Why are you this excited, I suppose?" glancing towards the little orange-haired girl by her contractor's side, Beatrice huffed, "You do know that we are about to see Betty's contractor in a battle, I suppose?"
"Because I want to see how cool Subaru-kun is in that battle!" Petra exclaimed with a smile, balancing her legs in the excitement of the scene they would see.
"Petra-chan, you do know that Subaru might be in danger in there right?" confused on the little maid's behavior, Emilia reminded, "he might be in danger…Wounded, or even…"
"He won't die!" Sure of the meaning of her words, Petra replied immediately, cutting her mistress's words, "Subaru-kun will fight them all off! And he will save the people of this country!"
While her words reflected more the distress of a little girl blinded by the belief of her hero being all-powerful, few were those in the theatre who recognized these words to hold a legitimacy.
"I suppose you cannot help but root for your hero, petra-chan~" Giggling softly as she caressed the little girl's hair, Frederica whispered to her ear.
"Well…This is…I mean…" The little maid uttered, her voice becoming smaller and smaller as she tried to justify herself.
"Aaaah, Natsuki-san should really learn to calm down a bit…" seeing the sight of the oblivious little girl, coupled with the several powerful women in this room, Otto couldn't help but hold a hand to his face in worry for his friend, "He isn't going to get out of this one easily, that's for sure…"
"Well, it can't be as hard as what he already went through." Garfiel shrugged, proud of his captain's success.
"Oh…I do wonder about that." Reinhard chuckled, earning a worried glare from the green merchant.
"Please do not jinx it, Reinhard-sama!" He exclaimed, "If even the Sword Saint believes so, I'm afraid we will not have a choice but to lock up Natsuki-san away to protect him!"
"No need to, in fact!" Beatrice immediately shot back, "Betty will be here to protect her contractor, I suppose! These girls can still try if they want to do anything to him!"
"Hear that Brotto?! Just avoid getting on the great spirit's nerves!" Garfiel laughed from his seat, patiently waiting for the next viewing.
"You're no different from this little one though, Garfiel," from the side, his big sister called as she held Petra in her arms, with the look of a teasing older sister in her eyes, "look at you, all excited."
"Ah! Ya think I'd be scared to say it?!" He exclaimed back with a wide smile, "capn' was so cool sis! There's no way in hell I don't want to see more of that!"
A bit surprised by the tiger boy's sudden reaction, Otto and Reinhard looked at each other for a moment before laughing at their blond friend standing tall to proclaim his admiration.
"Well, at least he's honest with himself." Julius sighed from his seat, smiling at this sight with his arms crossed.
However, there was something on the greatest knight's mind that made him tap his arm with his finger in anxiety, eyes towards the screen.
"Why is it taking so much time?" He thought out loud in a low voice, "where did the warden go?"
"Bah, a break ain't that bad is it?" Ricardo chuckled from the side, "Gotta rest our eyes too ya know?"
"While I might agree with you on that, usually he comes back at the end of each viewing to inform us of what is coming," the purple-haired knight explained with a hand under his chin, "I am worried that something might have happened."
"Ya're worried? About that guy?"
"He's still our host…" Julius sighed, "and the one who brought us here. I would also remind you that he somehow always feels like he is in a hurry, or…In a fight of some sort."
"Well…" Ricardo trying to muffle his yawn, looking back to the screen as well, "that's true, I give ya that…"
With this bad feeling in mind, Julius's eyes slowly went down to meet with the back of a black-haired boy he knew way too well, and with that, his screen counterpart appeared back in his mind, making him grimace for some reason.
For the few viewings they saw, Subaru Natsuki was seen to be completely different from the one they had by their side. The feeling was even more strange for those who lived with him on a daily basis and thought they knew everything about him.
It didn't help that the lady he made an oath to serve as a knight knew so little about this, and even grew to fear what she saw.
The lady in question, still couldn't believe herself to feel this way towards her knight. It would be a blatant and foolish lie to say that at this point she didn't have an idea of what love was. The feeling of warmth towards another, the feeling of need, attention, care, happiness…It took a while, but she finally came to understand how much she cherished her knight and that what she felt towards him was nothing else but love.
The same feelings Subaru claimed to have towards her since the beginning.
But now, there was another fear that dwelled in the mind of the silver-haired princess, the fear of time.
She felt like she was too late. She felt like she would come to miss what she was seeking without even knowing it.
There were so many questions, so many doubts that formed a confusing and unbearable maelstrom in her at the moment, about her knight, about Subaru Natsuki.
Would he accept her love once he is awake…? Would she even be able to look at him in the eyes without the fear of facing the one she thought she knew?
This was also something that didn't leave her until now. The same thing that made her lose her precious place near her knight…The fact that she couldn't see him in the same way that she did before.
Subaru…Was scary.
Emilia knew it, felt it. The one she knew, cherished, and loved was NOT the same Natsuki Subaru she was seeing on this screen.
He was not the same…
He had to be another one.
But even when she thought this. Even when she knew this, persuaded from the bottom of her heart…
She just couldn't accept it. Her mind couldn't, her body couldn't.
Her hands shook when she approached him, the memories of a merciless killer bearing the face of her knight appeared every time she closed her eyes.
Because she knew her beliefs were all a lie. An illusion, an image she was desperately trying to hold so that this Subaru wouldn't erase what her wonderful black-haired knight was in her mind.
In silence, she begged for the great warden of this room to come and tell her that it was all different. As much as she grew to despise him, she still held that hope…But he remained silent.
