Chapitre 17: Pyrrha Nikos Pt. 3
A/N: Just a reminder, new chapter here officially means new chapter over on the P atreon now, where my patrons are currently voting on the future direction of this story!
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In the end, she had no choice. But at the same time, Pyrrha refused to let her subordinates do the dirty work. She would… she would have to handle this herself. There was really no other option. Even if she didn't know the first thing about interrogation or sussing out spies, she couldn't very well task her platoon with anything she wasn't willing to do herself.
"… Very well, Private Alister. Take some of the others and bring him in. However, you are NOT to talk to him or cause him undue harm, do you understand me?"
Private Alister's smile, which had been developing the moment the first words left her lips, drops from his face as the rest of the platoon looks somewhat nonplussed.
"But ma'am, I-!"
Cutting him off with a piercing glare, Pyrrha does something she usually prefers to avoid, and leans a bit into her reputation and the intimidation effect it gives her.
"Your orders are to apprehend Jaune Arc and bring him here. I will handle the interrogation personally. You are NOT to take matters into your own hands, especially when we cannot be sure of his guilt or lack thereof just yet. Am I understood, Private?"
Pale and looking properly chastised, Private Alister nods, swallowing nervously as he instinctively shoots off a salute.
"Y-Yes ma'am, Lieutenant! It will be done!"
Pyrrha just nods, keeping her brave face on even as the Private gathers up a few others and heads out. As she watches them go, her shoulders slump and she lets out a groan. It's the early hours of the day at this point. Jaune Arc will probably already be asleep in his bed. Maybe she should have waited until morning… but no. Some mild discomfort is nothing in the face of a potential security risk. If the suspicions of her subordinates are correct, then Pyrrha has to fix this… and fast.
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Well, he'd clearly done something wrong. Glancing out the window of his current 'cell', Jaune raises an eyebrow as the sun slowly but surely rises just out of sight. It's mid-morning at this point, and judging by the sun's movement, it's been a few hours since he was dragged from his bed by the Mistralian Soldiers he'd hung out with the night before.
He still wasn't entirely sure why they had done this. The soldiers had been surprisingly gentle, even as they'd apprehended him. Which was good, because it had taken every ounce of Jaune's willpower not to attack the moment they charged into his room to make the arrest. Not that he was even sure he'd been arrested. Apprehended, yes. Bundled away in the very early hours of the morning, yes. But arrested? Well, it wasn't like they'd charged him with any crime that he was aware of.
Nor were his accommodations that of a professional prison. Glancing around the room he'd been stuffed in for the millionth time, Jaune hums consideringly. He was aware that Lieutenant Nikos and her platoon had taken over the Village Elder's home for their purposes. It was the biggest building in the entirety of Shion, so it did make a certain amount of sense.
Of course, the Village Elder's home didn't exactly have a dungeon built into it. Indeed, the town had no prison to speak up. As such, Jaune had been tied to a chair in one of the large two story villa's guest bedrooms, if he had to guess. With an open window and fresh air, it really hadn't been all that bad of a situation.
The only truly irritating bit was that he'd seemingly been forgotten for the last few hours as the sun slowly rose on the horizon and began to make its way up into the sky. Even that companion would soon be leaving him, and Jaune found himself considering how long he should wait here. He could, even now, hear the heartbeat of the soldier standing just outside the door. He could, in fact, hear the heartbeats of every soldier in the building.
About half of the platoon was currently in residence. Pyrrha Nikos was not among them. After he'd been apprehended and brought back here, he'd been able to tell that the ones who brought him in then reported to the Lieutenant, making it clear from the fact that he was still tied up that she was in on the whole situation. He couldn't quite makeout what they were saying, unfortunately, but he at least knew she'd been informed of his position.
That she hadn't come to free him or even talk to him was a little worrying. Especially when she'd left the house soon after and disappeared further into the village. Jaune really didn't know what was going on… or exactly how much further he should put up with all of this. It was, after all, somewhat beneath him, wasn't it?
He hadn't resorted to attacking or killing the Mistralian soldiers who grabbed him in the first place, mostly because he wasn't about to infiltrate Mistral just to give up the disguise the mere moment that things started not to go his way. But at the same time, he wasn't about to let himself be persecuted for no damn reason when he hadn't even done anything wrong.
