The witch's tower: The last witch's curse

Spellcast 17: Ultima Sileo 1

Once there was a child who was born to save all her people...

A child born of both light and dark; a child who had the power to wield all magic at her fingertips. A child who mere existence was taboo... She was a child who could not be accepted by anybody, and for that, she spent most of her life outcasted and alone. The only person, who would ever show her a smile, was her own mother, who did her best to love and smile for the young girl who had been forced upon her; the child in which she never asked for. Not even her own father would look at her. Whenever anybody else saw her, they either turned their noses up in disgust, ran away in fear, or they would simply treat her as though she was some sort of possession. A deity far away from them... But she was okay... For her mother's love was all she needed... Even when her mother had to leave... Yes, this was all okay... She was happy living her life like this... For this was the life she was born to live, this was burden she was born to carry. Born to save these people who always distanced themselves from her...

And yet, she had always been an unfortunate child... So when she failed to protect her people, even that of her own mother. She became the child who stole a name...

"Say mama, is it true that papa died...?" a young girl with short crystal white hair looked up to her mother on the night before her mother Rosalyn Isolde headed out the door... Rosalyn looked back to her child a troubled expression on her face, to the girl who looked back to her so innocently, before she then lowered her head, looking away from her daughter.
"Yes... Your father won't be coming back..." her mother admitted, as the young girl remained staring at her mother rather distantly...
"I see... Well, be safe whilst you are out mama..." she stated, turning away from her mother and sitting on the floor, beginning to watch the flames of the fire before her. Rosalyn looked to her child with a worrisome expression, before she then glanced to her familiar bat, Ciel.
"Ciel, please keep her good company tonight..." Rosalyn asked the bat as Ciel nodded getting ready to fly up to the child.
"Of course mistress. Be safe with your collecting..." Ciel replied, as Rosalyn gave a small smile to her bat, before pulling up the hood of her shawl, beginning to head her way outside...

Ciel flew up to the young child her watched the flames, landing upon her shoulder, catching her attention as she then glanced to the bat. Before she smiled a little, patting Ciel on the head as she continued to watch the flames. There was a momentary silence, as the two of them just watched the fire together, simply enjoying one another's company, before the child then lowered her hand a little...
"Say Ciel..." she began, as Ciel looked over to her as she kept her eyes on the flickering flames before her. "Do you think now Papa is gone, Mama can finally be happy?" she inquired, her question somewhat taking the bat back a bit as he gave an uncomfortable expression. However then he found himself looking into the flames, unable to really lie to the child.
"Who can say...? At least with your father no longer around it's a relief on the both of you. Neither of you have to fear his magic again..." Ciel explained as the girl's eyes narrowed faintly, before she slowly raised her hands up a little.
"But wasn't I also born with the same magic as papa? Does that mean mama fears me? That she will never be happy whilst I am here?" the child inquired, as Ciel jumped a little at her words.
"Wh-Why of course not! You are definitely nothing like your father young miss!" Ciel objected as the girl then tilted her head, looking to the flames before her as she held her hand to her side.
"But..." she began with a small orange magic circle; flames began to grow within the small child's hands. "This destructive power... I still have it... I still have the power to hurt others; people like mama, just like papa did... I'm still like him..." she responded as Ciel looked at the flames within the young girls hands... Before looking to the young girl's solemn expression as she played with the flames in her hands. Ciel then hopped down to the young girl's lap, so he could get a clearer look at her face and meet her eyes.
"You may have your father's power... But that doesn't mean you are like him young miss. You were born with something truly incredible that no other magic user has. The ability to choose just what your magic is used for..." Ciel began, before he looked around, noticing a small candle on the side. He quickly flew over to it, grabbing the candle between his claws before flying back over to her as she watched him curiously. "Other magic users only have the powers given to them, and they can only use it for what the power was. For light or for dark. However you..." he began, before handing the candle to the child. "You can use both. And what's more, you can use both for either good or bad reasons. Just because something is bad, doesn't mean it can't be good..." Ciel explained, his eyes shifting to the candle as the young girl looked to the candle. Before she then smiled a little, using the flames on her hands to light it... "See, you are a truly incredible person young miss! Just because you have your father's powers, doesn't mean you have to be like him. You aren't like him, not at all. It is up to you how you use your powers. Nobody else..." Ciel informed her, as the young girl placed the candle down beside her, watching the tiny flame dance about a little on its stalk, a soft expression appearing on her face.
"I can choose..." she uttered a small smile of relief appearing on her face.

It was on that night made a little warmer by the bats company and words, the young girl had made her resolve...

