Caspian looked up when Elincia returned to the cave, her body shaking as puffs of steam rose from her lips every time she breathed. He stood up and made is way over to her. Wrapping an arm around her freezing cold body, he led her back to the fire, where they both sat down and tried to warm her up.
"How did your conversation go?" he asked.
"I don't know," Elincia admitted with a sigh. "I'm not even sure what I was trying to accomplish by talking to him. I just... there were some things I wanted to understand."
"Do you understand those things now?"
"No." Smiling sadly, Elincia shook her head. "Even now, I do not feel like I understand anything. Why did those elves start a rebellion? He said they weren't satisfied with my father's rule, but rather than trying to come up with a peaceful means of convincing him, they decided they needed to start a rebellion. I just... don't understand."
"That is because you're kind," Caspian said.
"Maybe..."
While Elincia didn't sound convinced, Caspian was certain of it. Elincia's kindness was boundless. She helped people without a second thought, even those who reviled her because she was an elf. Elincia did not have a mean bone in her body. It was only natural that she wouldn't be able to understand someone like Dranor, who had spilled the blood of countless people, both humans and elves.
Caspian looked at the others. Everyone else had already gone to sleep. Erica was using Derek as a pillow as the older man slept against the wall. Meanwhile, Tiffania was using Erica as a pillow. Collafloore was sleeping on the ground next to them, a dissatisfied expression on his face even in sleep. They looked a lot like a family.
Cassidy and Christo were also sleeping close to each other, though not so close that someone who wasn't knowledgeable about their currently unusual relationship would think they were particularly intimate. They were lying on the ground side by side. There was about a meter of space between them.
While the others had someone they were next to, Sylvia and Maddison slept far from the others. Maddison was over in a corner of the cave and Sylvia was in another corner on the opposite side. Neither of them looked comfortable. Even with the fire still going, the flame's warmth could only permeate so much of the space, especially since a strong breeze was blowing in through the entrance.
"We should get some rest," Caspian said at last.
"Yeah... you're right."
Since Elincia was still cold, Caspian didn't move them away from the fire. He laid down next to it. The ground was hard and uncomfortable, but at least it was flat and didn't have any rocks sticking out of it. He did his best to ignore his discomfort and let Elincia use his chest as a pillow.
"Say, Caspian? What are we going to do now?"
"I don't know," Caspian admitted. He paused when Elincia's uncertainty and worry pierced his chest through the bond. "But whatever we do, we'll do it together."
"Right... together..."
His words calmed Elincia's uncertain heart, and it wasn't long before her breathing had become deep and even. She had fallen asleep. She even began dreaming of what life would be like if they weren't on the run.
Caspian closed his eyes and allowed Elincia's dream to engulf him. Unlike back when their bond was still forming, he didn't feel embarrassed as he let her dream of them living together and raising children sweep him up. This was exactly the kind of life he wanted. A nice, quiet, peaceful life. If possible, he would have loved to just leave this country behind, find a quiet place to settle down, and never worry about the outside world again.
However, as the dream continued, it quickly changed, and Caspian felt a black monster settle in his gut as the vision of him and Elincia shifted to show his battle against Vanya. He tried to scream out to his dream self. He tried to tell his dream self to stop fighting, but it was no use. He watched as the version of himself in the dream fought against the elf woman, watched as he tried to convince her to give up, and watched as the woman charged forward and was run through by his blade.
Caspian woke up with a startled gasp. He felt tears prick at his eyes, causing them to blur.
"Caspian. Caspian."
Blinking several times as Elincia's voice reached him, Caspian found the girl wide awake and staring at him. She was still laying on his chest. However, her eyes were filled with unshed tears as she stared at him.
"You... saw that?" he rasped. Elincia nodded, causing him to laugh, though his laughter lacked humor. Bitterness laced his voice. "It's been awhile since I thought about that time. I guess meeting Dranor made me remember. Sorry you had to see that."
Elincia shook her head. "Don't apologize. You should share these things with me. What's the point of being bonded if you won't even share your burdens with me?"
Caspian smiled as he reached out and wiped her tears away, allowing his gratefulness toward this amazing girl flow through the bond. Elincia's cheeks flushed as she felt his emotions. Even though she was still crying a bit, her heart became a lot lighter.
Now that they were awake, the two of them decided to get a start on their day. The fire had burnt out last night. It was freezing cold, which they only now realized as they stood up, so Caspian went to find some.
This mountain didn't have much foliage. There were only a few shrubs and some dead trees. However, he made do with what he found, grabbing twigs and breaking branches off the few dead trees located around the cottage. The morning air chilled his lungs, causing a sharp pain to fill his chest as puffs of white steam drifted from his mouth. He shivered as the cold even seeped into his bones.
Making his way back to the cave, Caspian paused when he saw Dranor looking at him through the door of the cottage. He frowned only a little before hurrying back into the cave.
Elincia was waiting for him, shivering as she tried to keep warm. She probably could have called for a spirit to aid her. He was sure there was a fire spirit in the Nordic Clan. However, knowing Elincia as he did, he understood the thought had likely not even crossed her mind.
"I'm back," he said.
"W-welcome back," Elincia greeted him.
Caspian set the dried out branches in the bonfire they had made yesterday and looked at Elincia. She seemed confused at first called upon Surtr, the spirit of fire, to ignite the branches. As the fire began merrily blazing away, the two of them huddled together for warmth.
