Capricorn's final goodbye had sent a chill down my spine.
"Good luck, Soul bind. You'll see me soon."
I'm not sure if that's a good thing. Dammit, I wanted to ask her about these 'psycho memory' things! And why was she a fox?
"…A-Airis?"
I spun around to see Rias sitting up in bed, rubbing her eyes. Fumbling for a place to hide it, I slid the crystal shard between the waistband of the trousers I was wearing and went to sit next to her.
"Hey, Rias."
She leaned into me, letting out a sigh. Her words were soft and muddled with sleepiness, "I was worried you'd be asleep forever. When they brought you back into camp and told me what happened I… Well I didn't handle it very well."
"Sorry about that."
"It's okay. I'm glad you're awake though. You really gave us a scare. Hailey didn't want to leave your side, but she had to go to some meeting this morning."
Rias sat up straight and turned towards the kitchen, "Were you talking with somebody?"
"Huh? Er… I wasn't. Maybe I was just talking with myself."
"You've been out for a few days. I guess that makes sense. Just be careful, sis. I don't want you passing out again… Speaking of, did you eat anything already? I can make you something if you're hungry."
"I had an apple and some of the biscuits that were out on the counter. I don't feel hungry, but I could probably eat something light. What else do we have here? Oh, and where exactly is here? We're still in Tolin I gather?"
"Yeah. The army has been clearing out houses. This one was one of the bigger and least damaged ones. So I guess it's ours. Julius has a room upstairs—he's also at the meeting, if you were worried."
Rias must have sensed my panic at the mention of his name. I hadn't really thought about the outcome of the resurrection spell until she brought him up.
I grabbed my sister by the shoulders, "Rias, how many people came back from the Citadel raid?"
"Ah! Uhm, almost everyone I think? A lot? There's a memorial service planned for tomorrow night…"
Phew. That gives me hope it was successful.
Rias was rummaging through the cupboards. A loud clanging was followed up with a high-pitched, "Eep!"
"Everything okay in there? I can help you, I'm not completely useless, ya' know?"
"No!—I mean, yes I'm fine. You just stay put. I've nearly got it."
"Got what? What are you doing in there?"
"Flames that burn beyond the veil. Gather by my will, Fireblast!"
A burst of red-orange flames erupted from the kitchen. My heart pounded, I shot up from the bed and rushed towards Rias.
"Rias, are you okay!?"
"Bwahaha! It's perfect!"
The smoke cleared, leaving Rias in view. Her hair was tied up in a bun, a pair of amber-tinted goggles covered her eyes, and she was wearing a leather apron. She looked more like a mad-artificer than a chef.
"What in the Aether are you doing in here? You scared me half to death. Which is saying something, since I feel like I'm a foot in the grave already."
"Heh-heh, sorry. But look at this!"
She thrust a perfectly golden-baked pie at my face. The crust was a beautifully done lattice-weave, with small chunks of apple peaking through.
"So all we actually had was apples, huh. Where did you get a crust to make a pie with?"
Rias smirked, "I used some of my basic alchemical prowess to turn these hard crackers into dough!"
She looked so proud of herself.
"Tell me your secrets, oh wise and young one."
"A true artificer never reveals their tricks! But really, it wasn't too hard. I just imbued them with water using an Aether spell."
"And then almost burned down the house with fire magick."
"Not fair! I had complete control of that FLAME BLAST…"
I waved my hand around my face, disturbing some of the remaining smoke, "Uh huh."
"A little residual aetherial smoke is hardly burning down the house. Anyway, here! Eat up."
With a big smile, she handed me a small plate with a slice of pie. The tender apple pieces were warm and juicy, complementing the crunchy crust.
"I can't eat another bite." I groaned in pain, lying on my side in bed.
"You didn't have to eat so much. I thought you said you weren't hungry."
"That was before I had real food. I just couldn't stop… You must have bewitched the pie, there's no other reason it should've tasted so good."
"I'll take that as a compliment. Thank you."
"You're welcome, Oh great mage of the kitchen."
"You know, I thought Hailey and Julius would be back by now."
"Must be some meeting. I kinda want to go check on them. Wanna go for a walk with me?"
The two guards seemed rather shocked when I came through the front door. One of them thought I was Rias, but once my sister came through behind me—he scrambled to attention and fumbled a salute.
I laughed it off, telling both guards to calm down. I wasn't in uniform, though I looked everywhere for a clean set, instead I borrowed some clothes from my sister.
