Salem POV
How long had it been since I had woken up with someone else sharing my bed?
There was a moment once I realized that someone was touching me that I nearly called upon my magic in surprise. The feeling was too foreign until I recalled what occurred. Once the initial startlement abated, I was left with another strange feeling rising in my chest.
I couldn't recall the last time I slept so soundly and peacefully. To wake up and not simply feel tired regardless of how long I rested.
I am still skeptical of how long this would persist, this desire to delay my own death that I have sought for an uncountable number of years. But if this is what I am to look forward to….perhaps it would not be a challenge.
Even more odd was that I did not mind that there was a man currently groping my behind. Beyond the principle of it that was. I did not find it disgusting that some other person touched me in such an intimate way. How long ago would I have incinerated someone for merely thinking of doing something such as this to me?
No, if I were to be honest with my feelings, I found it pleasant. Perhaps not gratifying in a physical way, but emotionally. I was pleased that this man that buried his head in my bosom was desiring me so.
However, with the passing minutes the amusement and feelings in my chest slowly faded and were replaced with something else.
"How long do you plan to squeeze my rear?" I demanded. "And be more gentle, my behind is beginning to sore." He didn't respond so I pinched his arm that was reaching around my waist. "I know you are awake."
"I'm sleeping." He giggled into my chest.
"I would not be surprised if this is something you do unconsciously in your sleep." I released his arm as he relented and became moderate with his fondling. I would not stop him if he was more modest, a reward for the pleasant evening he gave me.
Oddly, I was attaching some importance to physical relations now that I agreed to a relationship. I felt almost embarrassed that I would have willingly offered my body in exchange for what I desired previously.
However, I was content at this moment. As much as I enjoyed the evening and to experience the Magical Environment with other practitioners, I was exhausted by night's end. I wished to retire for the night, but I also desired his companionship, thus I allowed him to enter my bed with the agreement that no coitus would transpire.
I did not even need to dissuade any attempts to push beyond what I dictated. He was a perfect gentleman…..as much as one could be while also having a hand firmly upon my derriere.
"Are you okay?" He peeked open one eye to look at me. "You've been silent for a little while and just staring at me."
"I am merely lost in thought." I assured him.
"Am I bothering you? I'll stop if that's the case."
"…you may continue if you desire." I truly did not mind.
However, instead, he leaned forward to lightly kiss me and then wrapped his arms around me and pulled my body closer so that I was now resting my head comfortably on his chest. A warm sensation soon flowed through my body as I settled into my new position with content.
"We didn't really talk about it, but how was the party?" He asked.
"You lied to me." I looked at him accusatory.
"I lied?" He blinked in confusion.
"I was told that someone was going to die at a minimum. Yet, there were no dead bodies present by the end of the night. What a dull evening and an utter waste of my time."
"Did the person who had their arm exploded not meet your requirements, oh Grimm Queen?" He snorted. "Or the person that got shot in the heart after those two people had an old-fashioned duel?"
I did not understand the logic of such a thing, but it was amusing to watch regardless. Some perceived slight and the other challenged them to a duel of pistols, no Magic involved.
"Mmm, perhaps I will make an exception then. It would be remiss of me to blame you completely for such an unexciting evening in this case."
"I thank you for your generosity." He said dryly.
"As you should." I replied curtly, however, I felt the corners of my mouth twitching into a smile. "I had a wonderful time." I whispered after a moment. "I have not been this happy in recent memories. Thank you for bringing me."
"Seeing you happy makes any effort with it." He said with true sincerity. Even with my inherent skepticism, I could not detect any falsehood in his words.
Why must he say these kinds of things to me when I am unable to separate myself from him? I felt silly letting myself be led by the nose by someone so much my junior. I would have laughed at anyone who told me I would be in this position merely a year prior.
Being intimately embraced by another person whom I willingly allow without ulterior motives.
"Do you wish to….remain here for a period longer? You spoke up important matters before the party that would take you away for a time. I do not wish to intrude upon your responsibilities." Even If I didn't quite understand the peculiarities of what he deemed important in this case.
I would have to ask the Spirit for more information.
"Are you asking me if I want to continue cuddling?" He looked at me in amusement. "Do you want to keep cuddling?"
"Don't turn such a ridiculous request back on me." I huffed in annoyance. "I merely do this for your own satisfaction."
"So you don't like me holding you like this? I don't want to make you uncomfortable, should I stop..?"
"….don't tease me." I said softly, not wishing to meet his gaze.
"I'm sorry, you're just so cute I can't help myself sometimes."
"I, the Grimm Queen, am not cute."
"Uh huh."
"Stop that." I scowled.
"Cute."
"You are infuriating." I growled.
"Kiss?" He asked with a sincere and idiotic grin on his face.
"...do what you want." I huffed in annoyance once more, finding it difficult to levy any sort of resistance to his antics.
He wasted no time in claiming my lips again and I felt that warmth flow through my body.
Still, he shall be punished for daring to insinuate something so absurd about me. I would continue to ignore the very hard object currently pressing against me below.
"I do have something important to do. To err on the side of caution, I would give myself two weeks before I can check back in while occupied."