Time passed and everyone else slowly woke up. Sylvia and Maddison were the first to wake up. Sylvia had always been an early riser from what Caspian understood, and Maddison had been traveling a lot, so she was probably used to getting up at the crack of dawn. On the other hand, Christo, Cassidy, Erica, Derek, Collafloore, and Tiffania took much longer to wake up. Everyone did eventually wake up, however, and it wasn't long before the group was sitting around the campfire.
"So..." Erica looked at everyone else as she addressed the Daemon in the closet. "What should we do now? It seems convincing that elf to help us ended in failure, and I don't think trying to force him will accomplish anything."
"I believe we should meet up with Stratello," Sylvia said. "He mentioned that he was going to begin helping the Peacekeepers create safe havens and escape routes for sorceress. I'm thinking we should try and gather the sorceresses in Arcadia together and seek amnesty from another nation like Helheim or Takama no Hara. We'll need Stratello and the Peacekeepers help to do that."
The group continued discussing what they should be doing, and while no one necessarily disagreed with Sylvia, they also had some complaints.
"That plan is all well and good, but there are several big problems with that." Maddison raised a hand and began listing these problems with her fingers. "First, all of the borders into other nations are currently being guarded by a massive army under Duke De'Falco's command. Not only are there entire battalions of Peacekeepers, but they've stationed tens of thousands of Knights at each one. Unless you're willing to kill the Peacekeepers--and I don't think you are--breaking through is going to be impossible. Second, even if we did manage to break through the border, the other nations have decided to adopt a wait and see policy. They aren't going to help us. We'll probably be sent back, which would mean we'll be in the exact same position that we were in before."
None of them could argue with Maddison's points, not even Erica, which was saying something because sometimes argued just to argue. The fact that she wasn't proved how grace their situation was.
"Then what do you suggest?" Sylvia asked, and while her voice remained bland, Caspian thought he sensed frustration in it.
"You're asking the wrong person." Maddison shook her head. "I'm not really an ideas kind of gal. I was only pointing out the flaws in your own idea. However, that doesn't mean I'm smart enough to come up with one on my own."
"I'm glad to see you've finally accepted your own stupidity," Erica said.
"Can it, succubus whore!"
"The biggest problem we have right now is that Duke De'Falco has a lot of people on his side," Christo said. "Almost all of the nobles have sided with him, and since they are the ones with all the money, they were able to create that army of magically powered robots. The few nobles who didn't side with him like my family won't be able to do anything overtly to help us. They lack the manpower and funds."
"What about the citizens?" asked Elincia. "I mean, there are a lot of commoners than there are nobles. Surely if all the citizens rose up, we would be able to win."
"And how many of these commoners do you think will side with us?" asked Maddison with a headshake. "I hate to break it to you, but while you are actually fairly popular, too many commoners are afraid of going against the nobles, especially now that the Peacekeepers have those Knights bolstering their ranks. What's more, none of them are trained in combat. We can't ask them to fight for us."
"I wasn't suggesting we have them fight for us..." Elincia mumbled as her ears drooped.
The group grew silent once again as everyone pondered their current predicament. Caspian frowned as he stared into the fire. He honestly couldn't see a way to fix this problem. At most, what they could do was survive. They would have to move from place to place, never staying in one place for too longer, and they would always have to remain one step ahead of the duke and his new army.
"We could always just wait the problem out," Sylvia said with a sigh, as though she was announcing their last resort. "Duke De'Falco is just a human. He will eventually die of old age. At some point, the citizens will grow dissatisfied with the noble's rule and rise up in revolt. It could be a year from now or a hundred years from now, but it will happen. That is what happened the last time."
Sylvia was speaking of the Succession War, where she led an army of commoners against the nobles, defeated them, and removed them from power, turning them into glorified administrators and social service workers.
"There is no need for that," a voice said from the cave entrance.
Caspian and Elincia turned their heads as Dranor walked into the cave, looking at everyone with a haggard expression. Yet as he stared at the elf, Caspian thought he saw something, a vestige of remnant emotions flickering in the man's eyes. It could have been an illusion.
"Dranor, I'm surprised to see you outside," Maddison said.
"What do you mean when by 'there is no need for that'?" asked Sylvia.
Dranor looked at Sylvia, but then his gaze shifted to Elincia. He sighed as if he was agitated by something.
"There is no need for you to wait the problem out... since I plan on taking you all the Fas Sheras," Dranor said.
Elincia's eyes widened. She wasn't the only one. Everyone else looked at Dranor like they couldn't believe what they'd heard. Erica was even cleaning out her ears as though they had wax in them.
"You mean it?" asked Elincia.
Dranor nodded. "Yeah. I'll escort you to Fas Sheras. So, pack your things and get ready to leave before I change my mind."
Those words were all Elincia needed to get her stuff ready--not that she had much. They really hadn't brought anything along aside from her bow and arrows. As they were getting ready to leave, Erica shook her head.
"Unbelievable. I wonder what changed his mind?" she asked.
Maddison shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."
As they prepared to head out, Caspian glanced at Elincia. She caught his eyes and smiled. Everyone else probably didn't know why Dranor had decided to help them, but he was sure the real reason was because of her.
***
After waffling in indecision for a single chapter, Dranor has decided to help out. Now the plot can move forward... maybe.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please let me know how I'm doing!