A long silk collared shirt covered by a jet black vest, clung a little too tightly around the waist, ending in a ruffled skirted bottom.
The outfit was complete with dark cloth trousers, leather boots, and a long red hooded cloak.
In every sense, I did not look like a military commander at all. With my hood up, we passed by a number of soldiers, most of whom didn't acknowledge us as we passed. A few wary sentries stopped us but after recognizing me, they would salute and we'd continue on.
Until we ran into a familiar face, that is.
A little blonde-haired elven girl peaked her head up under my hood.
"Airis? Is that you? It is! Good evening, Commander. And a good evening to you as well, Rias."
"Good evening, Tatsuko. Good to see you."
"Even better to see you, and in good health it seems. Are you headed to the Citadel?"
"Oh, maybe. Is that where Hailey and Julius are?"
"Definitely. I just came from there actually. Got kicked out of the meeting. Apparently my rank is still too low to join in for the important stuff."
"I'm sure if you mentioned it to Hailey or Luke they'd make an exception."
She sighed, "You're probably right, but I don't wanna stir up any problems. I'm not entirely used to the military life just yet. Not sure if it's really for me, you know?"
"I understand that feeling. But you're a valued member of our team. I know that you've got real potential. You were assigned to Hanna's command party, I think that goes a long way to show their trust in you. Don't let the protocols get you down."
"Heh. Thanks, Airis. I feel better, I'm glad I ran in to you. I won't keep you any longer though, I think they're getting into some real important stuff in there. You should hurry."
She waved goodbye and continued down the roadway.
"Heading to the big meeting then, sis?"
"Yeah, I don't imagine I'll have a lot of input to give. Being out for a few days, I'm probably out of the loop. But I should still be there. I am the High-Commander."
"Well, I'll go with you as far as I'm allowed. If the guards try to stop me maybe I'll be all like, 'Don't you know who I am? I'm the Regent Lord's sister!' Think they'll let me in to your super secret meeting?"
"Ha ha, If they try to stop you I'll just tell them you're with me as an acting civilian oversight minister."
"Ooooh, that'll work for sure. Awesome, I can't wait to see you and Hailey together again," Rias spun around to face me, her steps continuing backwards. She held a finger up against her chin, twisting it playfully, "You know, you two look cute together."
Heat rushed to my face and I yelled out without even registering what I was saying, "D-Don't say we look cute together!"
I clapped my hands around my mouth in surprise.
"Well what would you want me to say?"
I sighed, "…I guess that we look… cute together."
Her backpedaling steps faltered for a moment and she burst into laughter.
Once she had regained her composure, she got real close and poked me in the stomach, "Airis, are you emotionally unstable?"
"I am not unstable! I—uh, I'm just shy, okay!?"
My sister was turning into a monster. I should forbid Julius from spending any more time with her.
-✵-
"Halt! Authorized entry only. We're not allowing civilians in to the Citadel at this time."
A hoarse-voice woman called out as we approached the Citadel's main gate. She was clad in heavy plate armor and wielded a slender longsword.
Something about her demeanor seemed familiar, I felt like I'd met her somewhere before…
I looked at her weapon, brandished out towards me.
Ah. I remember that sword.
A tingle ran down my neck and a muscle twitched, remembering the blade's point pressing against it.
"Well good evening to you as well, Knight Pearson."
She hesitated. Looking to another armored figure across the gateway.
Her guard companion was equipped in similar armor, but instead of a sword—she wielded a warstaff, and was holding a magickal tome embedded with a focusing crystal. Knight Aeko Monroe, another member of Hanna's command party.
I stepped up to the gate, standing between the two of them. I brought my hood down, letting my long crimson hair spill down my shoulders. "It's nice to see Hanna has her best guarding the gate."
"Commander Airis!?"
They both snapped to attention, presenting in a salute.
"Easy ladies, I'm not on duty. But I would like to head in to the Citadel if that's alright with both of you?"
"Of course, Commander. Please head on in."
We entered, the large wooden doors closing behind us. As they were almost closed, I overheard Aeko start to tease Pearson about calling me a civilian.
Rias and I passed though the remainder of the Citadel halls without incident. We stopped in the main hall, where we had fought the seemingly endless wave of undead. Rias ran around ogling the stained glass windows.
The atmosphere here was a surprising contrast from when we were raiding the place. The broken furniture and shattered glass had been cleared out, and the looming darkness of the vaulted ceiling had softened with the placement of a few light fixtures.
"These are amazing!"