He was yet to give the reason why he was showing everyone these viewings. And this was another thing that bugged the silver-haired half-elf enough to peel the skin of the chair handles in anxiety.
One reason was that she missed the feeling of holding something or doing something with her hands…And the other was because she held on to the memory of how the Warden would come every time someone damaged his theatre.
While she managed to do so discretely enough in the middle of the rather loud chatting of everyone around her, eager to see the next viewing, there was one, or rather two, ladies seated near her for which her doings didn't go unnoticed.
For one of them, her reaction was nothing but a saddened wince on her face, as if she felt hurt by seeing the half-elven princess in that state. She seemed afraid, in pain…Her expression seemed to have grown darker as her eyes lacked the brightness of her usual character.
But truth was that Crusch Karsten was one of the few in this room who knew very well why Emilia held such a face and knew how she couldn't blame her.
While she still got interested by the viewings and managed to hold a better, stronger stand than her elven rival about them, Crusch too, would have rather avoided ever set her eyes on them.
She understood by now what kind of feelings she held for the self-proclaimed knight, and she also knew that she held these for a long time now. Perhaps, since the day her heartstrings felt a pull after seeing that weak boy fight so much for a battle that wasn't his, to begin with.
In a way, she knew she had to thank the warden and this theatre. She knew she had to be grateful to that distasteful entity who brought them all here against their will because it helped her to realize something that she truly couldn't bear to keep away by now.
She loved Natsuki Subaru. Not as a person, not as a friend, not as an ally. She saw him as a woman would, and she loved him as a man.
And along with all the feelings that would come with love, the will to care and protect another took place within her heart.
So…She felt pain. She felt so much pain…
To see him bleed, to see him cry, to see him yell, to see him kill, to see him angered, beaten, heartless, merciless…
Just like Emilia, she knew this was not the one she grew to love, yet was the same as the one she could feel with her gloved hand just by extending it a few centimeters.
And just like Emilia…She was hurt.
But when her rival was confused over the next step she had to make, over the decisions she had to take…Crusch was already determined on what to do.
No matter what, she would protect him. Help him. Let him know that he was not alone, that he could rely on her, not as people in one alliance but as friends and even more.
Of course, she wouldn't stand in the way of the silver-haired princess would she ever wish to do the same, but her decision would remain unchanged.
However, while the verdant-haired Duchess of the Karsten house decided to simply give her support wishes, the second witness of the half-elf's sadness, couldn't simply stay put.
"You have to stop, big sis!" She said as she punched her arm, earning a yelp of surprise from the half-elf, "What's with that gloomy face?!"
"Felt-chan…" Emilia whispered with wide eyes, still a bit surprised by the hit she took.
"You can't just continue like this,!" Felt pleaded, her eyes staring right into the blue irises of the half-elf, "You can't just keep being afraid of big bro!"
Both Crusch and Emilia, along with perhaps several others who heard the little thief around them, suddenly choked on their breath when she revealed the truth.
"You can't help but to feel like this is not big bro, I get it…" Clenching her fists, Felt looked back to the black mop of hair in front of her," But this ain't the way to deal with this…! What are you going to do when he wakes up?! Are you just going to avoid him and hurt him even more over something he has maybe no idea of?!"
"This is not what I wish…" Emilia replied as she looked away, trying to hide the tears forming in her eyes, "But this is just…Too much…This Subaru is so different…I know that there is a reason behind him looking just like mine, and bearing the same name as mine…But even then…"
"So you're just holding onto the feeling that he's different…?" Felt uttered with shocked eyes, her teeth gritted, "And what if that ain't the case?! What if he's really our Subaru?!"
"…"
"Big sis…"
"I-"
Her eyes and her expression were enough for Felt to understand.
"Big sis!" Felt exclaimed in outrage, gaining the attention of everyone in the room this time.
"How loud, and utterly annoying you two are for mine ears," The crimson princess growled, yet in a delicate voice, characteristic of her, "While I suppose this is a habit of you to bark as loud as a dog instead of speaking like a proper person, wisdom would advise you to retort to your lowly habits away from mineself.'
"Don't even start, shitty bitch!" Felt immediately replied, kicking the chair in front of Emilia where the crimson princess was seated.
"You…"
"Me?! Me what?! You wanna go at it?!" Felt yelled back once more, making several people in the room ready to intervene, starting by the most obvious of all.
"Felt-sama! Please-"
"Shut the hell up!" turning to her knight, Felt continued to yell her words, "You ain't here to stop me but to back me up! Do you want to know what you can do Rein?! Just help me kicking the shit out of her!"
"Ah for fuck's sake!" Up above, Aldebaran stood up while cursing under his breath, rushing down to his princess's side…
"Felt-chan! Stop that!" Emilia tried to restrain her, holding her hands before the little girl, "you are not doing anything that will better the situation!"
"Oh you're the one saying this?!" outraged by the remark from the elven princess, Felt shot back at her, "I can't believe you…!"
"Oi oi! Princess' right! We can't just start a fight 'ere between us blondie!" Garfiel stood up as well to intervene, "I get that you wanna kick that bimbo bitch's mouth but this ain't going to do us any good!"
"How unruly…" Priscilla shook her head, strangely not feeling angered at all by the insults casually thrown at her, "to think that mineself would have to deal with so many backward people at the same time…Perhaps I need a pause too."
"You're not mad, princess?" Honestly surprised, Aldebaran questioned under his helmet, "well not that I mind but…Ya know, this kind of stuff usually just makes you burn everything."