Waking up from her past memory Rosalyn stirred somewhat, slowly rising her head in a slight daze And though at first she seemed a little bewildered, not recognising her surroundings, she quickly recalled the reason why she didn't as finally her mind began coming to.
'The person who knocked me out...' she thought to herself, going to place her hand to her head at a loss, when she then realised she could really move her hand... She looked to her right, to see that half of her arm seemed to be submerged in something warm... Something that almost seemed to be pulsating around her, also hanging off her body like wires connecting her to something. And it wasn't until she double checked in her half-awake state, what that substance actually was, that her eye's widened in slight horror. For wrapped around her arms and legs holding her to a pulsating wall and oozing small trickles of blood was clumps and strains of what looked to be human flesh and muscle. She was no longer within her usual outfit instead she had been placed in a small ceremonial dress, which showed its original colour to be white within the deep blotches of crimson. Rosalyn gave a small cry of disgust as she tried to move her body out of the small prison of flesh that kept her bound to where she was. And yet, for some reason, she couldn't get herself free, it was almost as if she was attached to the flesh itself, as Rosalyn felt start to feel rather sick. The thick metallic smell of fresh blood was nauseating as she turned her head away from the flesh around her one arm with a sickened expression.
"My are we finally awake?" came a voice before Rosalyn as she twitched somewhat, looking up towards the source of the voice, instantly an antagonised expression appearing on her face. Without even seeing who it was, she automatically knew who she would be faced with, as Princess Ran walked up to her with a darkened smile. And yet, instead of letting herself become confused with her scenario, she just accepted what she was confronted with.
"I had my suspicions on who might have been the cause of the plague... But I certainly wouldn't have guessed the hag queen. Funny how things work out..." Rosalyn commented as Princess Ran scoffed to her words.
"For a person in your situation, you sure are confident. Are you not afraid of possibly dying in these circumstances? " Princess Ran inquired as Rosalyn shook her head nonchalantly to the Princess's words.
"Not really. Once you have died a few times, you learn there is nothing really to fear..." Rosalyn answered as it seemed Princess Ran found quite a bit of humour in her words.
"Well given your previous lifestyle, I guess that would be natural..." Princess Ran mentioned walking to the side of Rosalyn. "Are you not going to ask me my reasons for this?" she then inquired as Rosalyn gave her a placid expression following her with her gaze.
"I would, but something tells me you wouldn't say..." Rosalyn answered as Princess Ran nodded, pleased with her response.
"Seems you are smart. Only fools reveal the intentions of their crimes..." Princess Ran responded as she then held her hand before her, a large magic dark blue magic circle forming before her, once expanding, seeming to emit a small spectrum coloured aura around it, Rosalyn's eyes narrowing weakly to the look of the rather bizarre magic circle.
"That's ancient dark magic... Where did somebody like you learn something like that? Especially a none magic user like you..." Rosalyn questioned, as Princess Ran tilted her head back to look at Rosalyn with a smirk.
"Interesting question, though we'll just go with my response earlier. Only fools give out such details..." Princess Ran stated as Rosalyn seemed to become a little unsettled with that response... Before she then looked forwards with a calm smile.
"Very well, a witch doesn't really tell her secrets, I can appreciate that..." Rosalyn nodded, agreeing with the Princess who remained focused on the magic circle before her. "The restriction spell you used earlier was also very strong, I must have been unconscious for a few hours..." Rosalyn noted as Princess Ran gave a small affirmative noise.
"Yes, how very perceptive of you..." Princess Ran noted as Rosalyn kept her eyes on princess Ran, slowly outstretching her hand from within the flesh.
"However, once restriction magic loses its effect, it's useless..." Rosalyn went on as Princess Ran remained facing forwards with a slight smile. And as she saw the Princess was preoccupied a slightly relieved and determined look came into Rosalyn's eyes, as she opened her hand out fully from within the flesh.
"Indeed it does..."
"Which is why I can now take my leave!" Rosalyn then proclaimed confidently, going to use her magic to teleport out... However, she paused when she realised that despite her attempts, it appeared that her magic wouldn't work. Funny, she had never encountered such an issue before... In confusion, she began to try again, moving her arm about a little more when Princess Ran then turned to look at her, with a sinister chuckle.
"It seems you are perceptive but also quite naive... You really think that I would be foolish enough to just leave you there with your powers?" Princess Ran questioned as Rosalyn gave her a rather baffled expression. How had she stopped her magic without using a restriction spell of sorts? She couldn't sense the presence of any magic blocking gem, much rather she found she couldn't sense anything blocking her magic at all... Much rather it felt as though it had almost disappeared... "Confused? Wondering why you can't feel your magic at all?" Princess Ran inquired, as Rosalyn looked back to her, somewhat anxious as she awaited a reply. Princess Ran gave her a simple grin before pointing to the thick fleshy walls of the large bloody tower around her. "This plague would have never reached its full potential without a good enough source... I have power, but I'm certainly not powerful enough to host this entity at its mass potential. So I needed power from elsewhere, another host..." Princess Ran began, her eyes glimmering as she began to explain her scheme to the slightly nervous Rosalyn who began to realise and dread where this was heading. "The only thing with enough power to host this thing, would be you... Much rather, the magia gem within you..." Princess Ran then announced, placing her hands against the wall a little as Rosalyn's face grew pale.
'It's not uncommon to store parts of your power into a solid form, they are commonly known as magia gems...'
Magia gems were extracted from ones soul where magical energy was stored... But to get rid of all of it... Rosalyn's eyes narrowed.
"So I am simply removing that gem from you... Though it would also mean removing your soul too. So my apologies for that-"
"You're using my soul to power this thing?!" Rosalyn spoke up in sternly as Princess Ran gave a small affirming noise mixed along with a snort.
"Yes, you will find that you are the heart of this creation, which is why you are so vital for my plans right now..." Princess Ran then went on, before looking at Rosalyn with a crazed and apathetic smile. "Oh but please don't worry, I'll keep you alive for now, I still need to raise this thing fully! Though once it used that gem, your flesh body will die pretty quick-"
"Do you even realise what you are doing?! This sort of spell, this sort of magic and power, it will destroy everything in its path. It will wipe out all life as we know it!" Rosalyn snapped, her attempts at trying to sway Princess Ran in the slightest at all crumbling with the darkened grin appearing on the princess's face and her next few words.
"Yes, I do know that..." she replied, her answer leaving Rosalyn at a loss for words as princess Ran spread her arms out to the window in the wall beside them which only just caught Rosalyn's attention, Rosalyn's eyes widening as she saw all the destruction and chaos of the kingdom before her, her heart almost skipping a beat as she saw the plagued lands carnage. And upon princess Ran's face, was an excited and blissful expression, as though she was at the peak of ecstasy. "Welcome to the end of the world, a dystopia that will cleanse this world of all good and evil within it!" princess Ran proclaimed, looking back to Rosalyn eagerly. "My kind, your kind, we will all be wiped out... And it will all be your doing; all of it will be your fault! I will build a new world upon the flames of your misdeeds, free from scum like you!"

Rosalyn gave an anxious look to the Princess's words, not wanting to dignify her with a response. Seemed like she was pretty determined to wash away her own wrongdoings onto her and yet she couldn't truly begin to question why? Why had she done all this and what for? Had she gone mad? If she had, it was an insanity that was not lightly rooted, it seemed to be one that had grew and blossomed as years went by... For how long she wondered... Either way.
"Y-You won't get away with this..." Rosalyn seethed a response finally as Princess Ran tilted her head with a shrug to Rosalyn's words.
"And who do you believe will stop me? Do you believe Arthur will come and rescue you?" Princess Ran leered at her with a cruel tone as Rosalyn gave an agitated expression to her words. What did Arthur have to do with any of this? The thought made her nervous as she winced somewhat.
"What do you mean by that, what have you done to him...?" Rosalyn questioned palely as Princess Ran tapped her nose.
"It would be foolish to tell..." she chimed as Rosalyn's patience with the princess finally began to wear thin.
"I won't allow you to do this! Even if I can't defeat you this time, next time I will-"
"Next time? There is no next time!" Princess Ran then gave a sharp cackle to Rosalyn's words before she gave a smug smile to Rosalyn, who only seemed more perplexed by these words. "You do not know about your dilemma with the curse now? Do you?"

"The cause of the plague was Princess Ran?!" Ciel cried upon hearing Arthur's brief explanation, as the group now started to make their way through the palace, trying to get back to the courtyard. Arthur's eyes narrowed in a distressed manner upon hearing the bats shock. Having the news repeated back to himself like that, didn't make him any less bewildered about the situation, in fact it made him want to believe what he had just witnessed himself earlier was just a lie... And yet...
"Y-You expect us to believe that...?" someone inquired as Arthur and the others paused to look back at Vincent, who held a doubting yet troubled expression on his face. "You really expect us believe that our ruler... The one who devoted her life to saving so many... Would be the cause of something so horrific...?" Vincent then clarified as Arthur went from looking at Vincent with a hint of surprise before looking down with a perplexed and distant look in his eyes. How could he expect other's to believe him when part of him denied it completely himself?
"No... Not at all actually..." Arthur responded as Vincent's expression gradually began to grow a little hurt.
"Th-Then why suggest it?!"
"Vincent!" Shannon began, getting somewhat defensive, when Break then cut in, trying to calm people down.
"Look, last thing we need to do right now is argue... Besides, what Arthur was saying was only a suggestion!" Break then laughed meekly, as Arthur remained quiet, lowering his head more, an act that stopped Break's meek laughing... "Right Arthur...?" he then doubled checked as a pained expression overcame Arthur's face.
"I'm afraid that he may be correct..." came a rather surprising voice from the group, as they looked to Louise, who leaned against the wall of the palace upon their stop. Arthur looked back to Louise in bewilderment, genuinely shocked that out of all people around him to believe him, would be Louise. And it seemed to come as quite a surprise to all the others in the group as Vincent put up his defence again.
"And what makes you say that?" he questioned as Louise shut his eye's seeming to be quite calm with the scenario despite him previously perhaps being one of the most loyal to Princess Ran.
"Because I have seen her use magic before..." Louise stated, much to the surprise of the other's, even Arthur, as Arthur gave a puzzled expression to him.
"Seen her? When?" he questioned, more surprised to hear that Louise potentially knew about this before him, than he was to hear that he had seen her. Louise gave an uncomfortable expression as he reflected on it a bit more.
"I thought it was a dream, evidently not though... A few nights ago, I was summoned by her highness to be rid of a certain problem... That problem being the witch..." Louise went on as Arthur recalled the night in which Louise made his way into the tower. "I didn't receive my quest inside the court room like usual, much rather, I received it in the room Arthur was just in..." he went on as Break nodded to himself upon hearing this.
"So that's how you knew where he was..." he noted as Louise agreed, however he grew a little more disturbed as he spoke more on the matter.
"She gave me some gems to help me defeat her, such as the strange light blue stones that Arthur uses, and this other one that was a strange black colour, I don't know the name of it. However she told me it could hold back any magic as a last resort" Louise explained, the both Arthur and Ciel becoming a little puzzled by the last piece of information he gave them. A strange black stone that could stop all magic?
"Ciel?" Arthur began when the bat shook his head, now deep in thought himself.
"I'm afraid I do not know of such a stone..." he mentioned, before he then looked up to Louise. "I presume she gave you a teleport stone too, that is how you were able to get up the tower so quickly."
"Seems the bat isn't as dumb as I first expected..." Louise agreed through an insult, an act which made Ciel flinch a bit.
"N-Not you too. Are all knights cruel?" Ciel whimpered as Arthur shook his head with a slight sigh.
"No, that's just typical Louise..." he stated, his relief coming from the fact that he wasn't used to the man beside him having a single nice thing to say about anyone, let alone have him try to stick up for Arthur. "Thanks for the information Louise"
"Hmm? Don't think I am trying to defend you or anything, it's just that if we don't face reality quicker, we're all going to die..." Louise then mentioned, his face scrunching up a bit as Arthur's expression became a little dry. Yup, this was definitely more like the Louise he was used to.