"I would assist if you require." I found myself offering without a second thought.
….and it was strange for me to speak the words so easily.
"Thank you." He smiled towards me again and it melted my earlier annoyance. "But in this particular instance, bringing others along is…. problematic."
"I see." I could not claim to understand the intricacies right now as I am still catching up with his culture's magic. "Very well then." I slowly pulled myself from his arms, allowing my feet to touch the ground at the side of the bed. "Come along, I will not laze about for the remaining time we have together." I paused, opening a drawer nearby. "Why are you staring at me?" I shot him an inquisitive look.
"Just etching into my memory, how well that night gown hugs your curves." He said without an iota of shame.
Instead of getting annoyed, I found myself swinging my hips just a bit more than usual as I retrieved a proper garb to change into for the day.
I took more pleasure than I should have, letting him watch me drop my night gown to the ground. "I will take my morning bath. I will perhaps relax for a longer time than I usually do. Providing you well enough to enjoy your new memory so you can take care of your own excitement in the meantime" I glanced down at the obvious bulge pushing up from beneath the covers of his.
"You are a very cruel woman." He breathed out a sigh of acceptance.
"And don't you forget it." Once more, I swayed my hips as I made my way towards the bathroom, in nothing but my undergarments.
Unfortunately, my confidence was merely a projection as I would require a long bath for my own needs.
That foolish man brought about these feelings too easily in me.
[***]
Wilhelm POV
"Morning everyone." I stepped out into Gramps' home, seeing a slew of faces I wasn't expecting.
Gramps peeked his head out of the kitchen. "I was hoping you would be back soon. I'm making breakfast, it'll be done shortly." He stated before ducking back in, and I could smell the bacon and eggs cooking.
"Take your time." I replied, going around the table to everyone present. "Good morning, Jinn." I kissed her forehead.
"Back already? Did Salem kick you out?" Jinn asked, brightening up.
Cinder and her two minions saw me and Salem walk out of her bedroom together.
"She did, actually, something about ruining her image infront of her subordinates." I chuckled, moving on to the next. "And Raikou." I was surprised to see my Servant at this particular moment, but it was welcomed nonetheless.
"Master~" Raikou shifted so that it was not merely a kiss on the cheek, but her grabbing hold of me and deepening it for her own pleasure. She only released me once she was satisfied.
"Artoria." I gave her a quick peck on the cheek as well.
"Wilhelm." Artoria smiled, happily accepting the morning greeting.
"And Rin." I swat at her loose ponytail.
"Schweinorg." She grunted, nursing a cup of coffee, not even bothering to get annoyed with me.
I took the empty seat between Jinn and Raikou. "How's everyone doing?"
"Well." Artoria said simply. "Rin is recovering from the party."
"Oh, oh! How did that go!?" Jinn excitedly asked.
"About as well as expected." There was so much to say, where to even start? "Someone picked a fight with Salem. That was fun to watch."
"I heard about that." Zelretch exited the kitchen, several plates floating next to him as they glided to the spots in front of us. "I will be paying a much needed visit to the Zoology Department in the coming days."
"Kind of feel bad for that girl." Rin muttered.
"What happened?" Jinn asked specifically.
"Well, Salem got into an argument with someone from the Zoology Department, someone who makes Chimeras. She was…probably a year or two younger than Rin and a bit of an ego to go with it. She didn't take it well and claimed that Salem was a Dead Apostle based on her looks."
"Oh dear." Raikou said with some concern. "Did it turn out well?"
"The Vice Director arrived. The one with a hate boner for any Dead Apostles." I paused, looking at Gramps. "How does that work in other world-lines?"
"We have an agreement." He said simply, not elaborating.
Well, I don't remember much of that, but whatever, I was getting off topic. "Suffice to say, she was upset for being lied to and her time being wasted. It ended with the Chimera girl meeting Salem in the Arena with the Vice Director overseeing the 'fight'." I added air quotes to the word.
"I can guess how this went. I admit not having much experience with Chimeras, it wasn't really a practice over on Remnant due to Grimm running around. Sort of a taboo to make monsters when they're so prolific in a sense."
"That Chimera girl got demolished." Rin blurted out. "Serves her right though. Met her before, in one of Waver's classes. Head was so far up her ass that she insulted him then left after insulting everyone else that was taking the class seriously."
"Well, you shouldn't be concerned about her any longer. She basically committed political suicide. I would be surprised if you even see after the next few months."
"Really?" Rin looked skeptical. "I mean, yeah it was pretty embarrassing and got people pissed at her, but I would begrudgingly admit she was a genius in what she did."
"Perhaps it is my perspective as an outsider, but I feel this event was counterproductive to the continued prosperity of the Association." Artoria commented.
"You're not wrong, but there was more to it than that." Zelretch stated, taking a sip of a cup of orange juice next to him. "It was intentional. To weed out the undesirables and to be on the lookout for other talents. The young woman in the Zoology department was much too old to act the way she did. Her attempt at 'revenge' was also much too childish and ignorant to ignore. She was on the short list for the next Department Head seat for the Department, but after this event, no one will consider her for any practical position."