"Have you already forgotten that the keeper of this place stripped mineself from such a possibility?" sighing in disappointment to her jester's useless memory, Priscilla looked back to the black screen with a seemingly tired gaze, "Mh...I suppose this is more true than I am willing to admit."
"Oh, you're sleepy, princess?"
Ignoring this last, useless comment, Priscilla turned back to the people arguing before her that were just about to declare a pseudo war against her person and camp.
While she was thinking of her own situation, Otto, Julius and Felix joined the large arguing around Felt and Emilia, trying to defuse the situation as much as they could before something bad would happen.
"Felt-sama! Think about Natsuki-san, do you really believe that he would be glad to know about such behavior from you during his sleep here?" The minister of interior affairs pleaded, alarmed by the situation, "please, let us just think about this! Violence never leads anywhere!"
"Reinhard!" Julius called from the side, "Can you not see that your mistress is causing trouble? As a knight, your duty is also to-"
"I know what my duty is, Julius. Thank you for the reminder, but I will certainly manage by myself." Using for one of the rarest times in his life a tone that sounded bitter and displeased, Reinhard cut the words of his friend without any second thought, "you should mind more about your lady for whatever outcome this situation might have."
His eyes still staring at how the uncaring red-haired knight who already discarded Julius out of his sight, Julius slowly clenched his fists as anger rose within him.
"Nya, you two need to calm down! We are all trying to stop Felt-sama and Emilia-sama to cause an inside fight, we certainly don't need another round!" Felix lamented with a sigh of disappointment.
Reinhard and Julius simply clicked their tongues in resent.
"You're all damn annoying!" Pointing her finger towards Emilia, she continued, "first you act like such an ungrateful cunt towards big bro!" then she moved her finger towards Priscilla, "then this one just purposely gets on everyone's nerves even though she knows how tense is the situation!"
"F-Felt?," Emilia stuttered, for the word used to describe her, and for what she revealed.
"Emilia-sama…?" Not far away from her, a blue-haired maid questioned, "What does this mean?"
"Rem-chan…" Emilia uttered, glancing to her side where Subaru was in worry, feeling the pressure rising slowly," It's not….It's just that…"
"Emilia-sama seems to be in trouble, Roswaal-sama…" Ram said in a low voice to her master, who simply shook his head as an answer.
"We shaaaaaaaaall not do anything about iiiiiit," He replied, "this is their issue and theeeeeeir issue alone."
Quickly picking up on what the Margrave meant, Ram closed her eyes and nodded in understatement to him, her eyes still reflecting the worry she felt over the elven princess.
While some were shocked by the tone and words that the blonde candidate used against the elven princess, others who still didn't understand what was on Emilia's mind narrowed their eyes towards her in suspicion, following Felt's gestures between Emilia, and Priscilla.
"While this remains confusing, I must admit that Felt-sama holds a form of truth in her words," Silent until now, Wilhelm decided to speak, " I believe that Felt-sama, Emilia-sama, and Priscilla-sama are not the only ones in this room whom the behavior was affected."
Every eye turned towards the old and wise man who stood up from his chair and held a hand to his forehead.
"It has been now the third viewings we saw without any interruption aside from the few hours rest we had," he explained, crossing his arms with his eyes turned to the screen, "some of us did not even sleep during that time. It is understandable that it would influence our judgment and minds."
Suddenly, everyone remembered that they indeed felt very weak and tired. The viewings they saw were long, they were long…And heavy, tiring.
The sheer storm of emotions they felt at every last one of them greatly exhausted their body and soul, but truth was that even if it was strange, out of this world, or scary…Most of them still wished to know more and to see more about these viewings, at least until the end of this story.
"We might have simply not realized it because of how focused we were on these viewings…"The Duchess mused out loud, feeling the weight of her own head now that she remembered how tired she might be, "I had nothing but images of what we saw previously in mind for now…"
"So guess it would be time for all of us to take a break?" Ricardo wondered as he scratched the back of his neck, "I wouldn't be against it. These little ones can't even stand up."
"I…Can totally keep goin'…" Mimi whispered as she leaned into Ricardo's chest, unable to stand up on her own.
Tivey was already asleep.
Ricardo only sighed as he shook his head, patting the twin's head delicately for them to feel comfortable.
"Mh…Well, I believe y'are right about this," Anastasia wondered, caressing her scarf gently, "it seems like our host is missing though…I don't think we can really go away without telling this fella, can we?"
"If worse come to it, he'll just realize it and understand, won't he? Ain't the first time we sleep here after some viewings." Aldebaran replied, not against the idea of taking a longer nap than before.
The voice of a rather eager Aldebaran didn't go unnoticed for some. It was clear that the helmeted jester was more than glad to have everyone go back into their rooms and rest rather than make an all-out war in this theatre…And this same feeling was shared by a lot of other people here as well.
"Beatrice-sama…?" A weak voice called from the side, trying to not get the attention of anyone as she called the great spirit of the library, "Won't you do anything about this?"
Turning towards the source of the voice calling for her, Beatrice looked at Petra with a neutral gaze, before leaning in her contractor's chest, seemingly disinterested.
"And why should I do anything, in fact? As long as Betty's Subaru is not upon harm, I shall not willingly immerse with the quarrels of immature children yelling at each other over nothing that holds relevance, in fact."
"But…They are arguing because of Subaru…" Not afraid to speak her mind about what she understood, Petra retorqued in worry to the spirit.