"W-Well in any case, it doesn't prove that she was the cause of the curse! Just because she had a few magic items, doesn't make her the enemy!" Vincent then objected as Louise then looked to him in a somewhat disgruntled way.
"Are you trying to disagree with me peasant? Need I show you, your place?" Louise then grumbled as Vincent slowly backed up a little, for some reason instinctively he began blocking his nose.
"I-I am disagreeing with you! You don't scare me in the slightest!" Vincent stammered, lowering himself down more as he spoke, Louise gradually becoming more annoyed with his words.
"Enough, Break just said it's best not to fight!" Shannon cut in, walking in-between them all as she then looked to Vincent coldly. "Alright Vincent?" she raised her voice somewhat as Vincent seemed to make a full retreat in his argument, bowing his head and nodding quietly, when Shannon crossed her arms raising her one finger. "Besides, I have an idea!" she then brought up, catching everyone's attention, Ciel tilting his head to her.
"An idea?" he repeated as Shannon nodded with a small smile.
"Well, all we need to do is prove that something is a little suspicious at least, so people can go on the lookout for Princess Ran" Shannon stated, before looking out to palace courtyards where people were still running around crazily. "I don't know about you guys, but I haven't seen her majesty all morning."
"Ah, that's right, now that you mention it, I haven't seen her around either" Break recalled as Shannon gave an affirmative nod.
"Uhuh! And don't you find it strange, that when the kingdom needs their ruler most, that she is nowhere to be seen?" Shannon raised her one finger, her eye winking slightly. "If we bring it up with the officials, they'll surely go looking for her" Shannon then stated before she glanced in the direction of the tower. "If she isn't in the palace then we can confirm for sure that something is definitely wrong here and try to convince the officials about the idea."

To her suggestion there was a short silence... However it was shortly followed by Louise and Vincent quickly voicing their doubts in shock.
"You want to try to convince the officials that their ruler is potentially the cause of doomsday?" Louise then spoke back her own ideas bluntly to her.
"Shannon, you have to understand how that would be impossible!" Vincent pointed out as Shannon frowned at them somewhat.
"It's not impossible, you can't just reject the idea before you have even tried. Right Break? Arthur?" Shannon then turned her head to the two other men in the group, who seemed rather unsure themselves.
"W- We can certainly try... But angering a bunch of nobles like that could wind up with them having our heads..." Break responded nervously, trying not to completely throw down the idea as Arthur's eye's narrowed faintly.
'There's no way you can rise against this Arthur.'
Recalling Princess Ran's words only heightened up his doubts as he glanced down to his side in a somewhat saddened way.
"Yeah, there's no way they'd believe such a thing-" he began, Shannon's expression dimming as he responded, when quite suddenly Ciel cut in, flying onto Arthur's shoulder.
"Not necessarily..." he mentioned, catching their attention as he ruffled his wings slightly. "Many of them have already stood witness how madness can lead a ruler can use their reign to cause misery upon people of their country. Be it their fault or not their fault, they know full well it can happen..." Ciel explained, his words giving the small group some food for thought. Though what the bat was saying was correct, it was still unlikely that they would comply with the group. And as Break said, making such proclamations against somebody who would soon be their queen could cost them their lives. Arthur became a little uncomfortable with that thought. Even if had seen that the proclamations were true...

It was then that Shannon hit her fist off the palm of her other hand.
"I got it!" Shannon proclaimed, running over to Arthur and grabbing his shoulder much to his surprise. "If we can at least convince them that something might be making her this way, they might be willing to listen to reason!" Shannon then pointed out as after a small reflection on the idea, Break nodded, clicking his fingers.
"Yeah, that may actually work. It's at least a little easier to swallow than she was just evil!" Break mentioned, Vincent cutting in awkwardly.
"That is to say she is evil..." he replied as Break paused, before sighing with a stiff smile.
"Yeah, if you say so buddy..." he shrugged off the man's words, as for a moment, Arthur was a little dazed... There was honestly something he couldn't truly understand...
"Y-You guys all believe me...?" he double checked as the group turned to face him a little surprised with his random question. Before Shannon then smiled warmly to him.
"You are my brother. I'll believe you over anybody else..." she told him seriously as Break then concurred with her, scratching the back of his head.
"If it was from anybody else's mouth, I would have struggled, but I know when you're lying because you are terrible at it, I know you're not lying" Break pointed out with a half-hearted grin, Arthur for once being thankful for his poor ability to lie. The group glanced over to Louise, who seemed to be busy just taking in the conversation nodding, however upon seeing eye's upon him, he gave them all a dull expression.
"What?" he questioned at first, before narrowing his eyes up. "I just believe it because I witnessed it...." He then stated, Shannon quickly turning away from him, knowing she probably should have guessed that would be his response as she raised her fist a little.
"Right then, well it's obvious that most people present believe you! And if you can make this many people believe you, can make some more people believe you for sure!" Shannon then pointed out to Arthur. "If we all work together, I'm sure we can persuade them to help us, I mean in this situation what other options do they really have?" Shannon told Arthur, who still seemed a little stunned with her words. Yet her words seemed to warm his heart a little after having taken such a beating. Even though he spent most of his life by this point trying to protect his younger sister, it seemed that she had been protecting him quite a bit also as he then smiled a little at her.

"We just have to work together and believe in each other's actions!" Shannon then went on, before she then glanced back to Vincent. "And that would mean all of us..." she then went on as Vincent, who had remained rather hesitant on the matter all this time gave it some more thought as he looked down a little.
"It's really far-fetched you know?" he stated as Shannon nodded.
"Yes, but so is the talking bat" she pointed out as Ciel gave a stiff glance in Shannon's direction. He had a feeling he was going to have to go through half-hearted quips like this for a while, as Vincent looked from Shannon, to Arthur thoughtfully. Before he sighed, giving in to her words.
"I guess so... Fine, I trust that you are making the right judgement, to be honest at this point we really do have nothing left to loose..." he responded as Shannon then clapped her hands in celebration.
"See Arthur! We all believe in you, so you have to keep postiv-OW!" Shannon proclaimed before giving a small cry as Arthur pinched her nose with a raised eyebrow.
"I get it! Stop trying to be cool, that's my job" he told her as Shannon squirmed a little before he let go of her nose. Shannon took a few seconds to rub her nose with a small mutter, however then she looked back at him with her nose now a blaring red, with a large beam in his way. And to this Arthur gave a small slightly relieved smile back. Though most of the time he always had to deal with things alone, he had seemed to lose sight that there were people who were willing to help him, even at risking their own life. For that reason it seemed that a lot of his confidence that had been shattered by Princess Ran's betrayal seemed to be piecing itself together bit by bit.

'Say Ciel... Who is that man?'

