared at Louise.
Louise stared at Saito.
"No?" they both said at the same time, actually interrupting the King once more, but he didn't seem to mind.
"Well," Wales said, "You will have to ask him yourself then. We have a meeting arranged at La Rochelle a week after Reconquista's hold on Londinium has broken, together with my dear Henrietta to discuss our upcoming marriage," he smiled. "But before that, I still need to reward you for the service rendered to the Crown of Albion."
Saito broke his silence long enough to actually ask for something that couldn't be, in any way, shape, or form, a bad thing.
Louise pretty much asked for the same thing.
As agents of the Crown, glory and honor were everything they needed.
As adventurers, gold was a good enough substitute.
Those words are synonymous.
