My Raphtalia, My Queen (Raphtalia x male reader)

Chapter 25: Idol Reiber

You were racing across dense woods atop Filo. Naofumi was also riding atop her, however, Van Reichnott was travelling to the castle by different measures. You looked down at your hand. It still steamed and stung like a hive of bees at the slightest movement

I hope you are happy, Child. I warned you of the drawbacks of obtaining the second piece of the Power stone this early on. Do not start blaming this on anybody but yourself

You grunted. He was right, like always, but you still pissed at his comment

That doesn't mean I wanted my hand BURNT now, does it?

Nobody does, but I assumed you had the intellect to deduce the ramifications of all the power you were about to possess. I suppose I should stop assuming and start confirming

Just...shut up. I don't want you in my head right now

You do, or rather you just want somebody to talk with. Child, it is not your fault for the blue girl's kidnapping. If you tried to intervene the consequences would have been disastrous

THAT DOESN'T MEAN I COULDN'T HAVE DONE SOMETHING! NOW SHE IS...oh god...That bastard better not DARE try to lay a finger on her!

I doubt he is that blinded by lust...actually, forget that. I've seen one too many potential heirs of Gilada abuse their powers for their own benefits, including...some of the most unholy acts-

Shargoth I really don't want to hear about that. Now. Shut. UP!"

The dragon huffed one last time before silence filled your mind. Filo seemed to reach an ever greater speed than before, as the wind felt like shards of ice as it cut across your open skin. However, faint lights were viewed amongst the trees and bushes, signalling that the castle was just up ahead.

Filo stopped abruptly, accidentally launching you forward and smacking you against a dirt path. Filo poofed back into a small child, forgetting Naofumi was still atop her and rushed over to help you and apologise extensively. You laughed and ruffled her hair, saying it was all ok. Naofumi walked up to the two of you with an annoyed scowl.

"Come on you two, we need to find Raphtalia and especially Melty as soon as possible"

You nodded in agreement and looked on over at the castle "So, how should we go in?"

"We'll do it quietly" replied Naofumi "And the front of the castle looks the least guarded, surprisingly"

"Probably all drunk" you muttered

"Come on, let's get going" ordered Naofumi, gesturing for you and Filo to follow him.

Elsewhere, a certain vengeful Tanuki was creeping her way up the castle walls. She slipped in through an unrepaired crack from the last wave attack and softly landed inside. She heard footsteps echo towards her, with a familiar clanking of iron chains following. She hid behind a few barrels of unopened beer and peaked out to find a guard dragging bloody chains over towards a wall, perhaps to be washed later. Something snapped in Raphtalia as she saw those chains. Memories of a vile past attacked her thoughts and her heart, making her eyes bleed salty tears. She shook her head and clenched her right fist in fury as she charged the guard and slammed him against the wall. He fell back unconscious, knocking over a bucket of water and a sponge along his way. Raphtalia panted as she let the anger boiling inside her subside for now. She looked on across the hallway to make sure everything was clear before quietly scuttling her way towards her target

"Naofumi, do you have any medicine" you ask faintly, squatting in a roadside bush

"Catch" he whisper-shouts back, throwing you a vial. Naofumi's medicine was usually a lot more effective than the stuff you had stored in your pouches. You fumbled around and grabbed some gauze that had been marinating in strong herbal medicine for some time and held it with your counterfeit left hand. You popped off the cork from the medicine and poured it over your hand. It burnt like hell, and the sudden spike of pain made you bite down onto your tongue hard enough to draw blood. You kept your screams internal as you proceeded to wrap bandages over the wound. Blood dripped down onto the green blades below you, painting them a murky red. You grabbed another vial of medicine from your pouch and poured it into your mouth. This one hurt less, and the wound was healed relatively quickly. You tossed the vial to one side and followed Naofumi along the castle grounds