Fanny's POV.
Playing in the rain was a lot of fun for her. Uniting herself with the beauty of nature was the best feeling ever, but too bad her brother noticed it too soon, or else she wouldn't have to clean up so quickly. She wished it would last longer. She had just finished showering when she heard a huge knock on her window.
"What on... earth?" she mumbled, half whispered as she opened up her window, surprised to find out a white bird—no, a swan—crashed on its way to deliver a... letter? What was she seeing? She sat by the windowsill, still extremely confused. She held the swan and carefully petted the little creature to show love and kindness. She had always been an animal lover, especially when it comes to any type of birds. This swan was fortunate enough to have landed on her window.
"Shh, easy there," Fanny said gently, still petting its small, precious head. "Hard landing, huh? You should be more careful next time."
The swan looked at her, curving its long, elegant neck as it gave Fanny a small flap of its wings. She smiled, admiring every inch of its majestic white feathers, and how she wished to have a pair of beautiful wings just like it.
She took the letter out of its beak. "Didn't know you swans can deliver letters, too," she said, giving a small giggle. "I thought only pigeons do."
As she opened the envelope, she realized why a swan would deliver a letter. It said:
The abyss strikes again. I do not think we have much time left. They've ruined my castle and killed my men. All I am asking is your help, Your Highness, and I will sincerely be your ally if that's what it takes.
Princess Odette
Fanny knew of the swan castle, of Princess Odette, but she heard no news of her castle being destroyed by the abyss. A beautiful castle, she remembered her brother told her, with a great amount of swans dancing in the lake. Azure lake was, perhaps, the most alluring place her brother ever spoke of, and now it fell into ruination. Her heart began to race, fearful of whatever was coming. She lowered her head and closed her eyes, inhaled some air to calm her down.
"Thank you," she said to the swan. "I'll show this to Silvanna. Tell Princess Odette we will help as much as we can. Fly home safely, little one!"
***
As Fanny hurriedly ran downstairs, she saw her friends were having breakfast, all sitting together in the dining room, but there was no sign of the princess or even her brother. That's weird, she thought. The princess should be with them every breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This time, they were nowhere to be found. Their seats were empty, and their plates were completely clean.
"Guys," Fanny called. "Has the princess eaten yet?" They were busy eating, but their faces showed no joy.
"She hasn't," Alucard said. "None of us know what she's doing."
"Where's my brother?"
"He joined her."
"What have you got there, Fanny?" Harith joined in, looking at what her right hand was holding. She hesitated at first, but decided to tell them. They were her friends, after all.
"I got this letter from the swan castle," Fanny started. "The princess said she needed help, I was just about to give this to the princess."
"Princess Odette?" Alucard made sure.
"You know her?"
"Why, of course I do," he said. "But... why would the azure lake be in danger?"
Fanny closed her eyes and looked down. She gulped, afraid of speaking what she had to tell. Her hands began to shake.
"It's the abyss."
Alucard's POV.
He quickly snatched the letter from Fanny. As soon as he opened it, he couldn't believe what he was reading. They attacked azure lake, and soon enough they would attack the empire. This was too soon. The abyss had been nothing but a severe disaster to his life, and the pure hatred and revenge he had inside him would never fade, for the abyssal queen killed his parents and took every bit of happiness he used to have. Now they were back, stronger and crueler than before. Alucard felt all his anger boiling inside him, but also his past memories hurting his soul. Whose child are you going make suffer this time, Alice? He gritted his teeth and clenched his hands, as if he was about to punch someone until they meet their death.
"Alucard," Fanny murmured, her voice shaking. "Control your anger." She wrapped her hands onto his. The warmth of her palms comforted him, but did not calm him down in the slightest way.
"The... abyss?" Harith sobbed. "Are they back?"
"Yes," Granger joined in, standing up from his seat. Both of his hands were full; one holding his gun, and another carrying his violin, like always. "But not in our territory." He showed no expression of worry or concern. Alucard knew Granger only fought for himself and nobody else, but would he be so heartless to not care about what was going on in the southern region of the same land?
"Our territory or not, we have to help," Alucard replied.
"And sacrifice our lives while most of us haven't gotten any training?" Granger snapped. "Hmph, I think the fuck not."
"You are mad, aren't you?" Alucard fought back, his attention completely on the marksman.
"I believe you're the mad one here."