The young girl with short white hair peeked behind the door way, looking into room before it.
"That'd be the king young mistress..." her mother's bat familiar stated, flying beside her as the girl's eye's remained transfixed on the inside of the room. Within there, her other sat with a man, her hands over his right eye as she muttered various things quietly, multiple small magic circles appearing and fading away as she spoke on. The man was a middle aged one with dark brown hair, who just sat there quietly listening to the sound of her voice, almost seeming to absorb it as he remained unmoving. And the young girl could only stare at the king confused...
"Will he not kill her? I thought the king hated magic users..." The young girl pointed out as Ciel gave a slightly stiff expression to the young girl's words.
"He does, however your mother has always been an exception" Ciel explained as the young girl kept on watching, her mother Rosalyn finishing the spell she was muttering to herself, the magic circles all disappearing. She slowly lifted her hand away from the king's eye with a small smile as he for a while he kept his right eye closed.
"You can open up your eye now, you don't need to worry about what you see any more your majesty..." Rosalyn told the king, as after a second's hesitation, he opened up his eye to reveal the cursed light blue scarring within it, the eye almost glowing as the vortex within span slowly. He blinked twice before looking up to Rosalyn who remained giving him the same kindly smile. "Does it seem better?" she inquired as the king blinked some more, before giving a slightly worn out smile himself.
"I can never tell when confronted by you, you are the only thing that I have never seen anything wrong with..." The king told her, keeping his gaze to the fall, as Rosalyn's remained quiet, seeming unsure on what to really say.
"Well you have a wife, and a child now your majesty, surely they must be the people you can never see any wrong with" Rosalyn stated as the king's eyes narrowed faintly...
"I cannot see beautiful things because of this curse... That is what I got told..." the king began as Rosalyn began packing her things away. "However, you are the only beautiful thing I can see... With this cursed eye of mine, you are the only solace I have, in a world filled with nothing but darkness..." the king stated as Rosalyn paused, seeming to be somewhat troubled by his words, as she then glanced back to him with a half-hearted smile.
"You flatter me too much your majesty. I heard the queen is a beauty beyond compare-"
"I would have married you..." the king went on, his words cutting Rosalyn's short as she seemed a little surprised, the king bowing his head a little more in disheartened paranoia. "If I had known that I could gaze upon you without such visions sooner... If I had never had such a curse to begin with, I would have most definitely taken you from that awful man and married you..."

Rosalyn seemed rather stunned at the kings words, her cheeks seeming to flare faintly, before her eyes seemed to hold a slightly distant sadness to them as she smiled to him once more weakly.
"I don't deserve such kind words your majesty... Afterall, it is my fault that you are like this to begin with..." Rosalyn stated, getting to her feet as the king seemed to look emptily to the floor. And as the young girl watching heard this, she then turned away from the door, beginning to walk down the hallway.
"E-Eh, young mistress, where are you going?" Ciel exclaimed flying after her as the girl decided to walk outside hopping from floorboard to floorboard of the cottage.
"I'm bored, I don't want to hear anymore..." she stated as Ciel gave her a slightly stiff expression.
"Well you shouldn't have been eaves dropping anyway... But this is rather unlike you..." he responded as the girl placed her hand on the wooden door... Part of her, had always acknowledged the fact that if given the choice, her mother wouldn't have chosen to have the life in which she existed...

She would have much rather lived a happily life with the king...

It was one evening that the young girl sat down on the step of the doorway to the small garden to the left of the cottage, that she saw the king and actually spoke to him as he walked down the path way to make his way to the cottage... It was as he noticed her sitting on the step, a little surprised to see her there as she played with Ciel a little with a distant expression. Before that point she had always hidden away from him, since nobody ever truly tried to talk to her except her mother. And if she did try to talk, she would only get in the way... Yet he started the conversation with her.
"You... You are Rosalyn's daughter, are you not...?" he questioned from behind the fence as the young girl flinched a little, looking up to the king in slight surprise. The king took a long stare at her, an eyepatch over his cursed eye as he then smiled a little to her. "Why don't you come closer? Let me take a proper look at you." He then called over to her as the girl went from staring at him, before looking down quietly and nervously, giving it some thought. "Whilst I have this cover on my eye, I won' t do anything bad, you don't have to worry..." The king then informed her, the girl still seeming a little hesitant...

However, she then got up, her eyes still to the ground as she walked over to him, Ciel following her to watch on her as she stopped before him. And as he got a closer look to her, he seemed faintly surprised by her appearance. "You really do look just like your mother..." he commented somewhat amazed as the girl looked up to him with a calm expression.
"Mister... Was it my father who did that to your eye?" she then questioned, as Ciel flinched from beside, his jaw almost dropping.
"Y-young mistress, where is your manners, he is royalty!" Ciel spluttered as the girl ignored the bat, keeping her eyes on the king who seemed a little stunned by her question.
"I was told that the curse on your eye is his..." the girl stated as the king's surprise quickly simmered down to a slightly saddened expression.
"Yes, it was... But you can't be blamed for what he did..." he stated as the young girl looked away from him, kicking the dirt a little.
"It doesn't matter if you don't blame me... I was born to take the blame for everybody anyway..." she informed him as the king seemed to become a little unsettled by her words. The child before him , as far as he was informed, was born because of his influence on the magic war, to fulfil the prophecy in which he had promised he would help save Rosalyn from a long time ago. And though she had been saved, it seemed that it had all been pushed onto such a small person... He gave a kind smile to the girl.
"Funny sounds very similar to what I have to do" he then told her, as the girl paused, looking back up to him as he continued with a slight smile. "As a king, I have to lead my people and make sure they are safe, and I have to take the blame for many things my people do as well, including myself" he stated, before his smile faded somewhat. "Though I haven't done as great a job as I should have, especially not for people like you... " he stated, before he then turned to the girl, deciding not to dwell on his own guilt. "I guess you can say you are the royalty of magic huh?" he suggested, as the girl blinked twice at him, a little taken back by his words. Before she then looked down shyly.
"Th-That's..." she uttered in slight embarrassment. "I- I am not that important..." she declined as the king laughed a little to her humbleness.
"I guess I should bow to you and call you, your highness" he continued as the girl looked down even more awkwardly. Ciel glancing from the king to the small girl with a hint of intrigue. He had never seen the young girl talk to somebody for this long and this depth other than her mother.
"I really am not that important..." she mumbled as the king remained smiling at her.
"You know not all things I see with this curse are bad..." he began, seemingly changing subject as the girl looked back up to him a little shy. He then placed his hand up to his cursed eye. "I can't look at you with this eye, as if I did there's the chance that I wouldn't see the real you..." he went on before placing his hand up to his other eye. "But with this eye, I see many different colours. The colours of people's voice and the sounds around me, I like to think that they are the real person..." he told her, as the girl seemed a little intrigued with what he was saying.
"Is it a result of the curse...?" she asked him as he then nodded closing his eyes thoughtfully.
"I think it's a result of it, it developed over time... One day I woke up and I was surrounded by colour... I began to realise that different colours represented different things... The birds tweeting outside my window would light the world up in a white colour. The sound of my villages would bring up hints of blues, blacks, whites and yellow. The sound of my wife's voice holds deep colours of green..." he went on before then looked to the young girl, his eyes open again. "But you are similar to your mother... Your voice, just like hers holds a completely unidentifiable colour to me..." he then stated, the girl keeping her eyes fixed on the king. "And yet I think there's something important to note..."

DRIP

DRIP

DRIP

Rosalyn remained quiet whilst looking to the ground, a slightly empty look in her eyes as she hung from the wall of flesh completely still. Ah... That was a memory she hadn't recalled in a very long time, one she had almost forgotten. She couldn't say why she had remembered it... Maybe it was because of all the things she found out about Princess Ran... She was alone in this room now which was damp, oozing with fresh blood from the walls and for some reason rather warm... Outside she could hear the distant rumbling of the chaos in which the plague had caused, almost like an impending wave of doom, along with the constant thudding of the heartbeat within this fleshy tower that had replaced that of the clock outside the door of her home... The home she had been made to live in for almost a year now, since this plague had come to be...
'I had the power to do what you couldn't! I removed your miserable little curse and left you with no last resorts. So how on earth will you stop me? When now you are powerless!'
Things hadn't always been like this... She never lived up in a tower alone, or used black magic. She had never found herself desperately trying to fight for her life, hiding behind the disguise that everything was okay. That she could be confident enough to do things, it never was like this... Back at that time when she was all alone, or even before then, when she at least had her mother's smile to make things better, perhaps it would have just been better for things to remain like that. And yet here she was, failing to live up to the only thing she was born for. To save magic... To save people from disaster...