"Not because of my Subaru, in fact," she corrected the little maid, "they are quarreling because they cannot see what obviously matters and uses my Subaru because they need a legitimate reason to fight."
Taking the hand of her contractor in hers as she closed her eyes, the great spirit continued.
"Betty's Subaru is right here, I suppose," she softly whispered, "He is here and he is alive. His heart beats right next to my ear, and what I am seeing in this viewing will not change that. Surely, I have my own questions. But I believe they will be answered in due time, in fact."
As she opened her eyes, she smiled warmly at the amazed little maid.
"And even if I don't have any answers, it doesn't matter, I suppose, "she continued, "as long as Betty's Subaru stays by her side…This is all I ask for, in fact."
"I guess you are right…Beatrice-sama!" Somehow reassured by her words, Petra sighed in relief as she decided to sit back near her mentor, and simply decided that she wouldn't take part in this for now as she took the advice of Beatrice.
"So…What, should we vote?" Still standing in front of everyone near his princess, Aldebaran asked everyone, "who thinks we should wait for the warden, and who thinks we should just go rest-"
And as Aldebaran was busy applying the basics of democracy and allowing everyone to have a right to speak their minds, the crimson princess walked past him and went towards her room, having seemingly already taken her decision.
"Eh, you're trying to act all high because you don't care?" Felt shook her head with a condescending tone, "Well, don't come and complain if we decide to stay and that the viewing starts without you!"
Hearing this much made the princess stop in her tracks, standing where she was for a few seconds before slowly turning around, and going back to the rows of the theatre.
Preparing himself for the worst, Reinhard was already set to dash forward and intervene to protect his lady if needed, as Felt narrowed her eyes in threatening ways to show how fearless she was.
"Stop right there, in fact." Tired of this farce, Beatrice decided to stand up from her seat, and walked in front of Priscilla, "I shall not allow you to start a fight around Betty's contractor. If you wish to do anything, do it elsewhere."
Looking down at the spirit from her height with her face hidden behind her fan, her ruby irises most prominent in this semi-dark room, Priscilla snorted to the little spirit's warning as she walked past her, completely ignoring the blonde candidate, to walk towards someone else.
And then, before the eyes of all to see, Priscilla grabbed the black-haired boy by his waist like one would carry a child, and put him on her shoulder.
Everyone immediately widened their eyes in shock, as others stood confused about what the crimson princess was doing until she spoke out herself.
"Mineself feels tired and decided to take some rest," she said in a bright voice, "and I shall take the commoner with me."
"What?!" Both Emilia and Rem exclaimed with a threatening glare.
"Have you lost your mind?!" Crusch growled in fury.
"Like hell, you'd do that! Put Big bro down, now!"
"And what will you do? Attack me? While I hold him in mine arms?" She questioned.
"You would dare to use Betty's contractor as a shield, in fact?!" Beatrice yelled in sheer wrath.
"No. It would already be deemed a miracle if any of you, aside from the failed hero would manage to lay a single hand on mineself for more than a second. But even then, the boy shall never be harmed in my presence." Priscilla calmly explained, sure of the words she spoke.
Several people in the room looked at the fiery queen like they would look at a madman. The same eyes that would be directed towards someone who just made a declaration of war to the most powerful personalities that existed within the kingdom.
While some of the people didn't quite understand well the meaning behind the crimson princess's actions now, others had quite a several ideas in mind.
To anger the other camp members and candidates that held the boy dear, to be sure that she could get her rest without caring for the viewings continuing without her since she would be holding the key of the reason they were here in this theatre, or maybe because she herself began to develop some sort of affection towards the black-haired knight, as strange as it might be for her.
But the main point of this entire situation…Was most certainly all the angry women, and camp members of the Margrave ready to jump at the Baroness's throat.
"Put him down," with a cold and threatening voice, the silver-haired princess ordered, her ice magic-making forcing her entourage to step away from her, "put down my knight immediately, Priscilla."
"No." She answered in a straightforward way, her eyes showing her boredom over the pitiful threatening act her royal rival tried to pull.
"I SAID PUT HIM DOWN!" She yelled, bashing forward her seat towards the princess.
"Emilia-sama!" Reinhard tried to intervene.
"Fucking hell!" Aldebaran cursed again, putting himself in front of Priscilla.
Priscilla stood unmoving as if she was waiting for the last second to act upon this…Until Emilia found herself frozen, her hand at a few centimeters from Priscilla's nose, who still looked incredibly uncaring.
"Well, that was damn close. Really scared of nothing aren't you, Priscilla-sama?"
"Why should mineself be afraid of something that holds so little relevance?" Priscilla sighed, turning back to the screen, "however, you have some explaining to do."
"No, I don't. And don't feel any will to do so, for now, you're still in a place that I own just like everyone else."
Priscilla only responded by narrowing her eyes dangerously, even though she knew she couldn't do anything against this entity, her pride still gave her some sort of an urge to remind it of its place.
"Anyways, what's supposed to be the issue here?"
"Are you blind or somethin'?" Garfiel yelled in anger, "can't ya see what the bimbo's tryin' to do with capn' on her shoulder?!"
"She's trying to take my knight with her!'" Emilia yelled as she clenched her fists, "Why should I allow that to happen?!"
"I have to say this is quite an unexpected sight, care to explain what you're about to do with the sage candidate here, crimson countess?"