"Makes sense." I grabbed hold of my knife and fork, cutting into my perfectly cooked eggs. "Everyone there had some semblance of talent in Magecraft, so they were looking for the ones who could navigate the political spectrum and eek out benefits properly." So they knew who to look out for when filling the upcoming positions of their Department as the old generation goes away.
"God I'm happy I don't have to deal with most of that." Rin muttered. "I just had fun getting one over on that bitch for once."
"Oddly enough, I had fun too. It was entertaining watching people fumble over themselves once they learned I was related to Gramps over here. And to see Salem tear apart some of the really arrogant ones."
I wasn't even the one to get into fights!
That had to be some kind of new record.
"Did Salem have fun too?" Jinn inquired.
"She had a blast. And people there were fawning over her after what happened too. Lots of people were trying to win her over and it didn't even have anything to do with my status."
"I'll go over there and bother her about the details later." Jinn giggled.
"Right." Zelretch clapped his hands, finishing up his meal. "Shall we talk about the thing that's on your mind?"
"Am I that obvious?"
"Yup." Jinn cheerfully replied.
I pinched her cute blue cheek.
"Did you get everything settled?"
"Nope." Zelretch replied.
"…."
"But I realized that I couldn't do everything myself, so I enlisted the help of someone else. With their help, everything should work correctly."
"Alright, can we cut to the chase?"
"Very well." Zelretch turned a bit more serious. "Everything is prepared. Or as much as we can. I calculated the optimal time, and to line everything up, I went to great lengths. It will be enough for both of you to sneak in undetected."
"That's great." I sighed in relief then blinked in confusion. "Both?"
"I will be coming as well." Raikou replied, as if it weren't even an argument.
"But –"
"I will be coming." She didn't even look up from her meal. "I am Master's Servant."
"Don't argue." Jinn's silly tone was nowhere to be seen. "None of us are happy about what happened last time."
"And you will be taking Avalon." Artoria also chimed in.
"I – "
"You will be taking Avalon."
"….I was going to say thank you."
Artoria cracked a small smile and nodded.
"How much time do I have? I haven't exactly gone to say goodbye to everyone and I don't think It'll be a short trip."
"We already took care of it." Jinn spoke up. "They're all aware of how important this is to you, so you don't need to worry. Just focus on the mission that you're going on."
You all are too good for me.
"It sounds like everything is settled then." I relented.
"Enjoy the meal, we'll head out once we're done." Zelretch announced.
And it was a pleasant meal before heading out.
[***]
"I'm a bit confused, I thought we had to cross over at the exact same moment in time. Why did we only come to France and not a different World-line where we could access that time period?" I looked around at the wheat field we found ourselves in.
The scenery was nice but….that's about it.
"I said I acquired some help." Zelretch chuckled.
"….yes?"
"That would be me, kiddo." A woman's head popped up from the field, clearly having been laying down before our arrival.
"Miss Aoko Aozaki." I greeted the woman I had met at the party. "Now this makes a lot more sense."
She brushed herself off, standing up. "Quite the group you got here. Two Servants…" She eyed Raikou and Artoria. "Probably the most talented Magus of the generation." She glanced at Rin, making the girl blush. "And….I'm sorry, I have no idea what you are."
"Hi, I'm Jinn." She waved.
The Blue tilted her head and laughed. "Hello Jinn." She returned, walking to Gramps. "And then we have whatever the hell he is." She jabbed her thumb my way.
"Handsome? Charming? Handsome?"
"You said Handsome twice." She pointed out.
"It needed to be said twice."
"…It's hard to believe he's your Grandson." She snorted a chuckle again. "Alright, so let's get this show on the road, I got other things to do today."
"One moment, your addition was a last minute detail I have yet to explain." Zelretch stated. "Let me atleast go over the barest important information."
"That would be appreciated." I nodded.
"I realized that if we tried what I suggested, it would still leave room enough for error that there was a significant chance that while not outright shining a beacon on your entrance, that it would be noticeable through certain means. Thus, after hearing that you had a chat with Miss Blue during the Party, the idea popped into my head. Who better to manipulate time?"
"Compliments aren't going to lower my price, Zelretch."
"Worth a shot." He hummed, then continued. "It's simple really."
"And by simple, he means for you." The other Magician interrupted him. "What we're doing is anything but simple. The Old Man said that you've mastered the Magic to a degree, but I wouldn't trust you in his place, so be grateful."
"Uh….is it alright if we watch?" Rin asked sort of meekly.
"Yeah, it's no problem. But you're just gonna need to stand back." She shrugged. "But for a simplified explanation, Zelretch is going to shift the area off the X-Axis of the world, and I'm going to pull you both back to the needed time period on the Y-Axis while he maintains the shift. And it needs to happen faster than you can blink."
"But….the amount of energy you would need to maintain a temporal stasis like that…?"
"The Old Man offered his own 'Time' to use." She stated.
"Gramps?" I looked at him.
"It's not a big deal, I still have plenty of life ahead of me, a few hundred years is nothing." He said dismissively.
