Suikoden VI

Chapter Eleven: Part Three

Note: Apologies in advance, but I won't be posting further updates on the Investigations or Bath pages until right before I post Chapter Twelve: Part One, other to update the remaining Stars of Destiny. Both fully completed pages will be posted before I post Part One of Chapter Twelve.

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Part Three

Caesar rubbed a hand through his hair and sighed sheepishly as he stared down at the length of hair sitting on the table before them. "So now...we know whose hair this is."

"Archana," Surya whispered, tears in his voice. He reached out and rested a hand on the braid. "Her hair is this long. Was this long. I've only seen Archana with long hair..."

"He cut so much of it off!" Mokuren whispered. Tears were sliding down her cheeks. "Why did he do that to the Princess?"

"At least it was just hair and not a limb," Peader said.

"T-This is truly unbelievable," Varnaz said quietly. "L—Bearyl. I thought that he cared. He gave the Princess safe haven, and yet he would—" he gestured to the hair.

"Desperate people will commit desperate acts," Allise said softly.

"And Bearyl is VERY desperate," Gunther said.

"Why did you guys let him go?!" Freyr snapped, gesturing angrily to the braid. "Look what that bastard did to my cousin!"

"We didn't have a choice," Chinmaya said impatiently. "Bearyl Lutis said his people would kill her if he didn't make it back to them. We obviously didn't want THAT to happen to her!"

"Is Kaylani safe?" Silvano exclaimed. Israfil said nothing, his gaze frozen on the braid on the table. "What about my son? Did he take all of them or just Archana?! Did he hurt my wife and son?!"

"Bearyl only mentioned one person," Caesar said. "So if he had kidnapped anyone other than Princess Archana he would have said so."

"How did this person get to Lunas to kidnap the Princess?" Soturi asked. "Lord Craig and Lady Haswar have been very protective over both of their daughters since the last time they were taken."

That was something that Bearyl Lutis took great pleasure in telling them. He had followed them into Falena when they had last gone for the meeting between Nakula and Sagiri. The Hershville Naval Base soldiers had naturally been distracted by Daunte and his group that they didn't notice Bearyl's boat. They hadn't seen the boat and so they didn't notice the boat drift away from them away from the direction of Sol-Falena.

And I certainly didn't notice him, given my state of mind on that day, Daunte thought.

"It took us a few days, but we got to that decrepit hole in the wall," Bearyl had smugly told them. "We learned their daily schedules and took Princess Archana when she went off by herself to read."

"Why are you doing this?" Daunte had demanded.

"To show you how serious I am. You will come to the High Peak Mountains near the mine within three days, and you will cut off your right hand and give over both the Rune of Restoration AND the authority over the Liberation Army to me. You'll do it in my presence so that I know that you're not pulling a stunt or trying to fool me with the wrong limb."

"What happens if we refuse?" Peader had asked.

Bearyl responded by waving Archana's braid in front of himself. "If you don't come within three days, I'll send you another piece of the Princess. And I'll keep sending you pieces of her until there is nothing left of her to send."