Several members of the theatre widened their eyes, remembering how the wolf called Subaru "sage" in the previous viewings, and how the Warden seemed to refer to him as something similar.
"Mineself decided to have some rest, and I shall take the boy with me." She answered out loud without any shame.
"Uh uh."
"We all are rather tired right now, these viewings were a heavy thing to take for a lot of us," Otto stepped forth, holding his hat in his hands, "but then Priscilla-sama…Well, you know."
"So, you all think you need a break? Okay, sure. We can pause the viewings for a night so you all can sleep…It would even suit me best."
"H-hum…Yes…But about Natsuki-san-"
"Well, I guess it's a good thing that he is laid down on a bed for once?"
"WHAT?!"
"You can't just allow this!"
"Are you making a fool out of us?!"
Emilia, Rem, and Crusch all yelled one after the other, not hiding their wrath towards the warden.
"This is bad nya…" Felix whispered in fear as he stared at his mistress gritting her teeth.
"You people are making such a big deal over nothing…" Anastasia sighed as she stood up from her seat, preparing herself to join her quarters.
"What? Did I ever tell you that Subaru had to stay inside the theatre? Ladies, as long as he is not hurt, things are fine to me."
"But….She….-"
"She what? Do you think it should be you instead of her, Emilia-sama? Are you sure about that?"
"Gkh...!"
The words of the Warden reminding her of her sin, Emilia simply looked away from the screen in anger and sadness, as she couldn't stop the tears running down her cheeks because of how powerless she was.
"Thought so."
"Even then, the general opinion should be taken into account. You are here to make us see the viewings of Natsuki Subaru, and we are not bound to obey you," trying to hide her anger, the Duchess spoke, "you have a duty to remain things fair and diplomatic for all of us. Or this becomes favoritism, and you uselessly make yourself enemies."
"Is this supposed to be a threat, miss Karsten?"
"I observe, dear Warden." She narrowed her eyes with an assured voice, "I only observe."
"Hm. Fine, I guess that you hold a point."
"How annoying," Priscilla shook her head, "you believe that this little stand-off will make you go against my wishes, Karsten?"
"I believe that I am already going against your wishes, Barielle," Crusch replied as she went down the stairs to stand in front of her, face to face, "now I will simply make sure these wishes of yours are crushed before your eyes."
"Oh? And how do you plan that I wonder?" The baroness smiled, eager to see what this wretch would try against her.
"Yeah, we are not starting a battle royale in here. I don't have the time either the energy for that. So just deal with that in the old way."
"Are you all really about to fight just so you can have the boy with you for a night? Am I the only one who thinks of this as ridiculous?!" Al exclaimed as he shook his head, "what is bro supposed to be right now? A stuffed bear?"
"That's true! You can't just do as you please with him without his accord! And if Subaru-kun ever wanted to be with someone, it would certainly be Emilia-sama, to begin with!" Petra intervened for everyone to hear, glaring at the crimson princess holding her hero.
"She is right, Priscilla-sama," Frederica continued to pat the head of the little girl, "you cannot claim that you act for the best of Subaru-sama's interest if you do not even take his wishes into account."
"Mineself is going in his interest as long as I keep him away from unfaithful wretches," without even looking towards the maid, Priscilla replied for all to hear, "mine decision is already taken. And it shall be fulfilled."
"Bullshit!" Felt exclaimed back.
"Subaru-kun would never want to be with you to begin with! After what you've done to him, you really don't have any shame!" Rem growled to the princess, uncaring of her status.
"How bold of you to talk about one's past actions towards the boy. Perhaps I should remind your little mind about the hours of merciless torture you inflicted upon his body and soul?"
"Priscilla-sama. I would advise you to not bring back these unnecessary memories to my little sister." It was now the maid's older sister to take place, warning the baroness in a clear threatening tone over what she was about to do.
"Unnecessary? While it is the very reason the boy's psyche was broken?" before the absurdity of these claims, the crimson princess couldn't help but laugh, "This camp is really nothing but pathetic."
"We already know about all of this. And it doesn't matter." Ram replied, holding her stare towards her, "it doesn't matter because Barusu already forgave us since he stayed by our side. And it doesn't matter because we will repay him. For everything we did, and so much more."
"Good intentions and promises are always easy to be told, a loyalty is always easy to be pronounced, maid." Priscilla snorted, "Would it be not so much easier if your actions would prove your words?"
"Ya're goin' too far now!" Garfiel shouted from his seat, "Ya just wanna have the entire theatre on your ass! Be a bitch as much as ya want but leave capn' alone!"
"Priscilla-sama." With a strong and serious voice echoing in the theatre, the Sword Saint was now the one to stand up, "You have done enough. With all due respect, I will demand you to put Subaru down to his camp members."
"And what will you do, knight?" Priscilla raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
"If you refuse to comply…I shall take the matters into my own hands. As you said yourself, I am perhaps the only one here that would manage to force your hand. While I believe you are overestimating myself, I will surely try to do so."
Priscilla kept her gaze to him for a moment, before her eyes moved to have a greater overview of the theatre. All were tired, confused, and angry towards her for her actions. It was true that between all of the people here, she was perhaps the one Subaru Natsuki appreciated the less. But it didn't change anything about the plans that she had once she would be out of this place.
"I believe you know what to do now for the better, Barielle," Crusch spoke, "put Subaru Natsuki down. We shall all go back to our rooms, and he will stay here, as usual-"
"GOD DAMN IT!"
All eyes of the theatre suddenly turned towards the screaming voice coming from the screen.
