Believe(A Mirror Mirror AU)(Possibly slow updates)

Chapter 8: Honor Among Thieves

Asuna POV
The gala had just ended when I was roughly grabbed and pulled into a small room off of the hallway. On either side of me stood an integrity knight, their faces obscured by their helmets. I struggled in their grip as the queen stepped into the room through an opposite door. She wore a long pale dress with a feather like collar, in other circumstances it was a dress that I would have considered beautiful, and as always she wore a necklace with a dark purple prism lying against her collarbone.
"Now what exactly do you think you were doing talking for so long to my prince, and where in Stacia's name did you get that dress?" She asked her eyes narrowed to slits. I scoffed and rolled my eyes as Bercouli entered behind her.
"'Your prince'? Do you mean the one who came here to marry me? And my dress, that's what you want to discuss? Like maybe the state of the village! I've seen what you've done to them, you have no right to rule the way you have." I snarled at her trying to pull away from the knights who held me. Her eyes narrowed even further and I felt a wave of menace roll off of her.
"Are you saying that you left the palace? First you leave your room while I'm entertaining King Oberon, then you at some point leave the palace, you openly defy my orders by attending my gala, and now you defy my royal decree by speaking such libel by blaming me for the state of the kingdom? My, my Asuna Yuki, I would never have taken you as such a rebel, treason is a punishable offense you know." She said the words filling me with rage and dread.
"'Treason'? Against who? I am the rightful ruler of this kingdom, not you." I spat glaring at her with all of the hate I could manage. The air in the room stilled and her feather-like collar began to lift and curl inwards towards her pendant.
"That was the wrong thing to say. Bercouli, take her out to the woods and leave her for the dark knight to find." She said, the words filling the room like a miasma. I gasped, feeling icy fear settle over me like icy water. I looked up at the knights holding me, hoping that they would be horrified by her statement and let me go only to see that their eyes were dull and glazed. Just what did she do to them?! I wondered in horror as their grips on my arms tightened. I looked to Bercouli, my surrogate father, the man who had raised me since my father's death, the man who had read my bedtime stories and rocked me back to sleep when I'd had a nightmare, my closest confidant, second only to his wife Fanatio who had been the only mother I had ever known. I silently begged him to refuse, to take my side over the queen's and stand up for me, only to feel my heart shatter into powder as he bowed in the way of the Integrity knights and intone, "Yes my queen." My mind went blank as I dissolved into a mass of screaming and tears as I was forced out of the room and lead out of the palace.

I had calmed somewhat by the time we had arrived in the woods. I had given in to the deep despair that had accompanied the thoughts that Bercouli had betrayed me, that I was going to die the same way that my father had-only in my case I wouldn't fall in battle, I was going to die alone and unarmed-, and above all else Yui would never know what had really happened to me, she was going to think that she had been abandoned. I sobbed quietly as Bercouli stood behind me, a blade to my back. I flinched as I felt the blade move down to my bound wrists.
"Not content to leave me for the dark knight Bercouli?" I spat. I heard a chuckle behind me just before I gasped, feeling a sawing at the ropes around my wrists.
"Once you're free run to the west, you'll find a small cabin, tell the people there that I sent you and whatever you do, don't lose this." He murmured in my ear as he placed a familiar feeling sheath in my hands.

I felt my hands come free and I took off running, clutching my rapier to my chest as I began to hear heavy footprints in the snow behind me. I sprinted until I came to a cabin, just like Bercouli had told me. I banged on the door frantically, calling for someone to let me inside. Just when I started feeling tears welling up in my eyes I whispered, "Please.... Bercouli sent me." I let out a yelp as the door swung open and I found myself lying on the floor by the doorway.
"Well? Don't just lie there, shut the door." Said a stern voice from somewhere above me. I looked up to see a girl a little older than me with golden hair and blue eyes glaring down at me. I scrambled to stand and gripped the hilt and scabbard of my rapier warily as I entered the room.
"There's no need for that, if you were sent by my uncle then you have nothing to fear from any of us." The blonde girl said entering ahead of me. I looked around, inspecting my surroundings. The cabin was small and cozy with comfortable looking furniture in the center of the room. There was a green door to my left that opened to reveal a younger looking girl with brown hair and red eyes. She rubbed her eye sleepily and asked, "What's going on Alice? Why did you light the lamp?" Alice? Wait she called Bercouli her uncle didn't she? It can't be-!
"A-Alice? Alice Zuberg?" I asked stepping towards her. The blonde turned her blue eyes on me in an appraising glare before she asked, "So the queen finally got rid of you, did she Asuna?" I felt tears spring to my eyes and I launched myself at her, dropping my sword as I tackled her into a tight embrace. She stood stock still for a moment as I sobbed into her shoulder and I heard the younger girl behind me panic but after a moment she awkwardly returned the embrace.
"There there, I think it's best that you explain the situation to us. Silica, go wake the others this is important." Alice said as she led me to one of the comfortable looking couches. I sat and sobbed for a little while as other girls began filing into the room. Once everyone was apparently there Alice began introducing them to me. There was a girl with pink hair and red eyes named Lizbeth that was introduced as Silica's older sister and the resident blacksmith, a girl with blue hair and eyes who was introduced as Sinon the archer, and Silica and her little dragon Pina were apparently masters of ambush tactics. Alice also mentioned that there were a few other people in their group but since they were men they didn't live with them in the cabin but she would introduce them when they came in the morning.
"Now that introductions are out of the way I think you should explain the situation to us Asuna, provide as much detail as you can so that we can understand properly." Alice ordered. I took a deep breath and began to explain everything that had happened in the last day. It hit me that everything, from meeting Yui and the prince to being brought out into the woods to be killed by the dark knight had all happened in one day. That thought brought with it a wave of exhaustion and as I finished my story I felt my eyelids droop before everything faded to black.