It really came down to his patience. Which was currently waning quite fast. As soon as that sun finished vanishing out of sight of the top of the window, Jaune thought he might just decide to get up and go for a walk. It wasn't like this flimsy rope they had him tied to the chair with could hold him if he didn't want it to. Maybe he'd seen enough. If this was how Mistral treated random strangers, then perhaps-
Jaune's head cocks to the side, his thoughts abruptly interrupted as the sound of a by-now familiar heartbeat reaches his enhanced ears. His lips thin out, as Lieutenant Pyrrha Nikos once more enters his range. He hums, even as she strides back into the villa. Perhaps now he would finally get some answers. He'd give her… ten minutes more to come and see him.
It takes her nine. She couldn't have any way of knowing she was on a clock, but even still, Jaune is counting down the seconds when the Lieutenant finally makes her way to the room he's being kept in. Stopping outside the door, she clears her throat. This close, Jaune can hear her through the wall.
"Private Lorelei. Has there been any change with the prisoner?"
"No ma'am…"
"… He hasn't asked for anything? Hasn't made any demands?"
"N-No… he's been eerily quiet, Lieutenant."
If his hands were free, Jaune might have face palmed at that. Hm, he probably SHOULD have made a demand or two by this point, shouldn't he have? Even if internally, he was getting more and more irritated and impatient, outward he'd expressed the patience of a saint. He should have demanded to speak to the Lieutenant at least, but because he'd known she wasn't on the premises, he hadn't. Whoops.
"… I see. Thank you, Private Lorelei. Maintain your post."
"Yes ma'am!"
The door opens a moment later, and Pyrrha Nikos steps in, closing it quietly behind her. The Mistralian Lieutenant freezes for just a moment when she finally looks at him, only to find him staring at her. But to her credit, she recovers quickly enough, fighting down the flush that threatens to give away her embarrassment and straightening her spine as she steps forward, hands clasped behind her back.
"Jaune Arc… do you know why you're here?"
Its in that moment that he thinks he begins to understand Lieutenant Nikos a bit more. As well as why he was left to rot here for the past few hours. It wasn't out of malice on Pyrrha's part… he can see that now. She was uncomfortable. Afraid, even. Certainly, she did not want to have this face to face conversation with him. And so, she'd left… gone to do something else. But now here she was all the same.
Heh, courage was not the absence of fear, it was doing what had to be done regardless of one's fear. Pyrrha Nikos, Jaune had a feeling, was plenty courageous. Still…
"Nope. Not a clue, Lieutenant."
He gives her his biggest, brightest grin, and is amused when the corners of her mouth almost start to turn up in response. The red head quickly catches herself though and clears her throat.
"… Just who are you, Jaune? Why did you come to Mistral?"
Oh? Was that what this was about? Ah… actually, it was beginning to make sense. The reactions he'd gotten the night before, the way Pyrrha's soldiers had acted towards him, especially when they found out he didn't know who she was… they thought he was an enemy spy, didn't they? And the funny thing was, they weren't entirely inaccurate. He might not be an enemy or a spy necessarily… but the difference between what he actually was and that wasn't really worth quibbling over.
Still, he tries to play it off, putting on a rueful smile and batting his eyes at the Lieutenant.
"Is this all because I didn't know who you were last night, Lieutenant Nikos? Not everyone has to be obsessed with the regional championships, do they?"
Her flinch lets him know that was precisely what this was about, but once again, she hardens up a moment later, managing to bring herself back under control and gaining a resolute look on her face as her hands curl into fists. In that moment, Jaune can't help but pity Pyrrha Nikos. It's so very clear to him that the Lieutenant is hopelessly in over her head, and yet still trying her absolute best.
"You're a ghost, Mr. Arc. And unless you start answering my questions, I'll have no choice but to assume you're a spy. I've asked around town about you, you know. No one can say where you've really come from. You just wandered in one day, a traveler with a backpack. You got a job at the general store, but even your employer doesn't know much about you or where you're from."
Jaune sits quietly, recognizing that Pyrrha has finally built up a full head of steam. He lets it run its course.
"The rest of the town doesn't know you any better than that. You keep to yourself. You avoid all social interactions. In fact, from what I've learned, your conversation with my platoon last night was the first time you initiated ANY sort of conversation since arriving in Shion."