If only she had worked harder to stop the plague... If she had been quicker to use that final spell in the book, the one she had been reluctant on using because it would have cost her, her life. Then perhaps she could've changed things. And yet even with that resolve, the thought saddened her... If she had used such a spell sooner, she wondered what Arthur would have thought. He seemed pretty determined to find a way that could end the plague and have them both survive... Though that seemed pretty impossible by this point...

She looked back down coldly, shuffling somewhat where she hung. She didn't have a right to think about Arthur's words right now, or any chance of her making it out of this alive... For the reason Arthur was dragged into this in the first place, the reason the plague was now weeping toxins into the air, all of this... This was all because of her failing to act quicker, because of her own delusions and selfish desires... All of this was her fault...

White was the colour of bird song. Blue was the colour of life... And this deep seeping red sliding down her skin...

"General, we can't send more people out there, it's too dangerous for people to leave the castle right now!" one of the guards stated as General Rudcliff appeared to start getting frustrated with his men, gritting his teeth.
"We can't stay in the castle either, if we don't get these people on a boat off the country quickly-" the general began, snapping at his guard who flinched a little as there came a nervous voice that cut in.
"Actually, I hate to be the bearer of bad news general but we just got news from the coast..." stated the duke who stood behind them with a rag over his nose, as the general raised an eyebrow at the dukes words. The duke gave a distilled expression, feeling rather sickly by this point. "They say that the plague seems to go on beyond that of the kingdom and out to see. Not only that, but the boats are all rotting away..." he then went on, as the General's eyes widened.
"Wh-What?! Are you telling me that there is no way to get away from the plague?!" The general then cried as the duke then looked behind himself cautiously.
"If you don't believe me, why don't you ask the only harbour man to make it here alive. I doubt he has much reason to be lying at this point..." the duke responded, as the general looked to where the Duke's eyes were focused, before seeing one of the men from the harbour sitting down palely, servants from the palace helping attend to his wounds as blood dripped from the stump that once was his arm. And upon seeing this, the General almost seemed to wince, turning away from the man and looking down quietly.
"G-General... What is it we do now...?" the guard beside General Rudcliff questioned nervously as the General gave a slight grunt of agitation as the guard asked him this.

"General Rudcliff! We have found Sir Arthur and Sir Louise! They're heading over now!" Another guard yelled, running over the general, trying to catch his attention as the General gave a mixed expression of relief and anger as he turned around hauling up his large sword.
"It's about time! Louise and Arthur what timing do you call this?!" General Rudcliff then barked as Arthur and Louise emerged from the crowds of people, along with Break, Shannon, Ciel and Vincent.
"Apologies General... I ran into some trouble on my way up here" Arthur apologised with a slight bow, his eyes narrowing a little as he bowed. He could smell it in the air, the toxic air from the plagued lands he last smelt the worst and last time he stepped into them. The air felt as though it was stinging all your insides, poking holes in your lungs and filling your guts with a pungent liquid. And yet having said that, he could somewhat tell that the air wasn't quite as lethal as that time, at least not yet. It seemed that the plague's air hadn't reached its fullest potential to be toxic, like it was when it was still all bundled up into one small area. Though Arthur had his doubts that things would remain like this.
"Trouble on the way?! I don't think you have realised Sir Arthur, but the whole countries in damn trouble right now!" the general snapped as Arthur nodded.
"Yes, I'm well aware of that" he responded as the General took a moment to stare at him, before breathing sharply from his nose as he turned around fierily.
"If you are aware of that, then you and Louise get on the front lines right away and lead people from the village to safety!" the general began as at first Arthur found himself hesitating. However as he realised there was no other choice in the matter, he then spoke up.
"I can't..." he answered as the general paused, at first genuinely seeming quite shocked... Before he looked back to Arthur with a look of confusion and aggravation.
"Eh?" the general simply questioned quite gruffly as Louise also stepped in.
"General if you listen to what he has to say before getting mad, it would really be for the best" Louise stated, the act of Louise actually seeming to take Arthur's side for once seeming to have the General baffled... And yet, it also was enough to convince him to listen as he sighed, nodding a little.

"So I suppose you have your reasons for this?" General Rudcliff then stated as Arthur nodded.
"Actually General, it's to do with the plague. I know what the cause of it was" Arthur stated as the General simply raised an eyebrow at him.
"You know the cause of the plague? Why, isn't it obvious what the cause of the plague is by this point? It's the witch in the tower towards the south, I thought you was already well aware of this sir Arthu-" the general began pointing out what only seemed obvious to him when Arthur then cut in.
"It's not the witch General, I can definitely tell you that" Arthur answered as the General seemed to stumble over his words a little. Before giving Arthur a rather confused look to his claim.
"N-Not the witch...? That's a pretty bold claim considering most evidence found points towards it being her. What makes you so certain it isn't her?" The General inquired as Arthur kept his eyes on the General's seriously.
"I know it isn't her, I speak from experience" he answered, his words at surprising the General as well as capturing his intrigue.
"Experience you say? Interesting..." the general responded, thinking on it some more before he tilted his head at Arthur crossing his arms. "So if what you are saying is correct, there's another magic user responsible for this, and you say you know them? Then out with it, we'll have to capture the cause straight away!" the General went on as Arthur froze a little. The eyes of the General, the duke and a few other guards and officials were now on him, awaiting his response. And he knew it was going to be a response that they weren't going to like... However...
"I-It's... It's her majesty..." it was quiet, yet he managed to get the words out, as dry and bitter as they were. It was perhaps more of a nudge to himself to swallow the information he too had found hard to believe. Yet it was also the knowledge that nobody had come this far to be killed by something they trusted, that gave him a lot more confidence responding the second time, upon the General's slight look of startlement and confused
"EH?!"
"I said it was her majesty" Arthur repeated, trying to remain calm despite his own angst as it took the General a few seconds to process his words, the officials beginning to give a mixed utter of shock and dissaprovement. "It's very hard to believe, but the culprit is Princess Ran..." he restated, as the General gave a small bewildered nod of disbelief.

And there was a rather tense silence that filled Arthur with slight dread. As with the multiple transformations of expression on the General's face already gave him an idea of what was coming next.
"Sir Arthur... The air is really getting to your head..." The General stated, in a rather distant and calm manner as Arthur's eyes narrowed... He knew it.
"To make such claims against her Majesty! How dare you!" The duke automatically leapt at Arthur's words, completely seething as the General turned away from Arthur.
"Go take Sir Arthur to go lie down, he seems rather unwell..." the General stated, his words causing Arthur to make a move as he went to object.
"General, I don't think you-" he began when Louise then cut in.
"Actually he's not as mad as you would think. Not only is she the cause of the plague, but it's likely that a lot of you have been put under the influence of some sort of spell to do with her. It explains a lot..." Louise then went on as Arthur seemed to flinch upon those words.
'You were far more interesting being like every other man I put under the love trance'
So that was what she meant by those words...? If that were the case then what happened on the knight Louise came to the tower-
"Not you too Louise?!" The General then snapped at Louise, giving him a gruff look. "You don't get along with Sir Arthur all this time, and this is what you agree with him with?!"
"Actually, if it weren't for certain circumstance's I wouldn't be agreeing with anything that man says at all..." Louise stated bluntly, not hesitating to voice his opinion on Arthur before pointing at himself. "However, I'm not going to let my life or the life of many others be cut short due to the fact that people couldn't believe the truth-"
"Enough, the two of you have lost it!" The general then barked corrosively, having no more of their words. "The two of you are instructed to stay here; you are clearly not sane enough for battle. Wait here for further instruction!" General Rudcliff then hissed at both the knights, now getting rather defensive, as Louise found himself having to step back a bit, seeming partially frustrated at the General's lack of understanding. Arthur's eyes seemed to become a little fiercer as he walked over to General Rudcliff once more.
"I know it's unbelievable General but-"