"I refuse." I crossed my arms. "Take my time instead."
"Don't be ridiculous." Zelretch frowned.
"This is my business, so I'll pay the price." I shot him an annoyed look. "Miss Blue, please take my 'Time' instead."
The Blue was one of the only ways that 'time travel' like this could work, but it had a heavy cost to it. Especially if she was using it on other people. It used the most appropriate cost, to use someone's own 'time', not to be confused with their lifespan.
While they're nearly identical, there was a difference to them as she could take already established time from someone, rather than 'future' 'time'.
It's literally to burn away parts of someone's time, converting it to fuel the use of the Magic. And now that I think about it, that's oddly similar to what was happening in the Singularities that the creature posing as Solomon was doing.
"I don't really care who pays the price, but do you got enough?" She raised an eyebrow.
A Devil, A Campione, A Dragon.
"Yeah, I got plenty." I held out my hand and she shrugged, taking it.
"Woah." Her eyes widened. "You weren't lying there. I normally have to be careful, like taking a single drop of water from a cup. But for you, it's like I could use a bucket to scoop out of a lake. Since we're not making a permanent change to the world, I don't have to take as much as I normally would have. We can shunt most of the burden off to this 'Singularity' or whatever and from what the Old Man says, it'll rectify itself and bear the majority of the burden after it's resolved."
"Happy to help." I could feel something strange escape from me. It quickly disappeared and I returned to normal, but it faintly felt as if there was something missing inside of me for that brief moment.
"Alright, Zelretch, I got enough here."
"Very well." Gramps relented. "Let us begin. But, please hold onto this." He tossed me a strange looking cylindrical device. "It will record the state of the Singularity you are going to."
"Can I keep it in my ring?"
"That's fine." He nodded. "The last preparation we'll need is this." He held up a cloak of some sorts. "I had to call in a few favors to acquire a Holy Shroud from the Church to hide your existence."
"I think some people would be rolling in their graves if they knew I would be wearing this." I chuckled, accepting it without reservation. I put it on and it felt a mite uncomfortable, perhaps the Holy Nature was clashing with my Devil Side.
"Call upon the spear. You don't need to take it out, but let it resonate with the Shroud and cover you."
I didn't even need to reach out myself, as if listening in, I felt the Spear within my ring resonate and fill the Shroud with its Holy Light. If the creature was able to use Solomon's Clairvoyance, this would hide me from his sight.
"And prepare yourself, there will be no threshold, no indication that something occurred. Once we activate the required spells, you will simply open your eyes and you will be where you need to be. If there's anything you wish to say or do, you have a few moments."
I grabbed Raikou's hand and pulled her to my side. With one last look at the others, they gave all an affirmative nod of encouragement. "I'm ready."
"Miss Blue, I will follow your lead." Zelretch retrieved his Jeweled Sword, an indication that he was serious about this endeavor. "Everyone else, stand back."
She closed her eyes and an iridescent light began to manifest.
There was a reason her Magic was called The Blue.
"Hear me, Lord of All Creation."
"I announce."
"In my name representing Order, I announce."
"Everything will be corrected."
"Order has now fallen."
My vision was overtaken with the blue light, everything became indistinguishable from the all-encompassing iridescent aqua glow. The Blue's chant still rang in my ears as the light died down and I blinked to see that the surroundings were utterly different.
"….Master." Raikou whispered, pulling on my Shroud as she looked to the sky. "What is that?"
I looked up to see that same Ring of Light from before.
"Indication that we're in the right place at least." I admit I felt a tiny bit fearful after seeing it. Being hit by something so powerful left an impression.
"This does not look like the same location." Raikou noted, as we took in our surroundings.
Everything looked like it had been burned down. The fields of wheat, surrounding forestry, any kind of life was but ash that sat upon blackened soil.
"Master!" Raikou tugged on my sleeve again, pointing beyond a few hills ahead to what looked like a caravan of sorts. "Those are not birds, master." She spoke with a hint of worry at some large flying creatures above them.
It wasn't until I Reinforced my eyesight that I noticed what they were.
"Wyverns!?"
[The hell are Wyverns doing in this time period and place?] Even Ddraig sounded confused.
"Raikou, let's go." I commanded and she followed me as I moved with a burst of Shunpo to cover the distance as quickly as possible.
It took moments to come upon the Caravan, people huddling behind or underneath wooden carriages and those Wyverns spewing out flames from above with the occasional dive to attempt to grab one of the people.
There were only a handful of people with actual weapons, one with a bow and arrows, one with a pike, but most with pitchforks or farming instruments.
My first instinct was to cast some magic, but that thought was squashed due to the nature of where we were. This time period, showing off magic? That's just asking for people to assume the worst. Instead, I withdrew a handful of spears, just random, sturdy weapons that were among what I hoarded. And one by one, I threw them at the flying draconic creatures in the air.
There were only Five Wyverns in total, but that was still a significant amount to a mundane human. While Four of my spears landed true and impaled the creatures, causing them to fall from the sky, one of them dodged out of the way and instead dived down to scoop up one of the people hiding below.