"Careful, or you might as well leave this castle."
"I'd better leave than work with a foolish demon hunter like you."
Alucard glared at him, pointed a finger and raised his voice louder. "Choose your words carefully, death chanter. We're the only allies you have." He might have crossed the line saying such thing to him, but he didn't care. They were both hard-headed, but like it or not, Alucard must collaborate with him. This is going to be a long journey.
"Stop it, both of you!" Fanny separated the two of them for the sake of not starting pointless arguments. She was doing the right thing, but Alucard still wasn't satisfied with Granger's respond at all. Alucard never wanted anybody else to experience the abyss' cruelty like he did. It was his duty as a fighter to defeat the abyss for good.
"Please, does anyone know where the princess is?" Fanny asked. "She needs to know about this."
"She's in the chapel," Alucard said.
"Then let's go."
Silvanna's POV.
The prophecy was furiously glowing, producing bright light shining the entire chapel. Not long after, the prophecy showed a vision. It was azure lake's current situation, and as soon as she witnessed it, her heart shattered to pieces. She saw The Swan Princess, Odette, fell to the ground, her tears all over her beautiful yet crestfallen face. The monsters were tying her up in complete disrespect. The abyssal demons were destroying everything; the flowers, the castle, and... the swans.
Silvanna couldn't hold it back. As she was holding the prophecy in her hands, tears formed in her eyes, rolled down her face and her breath shortened every second. Abyssal demons were everywhere, violently attacking every single corner of the castle. However, as expected, Alice was not there. It was clear enough that the queen of apocalypse was waiting for Silvanna, collecting and absorbing every bit of devil blood and evil power for her final rivalry.
The prophecy then made a sudden shake. It glowed brightly, producing golden-white light that made Silvanna's palms shiver in shock. Her eyes widened as the prophecy started to stay still, changing its vision slowly from the azure lake to the crack of the abyss.
It was Alice sitting on her dark throne, summoning more demons, with her brother right by her side. Silvanna closed her eyes, her eyebrows furrowed. She could feel more tears rushing down like waterfall when the prophecy focused itself on her brother, smiling and standing proudly to serve the queen of blood. What have you made him, Alice? Silvanna thought, quietly sobbing. She took a deep breath, trying to process everything that was happening. She felt Tigreal's hands touched her left shoulder from behind, feeling the exact same pain as she was.
"Princess!" a voice shouted from the opened door. It was Fanny, and she brought the rest of her friends. Silvanna moved her attention to them, grateful for the perfect timing of their company. "A letter was sent from Princess Odette. She needs our help!"
Silvanna quickly wiped her tears, trying her best to concentrate after what she saw. "Yes," she said, surprised that she sounded calmer than expected. "I know what happened."
Alucard moved forward, his eyes fixed on her. "Are we going to fight for her, Your Highness?"
Silvanna didn't answer him yet. She looked at Tigreal willingly, even though her eyes were still red and puffy. The captain nodded, immediately knowing what she was up to.
"Prepare yourselves," she said as she started leading the way. "We are going to the swan castle."
Odette's POV.
Ruined. Everything was ruined.
All she could see was nothing but fire and ashes. "Where are they?" she sobbed, hoping for the Moniyan Princess to rescue her. It was probably too late. The abyss had caused disaster to her home, and who knew which region the abyssal army was planning to destroy next. There were but no more of the grand swan castle, just a heartbroken princess and her precious swans in severe pain. Some of them even deceased, resting easy by the lake. She was trapped, her hands tied in a black rope of drastic heat, and her feet was under an abyssal curse, causing it to stay in place and hurt if she ever tried to move. Blood were splattered on the ground, the walls, tree branches, and even on her ripped white dress and on her high, shining silver boots. What a misfortune. What did she ever do in her life to deserve this unexpected havoc?
She saw the swan she sent to the Moniyan Empire flying in a distance, its wings fluttering as quickly as it could to reach her. Hope. It was right in front of her despite everything that happened.
"Was she available?" she asked softly. "Was anyone?" The creature bent its neck, flapping its wings twice. Odette sighed. It was a yes from her little friend, yet also afraid that the princess would travel a perilous journey to the south.