SHINK

Arthur was stopped by a large and rather menacing sword blade swinging round and pointing at his neck, Arthur's words vanishing at once as the General gave him a rather deadly look.
"Sir Arthur, if you continue making such claims, I have every right to strike you dead right here..." General Rudcliff warned him malevolently as Arthur kept quiet and still not flinching at the blade before him. "Everything you say can be taken as high treason and will not be taken lightly..." the General then went on as Shannon began to react.
"Please stop! He's saying the truth!" she argued as Break tried to quieten her down for her own sake.
"Shannon this isn't the-"
"Don't you find it weird that your Princess isn't even here when you all need her most?! Have any of the officials seen her at all since this all happened?!" Shannon then yelled, before Break held her back, covering her mouth . It seemed to her words, the General seemed to wince a little, as though he took her words to consideration, looking to one of the officials briefly, who after a moment of eye contact with him, then flinched and began to run off, going to prove the girls words.

And it was then that Arthur placed his hand against the General's blade, pushing it away from him much to the General's shock.
"I wouldn't believe it either General..." Arthur then stated, as the General seemed a little confused by his words at first. "I wouldn't dare say such things either if I didn't know it was the truth... It's not something I want to admit as the truth, and the thought of being betrayed by somebody I trusted so much is extremely painful..." Arthur then went on, his words irking the General a little more as he began to frown again. "But even if it is painful... I can't let that sort of truth remain a lie at the cost of everybody else's life... If I don't try to stop this, everyone will die including her majesty. So I cannot stay here... However there's also a high chance that I won't be able to change things if you don't let me..." Arthur explained, as it seemed his final few words finally seemed to reach the general a little, as he began to lower his sword somewhat. "Only I know how to stop the plague..." Arthur then went on seriously as the general remained a little suspicious of him... However, it was then he lowered his blade, placing it back in its sheathe with a rather guarded expression.
"I'm going to give you some time to explain yourself and your plan..." General Rudcliff responded, seeming a little unsure himself as the duke jumped at his words.
"General, you are really buying this?!" the duke exclaimed as General Rudcliff's eyes remained somewhat narrowed.
"His claims are pretty ridiculous... However I like to think that Sir Arthur's not a man to speak about things without reason... If he is anything like his father, in any case..." General Rudcliff responded as at first, Arthur himself seemed a little surprised to find out he had been given the time, before a slight look of relief overcame his face. Shannon herself looking down with a small smile of relief... Looked like their father had come at some sort of help during this time...

And yet, it was during this moment, that there was a loud clattering noise from the gates of the kingdom, as a small group of wounded guards and soldiers walk into the building. Some of which were looking lucky to be alive. And it was upon seeing them that a look of dread appeared on Arthur's face.
"What happened...?" he questioned as the General gave a rather unsettled expression to the look of his wounded fleets.
"Creatures out there... They are way too strong for a majority of my men to handle... They're almost demonic... " General Rudcliff explained as Arthur's eyes widened somewhat. So this was the cause of the current creatures of the plague? Though it had been true, since the fate switching incident, he hadn't truly stepped foot in the plagued lands since, the creatures beforehand were all moderately easy to handle, at least they would be for a group of men. But how had they become so deadly within those few restarts in between? Was this really all that it took...

There was a brief silence as the general seemed to really think hard to himself, trying to think up of a scheme as he sighed a little.
"I'm still not buying your words on her majesty... But if you have a plan on how to stop this plague then be my guest. At this rate, we have no sort of way of getting out the gates without being slaughtered..." General Rudcliff then pointed out as Arthur furrowed his brow somewhat as he looked to the gates of the palace cautiously... He knew by saving Rosalyn, and stopping Princess Ran they had a chance to stop the plague... However, in regards to actually getting outside the gate and getting past the creatures of the plagued lands. He gave an unsettled expression as he looked down somewhat.
"That's something that I..." he began, feeling rather wary as the General looked to him expectantly. And yet it was not Arthur's words that the general would hear next.
"I-If I may point out... these creatures are magic based, so if we had some sort of magic blocking stones like the Iscara..." came a slightly timid voice above them, as the general and Arthur looked up to the bat that was flying over Arthur, who looked back to them nervously. And for a moment, the group of them were silent...

Before

"IT'S A MAGIC CREATURE SHOOT IT DOWN!" The general then signalled to his archers as Ciel gave a small cry, Arthur giving the bat a stiff expression. This wasn't the best time to be overly open at all, even if it was to help out. Despite his questioning on the bats sanity, Arthur raised his hand, blocking the aim before Ciel dully.
"Don't shoot, he's an ally..." Arthur stated as General Rudcliff looked back to him in shock.
"S-Sir Arthur, you are defending the creature?!" The general stammered as Arthur nodded, pointing to Ciel, who now seemed rather paranoid.
"If you want proof that the witch is our ally, this small creature is that proof..." Arthur mentioned as Ciel hid behind him somewhat.
"S-Sir Arthur, can you not make me sound so much like something that can be ripped open and tested..." Ciel pleaded, now fearing for his life as the duke gave a look of distaste to Arthur.
"So you were working with the witch? You expect us to trust such a creature when you could both be manipulated by the witch?!" The duke hissed as the General also seemed to be quite disgruntled... For a moment, he seemed to be fighting with his own thoughts before he then decided to think a bit more openly.
"So this thing knows magic?" The general questioned as Arthur nodded.
"Better than most of us currently here... "he answered, as the general looked to Ciel, who remained rather frightened of him, before sighing.
"Then I guess we need all the help we can get, what did the bat have to say?" General Rudcliff inquired, much to the duke's shock. Arthur looked back to Ciel, who for a moment seemed rather hesitant.
"General, if I may interrupt, are you really going to trust that thing over your own ruler-" the duke began when Ciel then spoke up.
"I- I said that if we have some sort of magic stone, like the Iscara stone at hand, we could probably get through the creatures much easier..." Ciel stated as Arthur looked to the bat, sort of curious as to where the bats new found confidence to speak... Before he noticed Ciel glaring at the duke, and it became clear to him, that the duke was even annoying to talking animals at this point. The general raised an eyebrow at the bat.
"Iscara stones? I haven't used an Iscara stone in years. Don't know if you have already heard, but they are pretty rare, we mined them all out in the war..." the general pointed out as Ciel nodded to his words.
"Yes, well I'm well aware of that... However, the Iscara stone is not the only stone that has a defence against magic. There's the Castion stone, the Terrifa stone, the Pestalia stone and many more..." Ciel noted, his words somewhat losing the general who gave him a confused expression.
"Yes bat, but the question is, would there be any such stones here, we can't exactly leave the palace..." the general noted as Ciel became quite troubled with the general's words.
"Ah..." he responded, trying to think as Arthur also found himself reflecting on the bats words... If the Iscara stone was rare, then their chances of finding much more was rather bleak... That was at least what he first thought as he seemed to recall seeing a large quantity of Iscara stones somewhere before in one of the previous time restarts.
'She gave me some gems to help me defeat her, such as the strange light blue stones that Arthur uses, and this other one that was a strange black colour, I don't know the name of it...'
Arthur's eyes widened somewhat as he remembered Louise's armour from that time... That was it.
"L-ewise!" Arthur then snapped as Louise automatically frowned at him.
"Is this really the time to be insulting me now peasant boy..." Louise uttered in a rather annoyed manner as Arthur corrected him.
"It's a force of habit..." he mentioned before he pointed to Louise's gauntlet. "You said the Princess gave you a bunch of Iscara stones during that time" Arthur mentioned as Louise nodded.
"You mean the light blue stones?"
"Yes!"