Raikou was quick and before it could get too close, she cut its head off, making the large beast flop to the ground to the side.
"W-Witch!!" The man that Raikou saved was trembling, pointing his hand at Raikou, perhaps due to the tiny bit of lightning that arced along her blade before she dismissed it. "She's a Witch, I saw it!"
"Knock it off, ya daft cunt!" A bulkier man in what appeared to be some rusted armor carrying the singular pike from before slapped him on the back of the head.
"But she—"
"Saved ya damn life." He said gruffly. "Sorry my Lady." The armored mad bowed his head in apology. "Tis horrid times and the people are on edge. Thank you for helpin this ungrateful brat. His father saved my life, I'd be ashamed to meet him in the Lord's Kingdom if I arrived after the idiot."
The Caravan was obviously weary of our arrival and I stood next to Raikou as they sized us up with clear skepticism in their eyes. No, it was more than that, there was a genuine fear present amongst everyone.
"It's no trouble." Raikou replied.
"Ah, more than this one deserves." He slapped the younger man's head again. "Get back to your cart, ya brat."
The younger man scurried off with haste to the rear of the Caravan.
"If it weren't for you two, we'd not have made it, thank ya both." He lowered his head in thanks again.
"If you don't mind me asking…..why were there Wyverns attacking you? There….shouldn't be Wyverns here." I tried to choose my words carefully, but it just seemed silly to even ask this kind of question to an obvious non-magically inclined person.
"Ya new around here?' He stared at me weirdly. "They're the minions of that cursed Witch! The scourge of France! We've been running away since they burned down our village."
"Sorry, we just arrived in France and we don't really know what's going on. Just saw some people in trouble and wanted to help."
"Blessings to you then, strangers." His expression softened. "Ya look like outsiders, but Ah didn't wanna be rude to our saviors." He obviously glanced at Raikou's probably bizarre outfit in comparison to what he's used to. That or her very generous figure. "If ya just arrived, I suggest leavin all the same. This land is cursed."
"You mentioned a Witch, what's going on?"
He let out a tired sigh. "Those damn fools. They burned that poor lass and now incurred the wrath of hell itself. She returned after being touched by the Devil. The Dragon Witch, Jeanne D Arc."
"What did you just say?!"
[***]
A/N
And we finally arrived, welcome to Orleans Singularity.
"Repeat what you just said about Jeanne D Arc." I demanded.
He took an unconscious step back and I didn't even realize I was nearly in his face. "The Dragon Witch. After she was burned at the stake, they say she was raised from the fires of purgatory itself, wielding the cursed flames as her own. The ones responsible for her death, and even the King himself were all burned in her unholy wrath!"
"…..ridiculous." I muttered after understanding his words. "Jeanne D'Arc going on a murder spree?" Just saying it out loud was absurd.
"I'm just telling you what I heard." The man grunted. "And then the flying beasts appeared. And ya just have to look up to the sky to see that something is wrong."
Right, from his perspective, I supposed they would believe such a rumor just from the fact that Wyverns appeared that coincided with that stupid rumor. Not to mention the Ring of Light is noticeable to everyone so that's not helping matters.
Absolutely no way this was Jeanne. The Jeanne I knew was….beyond reproach. Those Angels I met at the Peace conference were less in my eyes in comparison to her.
I was confident that she would emerge from the Corrupted Grail's Mud of Rin's Grail War untainted if she were exposed.
But, it wouldn't do any good for me to get upset over this. There was obviously something wrong, beyond the obvious of this place being a singularity. I would just have to figure out the details myself.
"Shouldn't there have been a treaty signed between the French and English at this point?" I started pacing back and forth, thinking aloud.
At this point in history, I can't say it has overtly significant. It's obviously important enough that a singularity formed a distortion, but compared to other events in the past, it's not very substantial in weight. The only notable occurrence that had ramifications beyond the borders is the ending of the Hundred Year war through an agreement signed by both the English and French Kings.
"The English King bastard died as well." The man spit out. "Good riddance I say. Only good thing the Witch did was scare off them English armies from the lands. If she didn't start burning down cities too then everything woulda been fine."
"….right." I took a moment to process that bit of information as well.
Just going by the process of events, History is entirely fucked up due to this sequence. The English Armies would return, the next heir would swear vengeance and I wouldn't be surprised if the Church joined in due to their people being burned in revenge.
That's not even considering the fact that there are god damn Wyverns flying around in mass enough that people are calling her 'The Dragon Witch'. How long before the Clock Tower of this time period would get involved?
No wonder this was a point of Singularity in the Timeline.
What a damn mess.
At least everything wasn't literally on fire like Fuyuki.
"You said this Witch was burning down Cities. Can you tell me about that?"
He grunted with a nod. "Heard Orleans was burned down by the Witch and she raised a Castle on the ashes. Lyon too, got a couple youngins from over there and they said that the city was mostly destroyed and burned by the witch. And something about a Knight protecting them or something." He said gruffly. "Nonsense if you ask me. Maybe other places too, but we didn't stay to wait. As soon as those monsters appeared, we packed up and ran."
