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25.24% Unbound Familiar / Chapter 180: Unrational

Bab 180: Unrational

"So... You kidnapped the Princess... Why...?" Ralf murmurs as he watches Michael lay the unconscious Princess down on the bed, the man palming his face at the sheer absurdity of their situation.

Michael shrugs, "She was asking for it... I told them what I wanted, they refused, tried to fight me, so I took something they couldn't do without."

"And you thought kidnapping the princess would make them more amenable to our needs?" Ralf asks, dumbfounded. "I suspect they will begin to employ far harsher tactics now that we've essentially committed war crimes..."

Michael shakes his head, "It's only a war crime if we kill her. I'd rather not do that if we can." he admits.

Ralf gestures at the burn scars around Henrietta's neck, "If it's all the same to you, maiming and torturing captives, especially Noble ones, is a war crime in Halkeginia"

Tiffania sits beside the princess with a sad expression, feeling as if Michael's actions were her fault. After all, it was her that needed the book, not anyone else. She uses a moist cloth to dab at the burn scars, occasionally using a herbal paste to cover them before finally wrapping it all with some cloth. "Did you need to use so much force, Michael? I understand we need the book, but, if we are going to hurt people then, maybe we should try something else? The Princess and Miss Valliere did nothing to deserve this, in fact, I think we owe Louise for summoning you to us in the first place..."

Michael shakes his head, "She kidnapped me from my home, it might have ended well for you two, but I'm still lost and without a way to get home. Not without the book at least. As for the Princess? Yeah, she probably doesn't deserve this, but she's standing in our way to freedom. So she's an enemy and should be treated as such." he explains, though, his reasoning falls a little flat to their ears, as if he himself wasn't sure of his actions.

Ralf lets out a sigh, "Be that as it may, we will need to relocate, it is only a matter of time until someone finds us. The only reason we haven't been discovered yet is because no one is searching for us... Now that you've kidnapped the princess though? We will need to be careful.

"Yeah, we'll move tomorrow. We'll have to leave a message for Charlotte when she comes back around with her mother though."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Louise stumbles into her room within the palace, her shoulders slumped and her hand still tightly gripping her wand. The kidnapping of the princess was a big shock, not just to her, but to everyone else in the know. It was being kept secret for now, but the very fact that Princess Henrietta had been kidnapped inside her own city while attended to by her trusted attendants was a big knock to many people's minds.

Indeed, some had even begun blaming Louise for the situation, while most people did not know just how involved she was, it was clear that her own insistence on meeting with Michael had caused all these problems in the first place.

Michael's words had truly hurt her, as she had indeed thought that he was seeking some kind of pardon in order to return to her. A familiar was supposed to be loyal towards their master to the core, yet, her own seemed ready to disobey and go against everything Louise said.

It wasn't all her fault however, as it was Henrietta who'd encouraged meeting him, the princess thought they could bring him to their side, and gain a powerful ally in the battles to come. Neither had thought Michael's reason for inviting them would be so malicious though.

Now she was presented with possibly the hardest choice of her life. Hand over Brimir's Prayer Book, the thing that allowed her to learn and utilise her Void Magic. Or let her familiar kill the Princess, Agnes was aware of the situation and likely wouldn't allow her to choose the latter option, not that Louise had even considered it, but it was still a heart-rending choice.

Her whole life she'd considered herself a failure of a mage, unable to cast even the simplest spells. Then, the Princess had taken her in and given her the Prayer Book, making her feel that she could finally be useful... And now, she had to give away the one thing that could improve her life and the life of everyone in Tristain... "How could I have been so stupid? I should have listened... I should have known that Michael was going to do something like that!"

Back in the Academy, he'd seemed so lost and unsure of himself. Yet he was like a completely different person when they spoke earlier. His smile didn't reach his eyes, he spoke as if he was talking through a filter, and he looked at her and the Princess like they were pawns in a chess game, not as people.

And then they refused to hand over the book, and it was like a dam had burst. It was just, wrong. Really wrong! So wrong that she thought they might've been tricked and were talking to someone else who looked like her lost familiar.

Honestly, despite the anger she was feeling towards him, she couldn't help but feel pity. What had happened to force him to change so much? And what was forcing him to go so far to obtain the Prayer Book... He was clearly reluctant at first to use violence, but once that switch had been flipped, he was all too natural threatening and fighting.

Louise shakes her head, regardless, her thoughts on her familiar were useless. He was an enemy of Tristain who'd kidnapped the Princess, any hope of pulling him to their side was now long gone.


PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA
Niggross Niggross

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Bab 181: Captive

One day later :

Princess Henrietta awakens with a start, a groan of pain wrenching itself free from her mouth as she lifts her head from the bed. Her hand rises to her neck where Michael's shackles had been, and she grimaces as she feels the moist bandage covering her burn wounds.