My sister twirled around in the crimson-glow of the setting sun through an ornate stained glass design of an armored warrior.
"They're stunning. I wasn't able to take any time to appreciate them when we were here before."
I joined her under the window. The beautiful image was of a golden-haired man. Blood-red plate armor covered him head-to-toe. It was an older imperial style, where the plates where much bulkier and angular. With more surface area to disperse the magickal attacks from aggressors.
A relic of a time before the demon and monster hordes invaded.
Standard Divisional armor evolved quickly to allow the wearer to stay mobile, and was aimed to protect against close range attacks with claws and teeth. Most of the enemies we fought rarely used magick.
"Do you think he was a real person?"
"Huh? Oh, the person in the window. Probably. Maybe a knight with high status."
"Maybe he was a hero of the Empire. I wonder if Father would know who it was if he were here."
"…I bet he would."
An agonized frown marred her face.
"Hey, lets keep going. There is a really pretty staircase further in."
I took her arm and we pressed ahead.
The white marble of the imperial staircase shined in the light of blazing torches. The golden accents sparkled as the flames flickered.
Rias' mouth was wide in astonishment. The main stairway in our family's palace had nothing on this masterpiece. It was possible this double-flighted set of stairs was the fanciest thing she'd ever seen.
She danced up the stairs, not paying attention to her surroundings—She stepped back into a man who was standing on the landing, almost knocking him over.
"Hey! Watch it you—Rias? How did you get in here? Did something happen with Airis!?"
"I'm fine, Luke. Stop harassing my sister, will ya'?"
In a classic Luke move, he flailed around to search for me, overlooking me twice.
"Look, I know the civvies are a new thing for everyone… But I'm not that unrecognizable without a uniform, right?"
"Oh! Commander, You're right there. My mistake, I must have gotten used to seeing you in armor."
"Sure, sure. You're supposed to be my number one scout. Can't even spot your commanding officer in some street clothes…"
"I was just distracted is all, I was nearly pushed over if you recall."
Rias was pleading with her hands together and bowing forward. "I'm sorry! I was just so caught up in the stairs."
Luke chuckled, "It's fine, no worries."
"Luke, if you're out here in the hall. Does that mean whatever meeting you were having is over?"
"Yep, we just finished. If you were looking for Hailey, she's just ahead in the Command Quarters. And I think Julius may still be there too, unless he's gone to the northern hall."
"Northern hall?"
"Ah, so the pathways on the upper level have two more hallways. One on the north end, and one to the south. The northern hall leads to a massive armory. Julius has been set on digging through all the equipment in there the last two days."
"That sounds like Julius. And where does the southern hall lead to?"
"A large bath complex."
Rias froze at his words, "Did you say there are baths here!?"
Luke sighed and lightly scratched at his head. "Heh. Most of the young ladies I tell have that same reaction."
I grabbed hold of my sisters arm once again and dragged her up the stairs.
"We'll take a look at the baths later. First we find Hailey and Julius."
"Fiiiiine."
The formerly macabre hallway had been cleansed of its grotesque trophies. There were no more skulls along the walls and the blood staining the stone floors had been cleaned. The hall was now the same as any other in the Citadel.
At the end of the corridor, the massive steel-plate reinforced doors were wide open.
The room was lit up brightly and the white stone floor was welcoming. A nice change of mood from the dread inducing atmosphere the quarters had given off before.
Hailey was stooped over a large table near the back of the room.
I thought about a few different ways to get her attention. A sneak attack on the unsuspecting priest. Throwing something across the room. Even launching a HOLY BOLT through the air. But it didn't feel right to surprise her, when I was sure she was already frazzled by the last few days' events.
I rapped my knuckle against the door, a metal clang echoed through the chamber.
She looked up, turning her head in our direction.
"Rias? Hey, everything okay?"
"Try again!" I sang out.
"Airis!"
I braced myself for a full speed tackle. Hailey nearly knocked me off my feet. She wrapped herself around me and squeezed tightly.
"Easy, easy!" I pleaded. "I'm still a little sore from everything."
"Serves you right! Idiot."
"Idiot? What did I do?"
"Oh ho, where to start? How about recklessly casting high class magick and going into a two day coma?"
"Well it all worked out in the end, right?"
"Hmph." she pouted, turning away from me.
I grabbed onto her waist, pulling her back close to me.
She squirmed against my embrace, "Noooooo! Quit it, I'm mad at you!"
"See, just like I said. You two make a cute couple."
"Gah—Rias!"