I looked back towards the remainder of the caravan. Probably a dozen or so carts pulled with horses, oxes or donkeys. A lot of them looked held together only by prayers at merely a glance.
"Where are you all going then? If France is suffering at the hands of this Witch with…Dragons that can fly across the land faster than people can flee. Where will you go to escape her?"
He leaned on his spear. "North." He said simply. "Lots O' people saying that the Witch won't go up North, Eastwards that is. They say that the Duchy of Lorraine is safe from her, that for some reason she can't step foot on the land. We are headed for Nancy, the capital city of the Duchy."
"Why did she leave it untouched?" I furrowed my brow. "If she was burning down most of France, from what you said." It didn't make sense. What was there that would keep this supposed Jeanne D Arc at bay? The Holy Roman Empire? Did they set up there and are pushing back against the 'Dragon Witch' and using some of the Church's secret weapons?
They have plenty of weapons stored away that even I would be fearful of.
"Ah don't know myself." He shrugged, not giving it too much thought it seems. "You're welcome to come along. I'd be a shit man if I didn't offer our saviors a ride. "Side's, I wouldn't turn down the extra help if you wantin to come along. We be almost to the borders of what's safe. Once we get to the nearby Village, we'll gather some more supplies to make the Journey further North. But don't worry, they say the Wyverns don't dare to come close."
[Master?] Raikou's voice entered my head through our Servant link. [Do you wish to follow? It seems we have an immediate destination if you want to find the source of the conflict here. However, there is something unsettling going on.]
[Let's….get our bearings first. After what happened before, the last thing I want to do is rush into anything at the moment.] I sent back through our link.
"I'll gladly take you up on your offer." I held out my hand and he happily shook it. It seems like he really appreciated the extra help after dealing with those Wyverns. "What's the name of the place we're stopping?" Maybe I could inquire about some things there if they got a bunch of other people traveling through like them.
"Err, what was the name?" He scratched his head. "Damn kids said they got some family there and suggested we stop to refill supplies. D-dum, do…."
I stiffened in realization. "Domrémy?" I offered.
"Ah, that's the one!" He smiled happily.
[Master, why did you react that way after hearing that? Does the name mean something to you?] Raikou asked.
I supposed most people wouldn't know, especially the peasants of this era as it only got popularized long after her death.
[It's the place of Jeanne's birth…and where her family should still be living.]
"Well, I wouldn't want to keep everyone." I looked up to the sky. There were a few figures miles away in the distance, by the size this far away, I could guess they were more Wyverns, but they didn't seem to be coming our way. "Let's not wait for more of those monsters to come along."
"I'll make sure the others are ready and we will get goin. Should make it there before nightfall." He nodded in appreciation. "You two can get on my cart, I'll take ya there myself." He walked over, patting a nearby cart full of random items tied to it and a horse that looked rather tired.
I climbed into the back without argument and Raikou soon followed.
Raikou probably sensed my annoyance and discomfort because she pulled me down to lean on her shoulder while she took my hand affectionately.
By the sounds of it either Chaldea was keeping a low profile, or they hadn't arrived in the Singularity yet. I would check out this village and see the situation for myself before planning our next move.
[***]
Thankfully, we didn't have to deal with any more problems for the evening. The several hour ride was long and rough, but we finally arrived at what looked like the village.
It was very different seeing it in this era compared to when I took Jeanne to visit her hometown. They called it a village, but perhaps a town might be appropriate.
Atleast, it was bustling enough that it could be mistaken for one. But there also appeared to be a noticeable amount of refugees and travelers camped up in the area.
Not only that, but there was a large wooden wall erected around the perimeter. The wood itself looked like it had just been cut apart from the nearby forestry. And there were plenty of people being denied entry by some armed guards.
"Shoulda known something like this would've happened." The old man driving the cart let out an annoyed grunt. "Unlikely we getting any help here."
"You should be good from this point regardless, right?" I asked.
"Mmm, without those monsters overhead, we should be fine." He nodded. "We can figure out it from here if you're settling down here."
"Thanks for the ride." I nodded towards him in thanks, stepping off the cart. I held out my hand, helping Raikou off a moment later.
"I should be thanking you, lad." He gave a good natured smile. "We'll hunker down for the night at the least. If ya change your mind, I'd be happy to have ya."
I thanked him again, but this was enough.
Besides, the people with him were keeping a wary distance from us the entire time. Was pretty obvious that they didn't trust us even after saving them.
Oh well, not much you can do. People in this era were very superstitious and ignorant about a lot of things. No fault of their own, but simply the way things were.
Before the crowd could stare, and I was more than aware that we stood out, especially Raikou, I weaved an illusion around us.
"Let us in!"
"You can't keep us out here!"
"I just wanna buy some food, we're starving out here!"
Raikou and I snuck up on the people crowding around the immediate entrance to the Village where there were armed guards holding their weapons tightly, staring at the aggravated people.
"The village is full, we can't take anyone else in." One of them declared.
"Lies!" Someone from the crowd shouted and they started all throwing insults and threats towards the Guards, but no one was brave enough to start anything.
We just sidestepped the ones standing up front and walked into the Village.