"What is this?!" Julius stood up, much like the other combatants in the room because of the sudden scream.
"It was the warden…?" Emilia whispered.
"What's happnin' with him?!"
"He…Seemed in pain?" Otto pondered.
"Urgh, you guys always have to piss me off taking an eternity for a decision! Nearly got me killed!"
"What is happening to you?! Are you attacked?!" Petra exclaimed in worry, hugging her older maid.
"Damn right I'm attacked…And these guys aren't doing it easy! F-Fuck I'm losing control…!"
"Control…? Control over what…?" Reinhard questioned, having a bad feeling over what was about to happen.
"It seems concerning…And dangerous." Anastasia caressed her scarf in worry.
"What should we do?" Frederica thought out loud, getting ready for any battle to come.
"I'm losing control over the theatre, and Subaru…You all need to get out of here, now. I don't have time to explain."
"What is happening?! Tell us! What is it about Subaru-kun?!" Rem yelled in fury.
"We deserve answers, warden!" The Duchess shouted.
"To hell with you all…I already explained to you that Subaru needed to stay asleep so that powerful entities wouldn't try to get into his mind! This theatre is not situated in a normal plan of existence, you are not anywhere between the 4 corners of your waterfall-border world!"
"How could this be…" Roswaal uttered, not remembering anything akin to that to be a possiblity.
"Are you trying to say…That we are in another world…?" Quick to understand, Felix was the one who questioned the Warden with a shocked voice.
"That is impossible, in fact…!" Beatrice uttered in shock, "this is nonsense, I suppose!"
"We are…Not in our world?" Felt thought out loud, without knowing if the idea fascinated her or scared her.
"Good job Sherlock! Agh-! Fucking hell! No-"
"AAAAAAAARGH!"
All eyes suddenly turned towards the boy still in the arms of the crimson princess who began to scream in agony, with such strength in his voice that everyone around could feel their own lungs hurt by the simple thought of doing something similar.
His voice send a shiver down the spine of everyone, as a large feeling of panic began to take over every single soul here, especially the ones of the half-elf camp.
His continuous screaming of a pain they were not aware of, made their heartbeat so fast in fear they could explode at any moment, their bodies trembling over their confusion and inability to help the boy.
Her worry clearly apparent, the crimson princess immediately put the screaming boy down, holding a hand to his face as he kept breaking his vocal cords, again and again, piercing the ears of the people around who all rushed to his side.
"Healer!" Priscilla shouted in anger, "come here immediately!"
Even if the tone taken by the baroness seemed to not be to his liking, Felix quickly ignored it as he rushed to Subaru, trying to apply his magic to and know what was hurting him.
"What is happening?! Why is he screaming?!" Emilia began to cry, "Subaru! Subaru, what is happening?! S-Subaru!"
"Move if you cannot help him, I suppose!" Beatrice shouted, going to Subaru's other side with her healing hands "I am here, Subaru…Betty is here, I suppose!"
But all their efforts seemed to be in vain, as Subaru continued to yell his lungs out in pain, breathing heavily between each scream, his face contorting in anger as he couldn't even open his eyes. No one was able to know if he was even conscious right now, all they could hear was his screams of agony…Which were unbearable.
"Do something, Ferris, please!" the Duchess pleaded as she put a hand on the healer's shoulder, tears in her eyes, "help him…!"
"I'm trying…! I'm trying Crusch-sama…B-but…"
"Even Felix's magic isn't working…" Julius mused in a low voice, his hands trembling "this is not an usual pain he is feeling."
"What is happening to him?!" Felt yelled to the screen, "Hey do something! He's dying!"
"S-Subaru…" Reinhard uttered with a broken expression, seeing his friend in agony, hearing his helpless screams while he couldn't do anything…He was powerless once more to his misery.
"Why?! Why is it not working, I suppose…!" Beatrice shouted in tears, "Please, Subaru!"
"This is all useless you damned fools! This is not a pain that can be healed with any of your magic!"
"What is happening to Subaru-kun?!" Rem cried out loud, "Do something!"
"You best not leave him in this state!" Ram yelled, outraged.
"What the hell do you think I'm trying to do right now uh?! But it won't do like that, he needs to get out of here, and you too before it reaches you!"
"Reaches us…?" Wilhelm wondered with wariness, "Do you mean this pain could reach us?"
"What should we do?! He's not stopping…! S-Subaru-kun…" Petra began to cry in Frederica's dress, clenched the white apron so hard it could nearly be ripped off.
"It could! Now get the hell out!"
"How?!" Ricardo yelled back in fury, "ya're the one who locked us here!"
"This theatre is in another plan of existence, just like all the other rooms here! They are trying to reach the theatre by using Subaru! So get to your fucking rooms!"
And with one final shout, the Warden exercised his unknown power once more, as he opened the doors of each one of the rooms present in the theatre, and send flying each one of the members present inside in a heartbeat.
All of them were brought in the rooms as if a hook attached to their backs linked them to it, and when they all opened their eyes…All they could see was their beds, furniture…And closed doors.
"Tch…" rubbing the back of her head, Priscilla heaved a displeased sigh as she slowly stood up…To find that she was not alone in the room she was projected into.
"Was it not to be expected?" She smiled as she looked at the black-haired boy lying next to her, "It seems that even another plan of existence bends to my will, as it should be."
Needless to say that Priscilla was really pleased by how this turned out. While she knew that the others should be panicking wondering where the black-haired knight was, it held little matter to her as she had what she wanted.