Arthur looked back to the general and pointed to his sword.
"The Princess seems to have a stash of the Iscara stones lying around somewhere in the palace. If we take a look around her quarters-" Arthur began, when the duke then cut in.
"Absolutely not!" The duke protested, before he then pointed at Arthur. "You have yet to even prove what your claims are, are true! How could you even suggest we allow you within her majesty's quarters?!" The duke then snapped at Arthur, who proceeded to frown at the duke's stubbornness. If things kept on going this man's way, they would all wind up dead.
"Duke, I'm sorry you seem so offended by this, however this isn't a matter of trying to prove my words right now. If the royalty do have a stash of anti-magic supplies then it would benefit everyone to have those supplies right now," Arthur pointed out as the Duke remained rather defensive against Arthur. "In fact, surely you would know where such supplies would be, being the head of her court..." Arthur then noted as the Duke's expression seemed to grow even more sour.
"Even if I did, I would not be willing to share that information with you!" The duke mentioned backing away from Arthur, looking from his to the general in angst. "You have all lost your minds! If it weren't for the plague right now, you would have all been arrested on the spot!" he pointed out as he glared at Arthur. "You were meant to kill that witch, not side with her, are you incapable of even completing one simple task?! There's no arguing that she is the cause of this! It's something only that wretch's kind would do! Why do you think magic was banned in the first place?! " the duke seethed, his words angering Arthur somewhat.
"And it's that kind of narrow mindedness that wound up getting hundreds of innocent people from both sides killed!" Arthur then pointed out roughly, as at once the duke bit his tongue to his words, momentarily faltering, before he then brought up his retort.
"Such insolence! How dare you demean his previous highness's words?!" The duke barked at Arthur, when Arthur then felt a weight on his head, as Ciel perched upon it, a rather frustrated look upon his face as he stretched his winds out a bit.
"If anybody is demeaning the old king's words right now, it would be you..." Ciel pointed out as the duke almost seemed to flinch at the bat's presence, backing up momentarily before he scoffed.
"So a mere bat thinks it can make such accusations against me now? I didn't think I could be insulted by such a flea ridden creature! Go on bat, what could you possibly bring to the table at this point, considering everyone is already against you!" The duke then taunted Ciel as Ciel remained reasonably calm to the insults coming his way for once.
"Well if you knew anything about what the old king stood for, then you'd know that not all magic was banned, there were exceptions. Maybe the name Rosalyn Isolde strikes a chord with you?" Ciel responded as the duke seemed to twitch somewhat as he gave a rather anxious expression quite suddenly.
"I think most of us are acquainted with the woman who destroyed these lands by now, yes..." The duke responded quite quietly as Ciel gave the duke a quite serious expression.
"I wouldn't be as angered as I am right now, if it weren't for the fact that I know that you were the kings advisor and you were there when he made the law. I'm not talking about my current mistress, I'm talking about the real Rosalyn Isolde and you know full well which one I am talking about!" Ciel noted as his words not only seemed to catch the attention of the duke, general and other officials around, but the attention of Arthur in particular as he gave a look of confusion. So that woman in his past really was called Rosalyn Isolde?!
"Ciel-" Arthur began when Ciel shushed him quiet.
"This is a tale for another time Sir Arthur..." Ciel responded in almost a murmur as Arthur's eyes narrowed even more. What was that meant to mean? And what did he mean 'the real Rosalyn Isolde'? Did that mean that the Rosalyn he had known all this time, had been a fake...? Then who was she? Who was the person he had been battling against all this time? The person he wound up falling in love with?

"Rosalyn Isolde huh..." General Rudcliff uttered, catching Arthur's attention as the General put his hand under his chin. "Yeah I remember her... The witch who we were ordered to never kill..." the general uttered before his eyes narrowed. "Well that was until one day, when some guards were given some orders to kill her and any other magic users in the area..." the general went on as Arthur gave a slightly discomforted expression to the generals words and the memory of the aftermath of that event.
"W-Well even if she is an exception to that event, what does it have to do with-" the duke went on as the bat flapped his wing s a little.
"I wasn't finished!" he scolded the duke, who found himself once again silenced by Ciel's anger. "Since you were also there to witness the kings will, you will also know that you aren't allowed to harm the magia's covenant under any circumstances!"
"And how were we meant to know she was the magia's covenant?! And anyway aren't you forgetting that we can execute her if she is found out to be using magic that will harm the kingdom?" The duke objected as Ciel grew more restless.
"I'm not forgetting that, what you are forgetting is that mistress already turned to you and your highness and stated she was using her magic to help rid of the plague over a year ago! That's the whole reason you knew she was a magic user and that she existed to begin with!" Ciel then exclaimed, the duke giving a loud cry of frustration to the bats words. And it seemed the duke come up with no better come backs as General Rudcliff frowned to the duke.
"Is this correct duke?" the general inquired sharply as the duke began to sink into himself a little more , almost pleading to disappear as it appeared this sort of news had the General growing more sceptic of the duke. And it was before the general could even begin to ask the duke to justify his actions that an official ran into the crowd, the same one who had run off to check upon the princess, his face ashen.
"G-general..." the official panted as the General gave him a slightly annoyed expression, having been interrupted.
"Huh?!"
"I-It's her majesty..." the official stated raising his finger, trying to catch his breath. "Sh-She's really gone... She's nowhere to be found in the palace at all..."

There was a short silence, before the crowds around them all began to mutter, Arthur going rather tense upon awaiting what sort of response he would get from the general now, as the General looked at all the crowds around him, a little bewildered. Before he then gave an antagonised expression of defeat, looking down with a sigh.
"Soldiers!" he spoke up, catching the attention of the two guards beside him, who stood up straight upon being called upon. "Call upon the rest, tell them to regroup here within the courtyards..." the general then demanded, before looking to the Duke gruffly as the duke flinched; the general scrunching his nose up at him. "Arrest the Duke also. We'll send some people to her highnesses quarters to look for jewels..." the general stated, the duke seeming to become affronted by his words as the guards went to arrest him.
"Wh-Wha?! You can't do this general! Do you have any idea who I am?! Are you forgetting all her highness has done for this country?!" the Duke spluttered as the General looked back to the duke fiercely.
"Of course I haven't. I still have my doubts myself..." the general responded, before he then looked back to the crowds behind him with a disgruntled expression. "However, I have hundreds of lives depending on me right now, and I am not willing to have all of them lost because I failed to consider everything!" the general then continued, the slight look of relief the duke seemed to be growing on his face, disappearing as soon as it appeared, being replaced by a stupefied expression.
"Wh-Bu-"
"Take him away men..." the general sent the duke off as the guards who now had him by either arm saluted their general.
"Right away sir!" they nodded, taking their leave with the duke.

Amidst all of this, Arthur found himself rather awe-struck that his words were even being considered, as he heard his sister clapping in the background with relief.
"Sir Louise, Arthur, come with me to find these jewels and quickly!" the general demanded as Arthur flinched, snapped out his own dumbfoundment, just as the general walked past him. "I had a lot of respect for your father back then... So don't fail to live up to that same respect solider..." the general mentioned to him briefly as Arthur found himself looking back to the general, who proceeded onwards to the palace. Not seeming to linger on anything sentimental. And despite it sounding very much like a warning, Arthur smiled somewhat to those words.
"Right away general..." he responded.