It was about the same as we could see from the outside. After walking a few minutes, it was as that Guard said, pretty damn crammed full of people. Plenty of which were just sitting around setting up camp for the foreseeable future. Camping up against the side of buildings, pitching make-shift tents to hide from the elements. Children covered in dirt and grime while their parents are just happy that they're all alive.
Refugees.
Made it really sink in how bad things were around here.
Damn my bleeding heart….
They couldn't see me, but I didn't care to deal with the slew of thanks or gratitude. I began taking out items from within my Ring, foodstuffs that I had extras of, and placed them next to families with children or those looking like they were in need.
This was Jeanne's home, the least I could do was honor her memory by doing something like this.
Raikou didn't say anything, merely smiling and mimicking my actions, going around to place food and water near people who were truly in need right now.
There were way too many people here, we barely helped even a fraction that we merely saw right in front of us, but once the majority of the families in our immediate vicinity had something to fill their bellies, it was enough.
"Let's go Raikou." I whispered towards my Servant.
"Yes, Master!" Raikou grabbed my arm as we made our way further through the streets which was partly laid with stones, partly muddy from a recent rainfall.
I vaguely recalled the direction her house was in from being there before. It was a bit up the hill that the Village was situated along.
"Can you astralize for me?" I whispered again.
"Yes, Master." Raikou followed my orders, disappearing into her Spiritual state.
I dropped my own Illusion after turning onto a street so that people could see my approach. I wanted to gauge my surroundings and possibly interact with some people. Simply appearing in front of them would be a formula for disaster when there's a supposed Witch running around.
I glanced around and the further I went, the more things turned…weird.
People did not hold back their stares and watched me intently. I knew it was sort of getting dark out with the sun setting, but the way they were watching me made me think something else was going on. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a few whispering to others and they glanced at me before a few of their number scurried off down between a few houses and disappeared.
More and more seemed to be there, watching me, peeking out of the nearby homes, and just staring blatantly.
And they were not normal peasants. I could see the scars, the calluses on their hands, and the overall demeanor of trained soldiers. Not to mention the barely hidden weapons under their shirts.
I continued walking up the hill and I sensed the people from before slowly following In a group, just out of my peripheral view. I ignored it, pretending that I hadn't noticed their presence as the building in question came into view.
It was nearly identical to every other home nearby, and I wouldn't have been able to pick it out had I not been here in the future.
There was the same tree out front, the same stone decorations that weathered the ages looking much more clean and well kept in comparison to my time, but it was nearly identical.
I walked up and knocked on the door. Barely once or twice and the door was pulled open with a fury and there was a man there, looking right pissed and practically ready for a fight. "What do you want?" He demanded. I could see the faint outline of a dagger under his shirt as well.
"I'm looking for a family that lives here. The father's name should be Jacques, and the mother should be Isabella –"
"Never heard of them." He interrupted me. "Who are you?" His eyes narrowed.
"…..I'm friends with their daughter." I ignored his obvious provocation and continued as I was. "I'm hoping that I can meet –"
"He said they don't live here!" Another voice sounded from behind him and a couple more men walked forward behind the one who answered the door. Their faces were hardened from years of fighting, along with noticeable wounds. One was missing a leg, another an arm. The one who originally answered, well, his pupil was a pale white with a scar running along the length of his head.
"Right then." I took a deep breath. "If I don't receive an answer in the next few breaths, I'm going to assume the worst. Which is not something you want. So please answer my question." I would not hold back if I found out that these people were…. bandits and did something to Jeanne's family.
She may be a Saint, but I sure as hell was not. She could choose to forgive them or not after their last moments on this earth were as excruciating as possible.
"Didn't you hear what I said, boy?" He reached under his shirt, pulling his knife out.
"If that's your answer." I smiled politely then lashed out with my leg, sending him flying into the house from the threshold.
The other two reacted pretty well for mundane humans. However, they were severely outmatched. Before they could draw their blades, I already pushed them back, letting them slide across the ground, joining their friend.
I grabbed one of the knives that were discarded in the heat of the moment and held it to the neck of the closest man. "Let me be clear, If I found out you did anything to the family that lives here, you will beg me for the hell you're doomed to."
"Please stop." I paused, hearing a gentle and warm voice to the side. A woman stood there, in a green and white dress with a brown veil keeping her hair back. "There's been a misunderstanding."
However, those were secondary to her actual looks.
"…..you look just like her." I said softly.
"Madame!" One of the men climbed to his feat, looking ready to attack me. I side eyed him, but my focus was still on the woman.
"Philippe, please stop as well." She looked at the man. "He doesn't mean me any harm." Her words seemed to reach them as they looked hesitant, but didn't immediately jump at me again.
[Master!] Raikou called out in alarm.
[I noticed, Raikou. Just….try to find them and keep watch if you can.] I replied, also noticing the fact that what was most likely a Servant appeared nearby.
"You must be Madame Romee." I ignored the death glares from them and continued to focus on the woman. "Jeanne spoke about you. It's an honor to meet her mother."