"You're awake." an older male voice remarks from behind her, causing the Princess to jolt and look in that d direction. It's only now that she finally surveys her surroundings though.

She had been laying on some fabrics that'd been set up inside a clearing within some forest. Though, judging by the fauna, she was still in her country... Hopefully. "Where am I?" she asks, turning towards the bearded man sitting on a nearby stump.

Ralf shrugs, "Somewhere. It matters little, just do as we say and you will be returned unharmed." he states, his tone bland and honestly rather bored.

Henrietta shakes her head and brushes her unkempt and messy hair out of her face, "You. I know you. You're Ralf Kaliker, wanted by Albion for treason..."

Ralf nods, "I am. And my honour is still intact, which is more than I can say for my impassive colleagues."

"How you can claim honour while being complicit in my kidnapping is preposterous. But I suppose reason and rationality never mattered to you or Michael." she bitterly utters.

Ralf's brows furrow at this, "And what would you know about honour, Princess? You were born into luxury with everything granted to you, There was not a single person in Tristain who did not adore you, and you were heir to the Kingdom as a whole... All you had to do was do your duty's... Yet, even for the safety of your people, you refused... Your letter to Prince Wales, the assassination of Teiter Gramont, even the induction of Louise Valliere to your cause, every ill that has struck Tristain can be directly linked to your selfishness... Someone like you has no right to judge my honour." he quickly retorts, anger seeping into his tone the more he illuminates Henrietta's faults.

Henrietta just shakes her head, what he had said was mostly true, aside from the death of Teiter Gramont. Not that anyone believed her of course. Her shoulders slump as she rests her forehead on her hand, wondering what she was going to do now. "So, how long am I to be held hostage?" she inquires.

Ralf shrugs, "Michael has gone to leave his message in the hands of a palace guard. If they obey our requests, you will be returned by tonight or tomorrow morning."

No one says anything after that, and a tense silence overtakes the clearing... Only for the entrance of Tiffania to draw the Princesses attention again. Her eyes instantly locking onto Tiffania's long, elven ears. "Hmm, I thought the rumours were false. That you willingly betrayed your country to enter the service of the Elves. Imagine what the church would think." she says, not even glancing at Ralf as she continues to scan Tiffania's form.

"Your indoctrinated hatred of her only proves how unworthy you are of your station... Or maybe, the people wished for a bigoted, foolish princess to lead them?" Ralf grouses as he stands and takes the bundle of sticks and kindling that Tiffania had been carrying. He lays them down with the rest in a pile and begins walking from the clearing, "I suppose it's my turn. Keep an eye on her, and don't let her talk her way out of this, Tiffania." he says as he leaves, more to get away from the annoying princess than anything else.

Ralf walks out, leaving Tiffania awkwardly standing in the clearing with Henrietta still staring at her. They're both silent for a moment before Henrietta finally decides to speak up, "So, why is it you have chosen to ally yourself with him, and Michael? I didn't think someone as kindly as you would accompany scum like them." she pointedly asks, as if she weren't the hostage in this situation.

Tiffania glances between where Ralf had left and the stump he'd been sitting, contemplating on whether or not she should just leave or stuff wax in her ears to avoid hearing the princess. With a sigh, she decides to sit down, and maybe try to converse with this person... From what Michael and Ralf had said about her, she didn't seem all 'that' bad. "Uhm... They saved me..."

"They saved you?" Henrietta asks uncomprehendingly.

Tiffania lets out a small smile and nods, "Both of them... I used to live in Albion, but I was discovered by the villagers. They kidnapped me, dragged me to Cendri, and burned me alive..." she rubs the now gemless ring on her finger, "If it wasn't for Michael using my mother's ring to bring me back, my burned remains would still be tied to that log..." her expression darkens as she turns a heavy gaze to Henrietta, "So I won't let you insult them! You know nothing about them apart from what our enemies would tell you. So be quiet and wait for your people to give us what we want, and we can part ways peacefully." she states, retrieving a book and starting to read it, implying that the conversation was over.

Henrietta is slightly stunned by Tiffania's retort to her words, unsure what she should even say... First of all, it was hard to believe that this elf had been burned to death, and brought back... It sounded like a miracle caused by Brimir himself, yet she said it with such confidence that she found it hard to dispute. Had this Ralf and Michael confounded her mind to believe such a thing? No, Henrietta had heard of Cendri, a small town in Albion that'd been burned to the ground by the False-Familiar, giving her tale some degree of validity.


PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA
Niggross Niggross

Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!

Also, thanks to my patrons for their support :

ShinAmazake

Kingsprovince

JayJonnaJamison

Jack Allen

Faruk Ereng

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