… Hah, his decision to ignore Indi's advances really was coming back to bite him in the butt, wasn't it? At least he now knew what Pyrrha had been up to these last few hours. Rather than simply running away from her problems, she'd managed to find a reason to hold off interrogating him for a little while longer. Namely, by going out and asking the inhabitants of Shion about him instead.
Admittedly, Jaune supposed he couldn't expect them all to have his back when he'd barely given them any cause to. Indeed, the old man at the general store barely knew anything about Jaune, mostly because he hadn't asked many questions. He'd been in need of an assistant, and Jaune had proven he knew his numbers and could handle the store well enough during the trial period.
Meanwhile… okay, so maybe he should have put a little bit more effort into connecting with the villagers of Shion since arriving here. He was here to check out Mistral after all, but honestly, the inhabitants of Shion had seemed so… pedestrian. He'd been waiting for something exciting. For someone like Lieutenant Nikos to come along.
Of course, he couldn't very well say that, now, could he? Without the proper context of his true nature, which he wasn't really ready to give up, even telling a half-truth would definitely make him look like the spy that Pyrrha and her platoon clearly thought he was.
Stepping forward, Pyrrha's nostrils flare as she towers over him, her green eyes looking a little wild and manic.
"Are you with the bandits that have been terrorizing this area? Did they send you in ahead, to give you time to scout out the place? How many of them are there? When are they planning to attack?"
Wait, what? In the face of his admittedly stupefied silence, Pyrrha Nikos snarls, suddenly showing a side of her that he hadn't seen before. Jaune can only blink, as she lunges in and grabs him by the front of his shirt.
"P-Probably thought you were pretty smart, pulling the wool over the dumb, naïve Lieutenant's eyes. Well, it didn't work. I want answers Jaune Arc, if that is your real name!"
Jaune opens his mouth to speak, though he's not entirely sure what to say, when a sudden ringing bell and the sound of screaming from off in the distance filters through the room's open window. Both Pyrrha and he look to the side, blinking in confusion, before whipping their heads in the other direction as the door to the room suddenly springs open, revealing Private Lorelei, the door guard, and Private Alister from the night before. It's Alister, red-faced and out of breath, who speaks.
"L-Lieutenant! Bandits are attacking from the East! What are your orders?!"
From the sheer panic on the Privates' faces, Jaune immediately understands that neither of them knew to expect bandits. But from Pyrrha's words, it seemed the Lieutenant DID. Information only she was privy to, apparently. Information that had driven her mad with paranoia the more she learned about Jaune's strange mysterious origins this morning.
For a moment, Pyrrha stands frozen, her fists still balled up in his shirt. She looks from her soldiers to him, and Jaune just stares at her blankly, really not having any words at this point. He could have offered to help, but all things considered, he's confident she wouldn't have accepted it.
Indeed, before he can say anything, Pyrrha rears back her fist and slams it into his face with a clear intent to knock him out. Jaune takes the blow and moves with it, but lets himself go boneless in her grip, pretending that she got him, that she'd knocked him unconscious. The moment she's done, the Lieutenant steps away, releasing him and leaving him tied up in the chair.
"We need to get out there and protect the villagers! Gather the platoon! On me, Soldiers of Mistral!"
As they all rush out of the room and down the hall, Jaune waits a beat… but he doesn't even have to crack an eye open to know that not even Private Lorelei is remaining behind to watch him. That was the reason Pyrrha had tried to knock him out in the first place. If a bandit tribe really was attacking, they couldn't afford to have a single soldier on the bench.
As the thundering heartbeats of Lieutenant Nikos and her platoon form up and begin to filter out of the villa and towards the distance sounds of fighting and fearful screams, Jaune opens his eyes and looks to the window with a sigh. The sun has long risen past the upper bounds of the window at this point, leaving a beautiful blue sky and nothing else for him to stare at.
Really, it has all the makings of a very nice day. Just too bad that it seems everything that can go wrong is determined to do so. Jaune is left… uncertain of what exactly he should do next. Stay here? Maintain his cover and see where that got him? Or go out there and… do something? Fight? As himself? He refused to blow his TRUE cover quite so early… so perhaps he could fight as a Grimm? That might cause a panic, but it might be the right kind of panic. Or perhaps he should just fight as a human? Or just leave the situation behind entirely?
No options really sounded good, at this point. So in the end, he would just have to choose and hope he picked the least bad.
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