"You knew my Jeannette?" She smiled bitterly. "I apologize, I did not catch your name."
"How rude of me." I took a step forward and gently took her hand, placing my lips against the back of it in a gesture of respect. "Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg, at your service, Madame."
She seemed amused by my action. "Isabelle is fine. Come, I have tea brewing, you can tell me why you came all the way here and how you know my daughter."
"Madame, are you sure – "
"If he wished to harm me, he would have done so already." Jeanne's mom interrupted one of the men about to speak.
"….Just to double check, they're here as guests?" I eyed the suspicious men.
She cracked a smile, giggling softly. "They are worried that someone was going to harm me. They are all former comrades of my daughter who retired and came to settle down here."
Oh…that's awkward.
"I apologize for my actions; I assumed the worst." I bowed my head towards them in acknowledgement for my assumption.
They glanced between themselves and there was a noticeable amount of tension that eased up.
"Alright, I guess you have a point about everything." The one named Philippe scratched the back of his head. "You two go out and scatter everyone else, Tell them the Madame is fine."
The other two grumbled and hobbled out the door. I glanced around the corner and noticed just how large the crowd forming outside had become.
I was broken from my musing as the man slapped me on the back. "Apology accepted, boy. Now get over there, the Madame offered you tea and you're not going to spit on her hospitality."
"Philippe, be nice to our guest."
He grumbled but nearly dragged me to the table where she was set up, a warm cup already set out for me.
"Thank you for the tea." I politely expressed my gratitude while taking a sip. Fairly watered down and lacking much of the taste that I'm used to, but there was a certain warmness to it as well. "….if you don't mind me asking, what's going on with…." I glanced at the man hovering nearby, leaning against the wall, staring at me.
"They all seem to think an old woman like me is in need of protection." Isabella chuckled. "Truthfully, I don't think I'm worth all this trouble."
"Madame, any of the men outside would gladly lay down their lives to protect yours. None of us believe those rumors about this Dragon Witch. We all owe your daughter too much to allow even the chance of you getting harmed because of it." Phillipe responded.
"You all are former soldiers that served with Jeanne, weren't you?" I summarized.
He nodded proudly. "After hearin what happened in Orleans, we all gathered her to protect her family. It was the least we could do." He sighed, slumping his shoulders. "Suppose I should give an apology for the treatment too. We've had a cloaked stranger appear the other day, and they nearly slipped inside the Madam's home under our noses. We've been keeping a closer eye on the place for outsiders ever since. Assumed you were involved."
"It was understandable." I waved it off. But hearing about a 'stranger' and knowing there's a Servant nearby, well, two and two wasn't hard to put together. "Madame Isabelle, I apologize if my question comes off crass but….where is everyone else?"
"My husband took our children to his Great Aunt's home further north." She looked down at her tea sadly. "After hearing that Jeannette died then everything that came after…. we couldn't simply leave under the hope that our daughter wasn't truly gone. We decided that he would take the children to safety and then he would come back and we would wait to see if our daughter came home."
Phillipe looked away, obviously not believing she would.
And I knew the truth as well.
And the look on her face, well, she knew she was holding out for a miracle.
"I'm sorry for your loss." I said quietly. "She was an amazing young woman. She called me a friend once, and that's a memory I'll always cherish."
"Thank you, your words were very kind." She smiled warmly, despite the sorrowful topic. "I was always worried that Jeannette was having troubles while fighting, but to hear she had friends makes me very happy."
I don't know how she's holding herself together so well. I've barely been a dad for months at this point, and I would be an uncontrollable mess if I found out that Kunou passed away.
[Master, I found the Servant.] Raikou called out.
[Can you see them? Do you recognize them at all?] I asked back.
[They are covered with a hood over their head, master.] Raikou stated.
I stood up from my seat. "I barged in and brought up some bad memories. Please allow me to offer up something as recompose. You said there was someone suspicious poking around? I'll go grab them right now."
At the very least, I wanted Jeanne's mom to not have to live like this.
I didn't wait for them to answer as I was already flying out the door. As soon as I crossed the threshold, I moved with a burst of Shunpo hopping along the nearby rooftops until I could catch up to Raikou who was on the move.
Apparently, this other Servant noticed something was wrong and was running away. Why they didn't Astralize, I didn't know, but I wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.
It didn't take long for me to catch up, I could see the figure that Raikou was trailing as they weaved between houses.
They weren't fast, relatively speaking. As far as Servant parameters go, I felt like they were near the lowest end as I was easily gaining on them without pushing too hard.
I eventually jumped off a building and summoned up Mirage, halfheartedly swinging it downwards at them. I merely wanted to disrupt their attempt at fleeing rather than go for a kill. They swung their body around and materialized a weapon into their hand.]
My eyes widened because I recognized it.
A long pole with a point at the end, but it wasn't a spear. It was still furled, but the coloring of it was something I wouldn't forget.
A Banner.
I could get somewhat of a look at her face now, covered by the shroud and hidden under the moonlight.
Blonde hair peeked out from under the hood, and a familiar pair of blue eyes stared back at me.
"Jeanne?"
[***]
If you want to read 7 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone
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