"Now, shall we rest?" carrying the boy onto her bed, Priscilla suddenly noticed how he still was grimacing in pain, his body and hands convulsing because of an unknown pain.
"What kind of suffering is being inflicted upon you?" She whispered, slowly caressing the boy's hair, "You seem to be in a constant nightmare."
However, as she felt her own eyes shutting down, the orange-haired lady knew it was time for her to rest as well.
She first began to take the boy's jacket and shoes off, before leveling him up to the pillow of the bed, trying to put him into a position of comfort, when she was done, Priscilla nodded in satisfaction as she leaned away to deal with her own clothing, before she felt her hand getting suddenly grabbed.
Turning around, she saw the black-haired boy's face soothing at the contact of her warmth, not letting go of the crimson lady's hand as if it was his only way of relief, like an instinct.
"Mh, I see." She muttered, gently going away from his grasp.
Bringing her hands behind her back, she began to unbutton her dress, slowly bringing it down her knees, revealing her beautiful body generously shaped for a woman of her age.
When she took her regal dress off, all that remained as clothes on her white skin were her black underwear and stockings, a sight beautiful enough to drive any man mad.
It was already known that Priscilla Barielle was the pinnacle of beauty for a woman, but the sight that none was able to see at the moment strongly enforced this fact.
While the Warden was somehow kind enough to provide nightrobes and clothes for every single room, it remained useless for the sun princess, who always had a habit of sleeping with little clothing on her for comfort purposes when she could, and this time she felt like it would be for the better.
Without a swift movement of her hand, she took her large, flower-shaped hairpin and hair bun off her hair, making them fall down her back, before running her hands through her long hair reaching her behind.
Finally, she took off her shoes and stockings, leaving her with nothing but her underwear.
"Now, let us not lose any more time. Who knows when these few moments of intimacy will end," Lifting up the blanket to take place near the black-haired knight, Priscilla whispered as she brought him closer in her embrace, "there, it shall be enough to soothe your pain, right?"
And as an answer, Subaru slowly began to calm his breathing and convulsions, unconsciously leaning closer into the ginger-haired woman's arms, as she gently caressed his hair, feeling his warmth, and his body gradually relax.
"Mh…Good," she uttered, satisfied of the result.
"Who would have thought that I would find myself in the same bed as a useless commoner such as you one day?" She sighed, playing with the boy's hair with her fingers, "but this issue, along with all of your many flaws, I shall take care of them."
Subaru began to move his hands around the back of the princess as if his unconscious self was trying to bring the warmth he felt closer to him.
Priscilla didn't feel the need to contest it.
"What a greedy man you are, half-wit's knight…" She giggled," mineself shall remind you of this very moment when you will be awake…Be grateful."
Slowly, she felt as if this warmth, this feeling, of having another one near her was bringing her enough comfort to drift her mind away as well.
"Today…Is an exception…" She whispered, "I shall allow you to indulge in mine embrace…"
"Gn…"
The sudden whisper coming from the boy's mouth managed to bring the orange-haired princess's consciousness back for a few minutes, looking at him with bewilderment, not knowing if she wished for him to awaken or not.
But Subaru remained with his eyes closed, any forms of suffering finally disappearing from the princess's sight.
"This was-"
While she was about to voice her thoughts, the princess was suddenly interrupted by the feeling of something touching, or rather grabbing her rear, immediately coming to realize what it was.
She quickly took a look under their blanket to see that one of the boy's hands was around her waist, while the other…Was situated a bit beyond that point.
Surely this would have been enough for the sun princess to set any unfortunate one in a great fire…But somehow, she didn't feel like it was much of an issue, as she just stared at the sleeping face of the boy with a softer expression than she would usually have.
"It seems like I changed too…Did I not?" She wondered to herself as she caressed the back of Subaru's head, "many would be those who would have been burned down to crisp for attempting something like you did…And you should not be an exception."
Since the beginning of this event she was forced to assist, the baroness was keener to believe that nothing here would change her perception of things, her vision of the world, and of the people around her.
When she discovered the secret of the self-proclaimed knight, she felt nothing but disgust over him. Someone with such a disgusting power, using it for such disgusting means. There was nothing right about this boy she held in her arms at the moment, truth was that in normal circumstances, she would have rather done the necessary measures to keep him away from her.
But as the viewings passed…As the story of this boy was shown before her eyes…Another opinion began to take place inside of the fiery princess' mind. The world would always go in her favor, so maybe being here had a greater meaning than she initially thought?
So she held on to that feeling. Where she believed that she had to put her initial thoughts on hold, and see everything to the end before making her mind over this event being a useless waste of time…Or an opportunity.
This allowed her to see more than she was willing to see.
And make her realize that there was something else about that boy.
There was something…That intrigued her. Interested her. For a reason she didn't know herself yet, she was willing to give him more time, more chances, to entertain her and make this all worth the while she spent here.
It was an instinct. And she was best to know that hers was flawless.
"I truly wonder…What kind of sight you will offer me?" She whispered at the boy who was so close to her, that she could feel his mellow breath hit her chest.
"Truly a greedy man…" She sighed with a smile, closing her eyes and leaning into this warm embrace, her tiredness taking her away to finally earn the sleep she yearned for.
"That was fucking close." Breathing heavily, he looked up to the sky darkened by the smoke and fire, "You guys really don't give me a break uh…"
"Damn you…" Another voice growled from the side, "your little tricks are really starting to get on my nerves, jack."