Whatever mistakes that she did to deserve this madness, Odette Regina prayed for the guidance of the Lord of Light, and begged for mercy to the abyss. In all her life, she had been nothing but a kind and caring swan princess, and she was glad indeed that the people found her charming. She fed the poor, adored the children, and her talent in dancing was always incomparable, especially when she did it right by the lake with her swans. Anyone would say she was the most elegant princess to ever exist. Even when major threats tried to destroy her at some points, Odette would always try her best to protect her castle and everything that came with it. She was a good ruler, nobody could ever deny. Nobody, except herself.
Despite all the positivity she received, Odette still thought she was only praised because of her beauty, not for how she ruled, and beauty meant pretty much nothing to her. Her mind kept telling her that if she could not fight in close combat, then she wasn't fighting enough. How else would she destroy her enemies? Her blue nova couldn't last forever, and her swan song was not strong enough to kill them. She was a mage, after all, and mages only rely on their magical skills. She wanted to fight like the Moniyan Princess; with a sword or any weapon to bring to the battlefield, but she knew she just didn't have the ability to do so. A heroine was the last compliment her people ever said to her.
Lost in her thoughts, Odette saw the Moniyan Princess riding her horse along with her friends from afar. More help? she thought, slowly giving a smile of relief. Thank you, Lord of Light. They were coming closer, and seconds after, Silvanna's horse halted. Odette looked up, slightly dropping tears of joy.
"Odette!" Silvanna called, running towards her. Her voice soothed her so much she forgot she was pinned down in pain by the abyss, unable to move. Instead of asking her and start a conversation, she did something quite unexpected. Silvanna was immediately on her knees and gave her a genuine embrace, knowing so well that she was completely broken.
"Your Highness!" Odette sobbed, resting her face on her shoulder. Her friends followed right behind her, which was heartwarming that they also wanted to help.
"Are you hurt, milady?" a blond man with a long, blue and gold colored vest asked in worry.
"Not quite, just stuck here," Odette said hopelessly. Silvanna then closed her eyes, cleared her throat and tried to break the... enchantment? I thought nobody could break Alice's powerful curses, she thought. Then again, it was the Moniyan Princess right in front of her. There was nothing she couldn't do. She sighed, concentrating, starting to form a white, shining orb in her hands. She muttered something that sounded like a spell, but Odette couldn't hear what she said.
Instead of feeling pleasure, she felt aches all around her. Odette flinched. "W-why does it hurt?" she asked. The pain was getting stronger, both on her hands and her feet. Silvanna did not answer. She kept doing it until the pain was at its peak, causing Odette to scream, shivering all the way down her spine.
Silvanna repeated her actions.
Again, and again.
And again.
"STOP!" Odette yelled, causing Silvanna to lose control and broke her white orb, opening her eyes in shock. She felt like her hands and feet were tortured. However, Odette felt her hands and feet moving again. Still feeling the pain, Odette slowly but surely stood up, holding Silvanna's hands to ease the pain and keeping her steady.
"Thank you," Odette said. "I would probably be stuck here forever if you didn't come." Silvanna gave her a reassuring nod.
"It is my great pleasure," she said. "and you've always been a friend." This sentence took her by surprise. A friend? Never in her life had she thought the Moniyan Princess herself considered her as a friend. They did meet a long time ago, but it was just for a short visit. She couldn't even remember what they did. She was just an ordinary princess who loved her swans, nothing more.
Odette's eyes softened, giving her a warm smile. The princess was a pretty, magnificent sight for everyone. She moved her attention to her ruined castle. Her smile faded as well as her heart shattering to pieces. A feeling of deep despair completely wrapped her soul.
"Is it possible to rebuild it?" she asked, but she knew it wasn't possible anyway.
"The lake is looking just as beautiful, but some of your swans are hurting," Silvanna said.
"Would you please help them?" Odette begged, hopeful for this one opportunity that at least her swans were going to be alright.
"I will, sincerely."
Odette was more than relieved when she heard her response. Maybe the abyss was wickedly powerful, but she knew that the Moniyan Princess and her allies held so much more than what Alice could ever imagine. Odette was not even sure if she was going to be a new ally, but she did hope she could be one, even if she was only a swan princess. Whatever it took, she wanted to help them and will always be by their side no matter what.
-
[ an; this took so long omg but writing odette is so fun! definitely one of my fav mages in the game. i apologize for the slow update bc i've been busy, but pls enjoy it anyway :) ]
xoxo, cel.