"Oh really? Well, what can I say except you're welcome?" The warden laughed as he spat on the side, slowly getting up on his feet," You didn't think I would just give in that easily, I'm a tough bastard you know it."
"YOU HAVE NO IDEA OF WHAT YOU ARE CAUSING!" His interlocutor shouted in fury, "You are breaking all of the timelines! This is going out of hand!"
"…"
"Jack…" He whispered, with a calmer voice," stop all of that. There is still time, we can fix this…"
"Is this…What you said to the others?" Narrowing his eyes dangerously, the warden uttered, "You were always a master when it came to bullshiting."
"…"
"You won't do shit," he laughed with a malicious smile, "Subaru is safe in a place out of your reach, and the theatre is locked up. It's just a question of time before you lose your grasp over it…And when things will be back to normal, I'll make sure you never get another chance."
"Damn you…DAMN YOU!" He shouted as he dashed forward.
"And FUCK YOU!" The warden yelled back.
Loud bangs on the door were the sound that woke her up from her slumber.
Still half asleep, she wished nothing more than to set anyone responsible for breaking her comfort on fire and watch them burn.
First, she simply decided to ignore it, believing it would eventually cease, and turned around in her bed as she brought what she held in her arms closer to her, leaning in the warmth of her bedsheets.
But the loud noises did not stop. Instead, they grew louder and louder. Like someone was having a personal vendetta against the door of her bedroom.
Eventually, it began to be upsetting enough for her to open her eyes, finding herself in front of a sound asleep black-haired boy, her arms still around him as their faces were so close to each other, they could practically breathe each other's air.
Her facial expression changed to a much softer shape when she saw him for a brief instant…before the loud aggression of her door began once more, turning her beautiful face into one of fury.
Standing up immediately, she went towards the door grabbing the black and white jacket and putting it on to cover most of her body, as it was a large piece of clothing compared to her size.
Swiftly putting it on, she went forward the door and opened it in a drastic and violent way, ready to face the one interrupting her comfortable rest…
Only to meet with the entire theatre, grouped in front of her door with various expressions from confusion, to shock and surprise.
In front of all of them, was the silver-haired half-elf, glaring at her with wrath clear in her eyes as her lips trembled at the simple sight of this woman wearing a jacket she recognized immediately.
"In what right did you commoners thought of interrupting my sleep?" Priscilla said in a loud and upset voice, not hiding her anger towards the populace staring at her, "did you all decide to unite in order to wake earlier so you can feel more reassured, annoying me as a group?"
"Hey, I tried to stop them…" Aldebaran shook his head, "but…"
"We are all awake for a few hours Barielle," Crusch growled, "we have been waiting for you to come out for a long while now."
"You…Were you still sleeping until now?!" Mimi exclaimed in shock, "That's amazin! And here I thought I was the one sleeping more than anyone!"
"You do sleep a lot…This is impressive…" Tivey gulped, trying to understand how a woman managed to sleep more than a feline demi-human.
"What were you doing…" Emilia snarled dangerously at the crimson princess, "why are you wearing this…?!"
Priscilla turned her gaze on the side for a moment as she began to think of this situation. From the looks of it, none of them were lying, she really was slower than most to wake up.
As she thought about any reasons aside from her tiredness, her eyes fell on the long sleeve of her left hand holding the handle of the door, remembering the boy who previously wore this precise clothing.
As a reflex, she glanced behind her to the bed where the boy still was and quickly went to understand that she might have simply be weakened by the comfort brought by this warm night.
Several other people followed her eyes to see Subaru sleeping soundly on the bed.
"Oh…" Ricardo scoffed with wide eyes, "night was comfortable heh?"
"Learn to shut your mouth…" Julius shook his head as he grimaced in distaste to the mercenary's comment.
In front of them…Were several people that held more of a glare that stunk murderous intent towards the fiery-princess.
"That cunt slept in the same bed as big bro…" Felt growled in disgust, the idea of her cherished big brother figure being anywhere near that woman awakening a killing intent inside of her.
"Tch. Adulterous scum, Barusu." Ram spat down in distaste.
"I do noooooot think he is of any fault here, Ram…" Roswaal uneasily tried to defend him.
"HOW DARE SHE?!" Rem exclaimed in rage and jealousy.
"How dare she indeed," Emilia uttered, the cold aura emanating from her once more.
"Emilia-sama…We mustn't." Crusch tried to calm her down, trying to calm her nerves as best as she could, "the Warden already asked us to take place…"
"So, this is what happened?" Priscilla clicked her tongue, now understanding the reason they had to go against her door so much, "Very well."
As she closed the door of her room, it was stopped right before the end by the tip of a white boot, making the ruby and blue irises face each other.
"If you dare take more time than needed…I will break your door in and make you dress in front of all to see." Emilia threatened with a hollow, shivering voice.
"If you try to do anything to what is deemed mine, I shall make you wish you would have died one of the many times you were saved at the cost of the boy's sanity." She answered in the same tone of voice, forcing the door to close.
This entire situation was certainly getting on her nerves, as Priscilla would have loved to simply shut this half-elf herself at the moment she dared to open her mouth to address her. But alas, even she had not much power here, and this fact greatly annoyed her.
Walking forward to pick up her dress, she glanced to the boy on her side still sound asleep, as she looked back to the jacket she was wearing and the dress in her hands.
In the end, she simply giggled softly at the thought of the piece of clothes she wore at the moment to be…Far more pleasant to wear than she thought.