"Right well we have the army on our side, though Sir Arthur, we do still have the problem of how many days it will take us to reach the tower..." Ciel stated as Arthur nodded, as he, Louise, the general and a few other men were now frantically looking throughout the royal quarters, in hopes to find some sort of magical item in there. Arthur's eyebrows furrowed at the bat's words as he gave a dry smile.
"Any hopes of finding a teleport crystal?" he questioned.
"Well that's if we find any stones at all. Though teleport crystals are a little different from normal ones, they are formed of pure magical energy, so they can only be crafted by magic..." Ciel responded, his response not giving Arthur any sort of brighter hopes.
"And how long do you reckon we have?" Arthur asked as Ciel looked out the window, rather unsure himself.
"Seeing how long it took for the outlands to be destroyed when the plague first appeared, I'd say we have under twelve hours sir..." Ciel responded as Arthur gave a rather anxious expression to the bat's words. It usually took them a few hours to reach the inn. And then from the inn onwards it would take them even longer to the tower...
"If we went without breaks, then we should be able to reach the inn pretty quick, especially with most of the wildlife gone, but to say whether or not we will make it in time..." Arthur then uttered, feeling time wear down on him, when he heard a small cry from the other room.
"Hey, General, Sir Arthur, we think we found some things!" one of the guards yelled, as Arthur and the rest of the people searching in the room walked over to the person who was calling for them.

One of the guards had found a small trap door behind one of the tapestry's whilst searching and it was upon going closer to that door that Arthur and the other's all came to find the room was almost behind it was glimmering with a bright blue light. And it seemed that just as Arthur had predicted, Princess Ran did have a stash of Iscara stones lying around the palace. Much rather, an entire mountain of them as the group stood before their finding somewhat dumbstruck.
"It's been a long time since I have seen so many of these stones in one area..." the general uttered, rather bewildered as Arthur gave a determined expression. The Iscara stone upon his own sword had saved his life multiple times by this point and it would definitely aid the soldiers who received them better against the creatures now looming outside the palace. "Well don't just sit there like aimless fools, grab them!" the general announced as the men who were now staring at all the jewels in a trance, quite suddenly jolted back into work, quickly removing the stones from the room, as for the first time since all this mess started, General Rudcliff gave a relieved laugh.
"Well Sir Arthur, though I still remain unsure on your princess claims, I guess you were right about one thing. This sort of material will aid quite a number of out men!" the general stated, Arthur nodding somewhat as he pointed to Ciel.
"You shouldn't thank me as much as you should the bat..." Arthur responded as Ciel flinched at the attention being brought onto him. The general took a moment to look at Ciel, before his gaze then drifted away, a much more half-hearted gratitude coming from his mouth.
"Yes... Well thank you bat..." the general uttered, leaving Ciel unsure on whether he should be offended by his lacking enthusiasm or not. "Anyway, the troops will be working at moving the people to a safer place at least for now, before we devise a new plan. We'll be needing both yours and Sir Louise's help..." the general began, as Arthur then flinched upon the General's words. Before he then spoke up his concerns.
"A-actually General Rudcliff, I can't wait around for a plan..." Arthur stated as the General seemed to be a little surprised by Arthur's proclamation. "I need to head towards the tower straight away..." Arthur then noted, General Rudcliff raising an eyebrow at him.
"To be going to such a place at such a time... Wouldn't you rather wait for the help of the army...?" the General inquired, Arthur's eyes holding a certain degree of perplexment within them.
"I'm afraid I can't general..." Arthur responded as the General seemed to give Arthur's words a lot of heavy thought. "Get the people of the kingdom away from danger as quickly as possible. I can proceed on my own from here..." Arthur then told the general, who didn't seem to be too sure with those words. However as he stared more at Arthur's expression, his reluctance to allow it, died down a bit, before he looked back to Louise, who was busy looking through the stones.
"Sir Louise, if Arthur has to make it to this tower, then assist him. Two hands make better than one..." The general announced as before Arthur could begin to protest, Louise looked up from the jewels with a rather dull expression.
"I was planning on following peasant boy anyway..." he mentioned, as it seemed to come to Arthur's understanding, that given the recent events, Louise's attitude towards him may have changed. "Don't get me wrong, I have my own reasons for it. I wound up being pulled into his mess, so I have a few things I want to finish myself..." Louise went on as the General gave an affirming noise.
"Is that so..." he responded, as Louise looked at a gem within his hands, inspecting it closely when he then called over to Arthur.
"Say, Peasant boy, catch!"
He threw the stone in Arthur's direction, Arthur catching it a little confused, before taking time to look at it. Within his hands was a dark black stone that seemed to emit a rather strange aura, in mixes of strange colours. As well as this, the stone seemed to almost pulsate, each pulsation giving an almost cold and heavy sensation in his hand. One that made his skin crawl. And it was because of this that Arthur looked back to Louise with a rather winced expression.
"What is this? It feels horrible..." he responded , Louise nodding to his point.
"No need to remind me about it. That is the strange black stone I mentioned earlier..." Louise mentioned, Arthur's eyes looking back to the gem now in his hands a little unsettled... This gem was the extra gem that Princess Ran gave Louise that time restart? Arthur held the gem up, so Ciel could see it clearer, a little uncertain.
"What do you say bat?" he questioned, as Ciel took a closer look to the gem, seeming a little troubled by what it was himself, placing his nose upon it to sniff it... Before he sneezed, shuddering as he backed up whilst shaking his head.
"I have no idea what that could be... It may be something on mistress can identify..." Ciel mentioned, wrinkling his nose various times as Arthur nodded, lowering his hand.
"I see... Then we will have to ask her when we find her..." Arthur responded, lowering his hand as Louise shrugged, giving Arthur a serious expression.
"Well I have no idea what it does. However it seemed important, and if you are going to be doing something ridiculous like ending the plague, I figured need it more than me..." Louise stated as Arthur frowned at the stone. Not knowing what this thing did, didn't really make him want to keep it on him. Especially considering how ominous this thing felt in his hand...

"Hey Olier, are you okay...?" Arthur questioned, walking into the stable as he heard the grunt of his usually quite stubborn horse, much to his relief. He walked over to the stable to see his horse waiting for him, his muzzle around his nose and what looked to be a type of cloth, something in which the stable keeper must have placed upon him as the plague broke out. Arthur gave his horse a relieved smile, quickly walking over to it and petting its head.
"Good, it wouldn't be any good you beginning to fall ill on my now, my good friend..." Arthur stated, petting the horse on its nuzzle; Ciel now landing upon Olier's head.
"I must question your sanity, when your best friend is your horse Sir Arthur..." Ciel pointed out as Arthur gave Ciel a small glare.
"You know despite everything, it's good to see you haven't lost your charming nature..." Arthur commented as Ciel shrugged.
"Sarcasm aside sir Arthur, it would be a wonder to me if your horse didn't think you were mad for talking to him as well..." Ciel pointed out as Olier gave a small nicker in response to this, Arthur's expression becoming even more arid as he strained a smile.
"Yeah, well you can keep your opinions to yourselves..." Arthur responded as he began to hear footsteps behind him.

"Arthur, wait up!" came Shannon's voice from nearby as Arthur lowered his reigns to see Shannon racing over to him, being followed by Louise, Break and Vincent. And it was as she neared him, Arthur gave her a slight frown, grabbing his reigns from the stable.
"Shannon, what are you doing here, you should be with the general right now evacuating..." Arthur commented as Shannon returned his frown.
"Huh? What? No, I'm coming with you silly..." she answered confidently, Arthur automatically declining her offer.
"No, it's too dangerous for you to follow me, make sure you stay with the general!" Arthur stated, pointing away from the stables as Shannon seemed determined with her own ideas.
"Look, we said we'd help you didn't we? I plan on living up to my word..." Shannon argued back as Arthur narrowed his eyes at her sternly.
"And you already have helped enough. I wouldn't even be out of this room if not for you guys! Best thing you can do for me is reach safety..." Arthur then went on as Break then began to interject.
"You see, I tried to tell her this but-" he began when Shannon then folded her arms.
"Look, I'm not leaving the palace without you! So you either take me with you, or I will stay here..." Shannon remained stubborn, as Arthur found himself becoming rather worn out with Shannon's arguments.
"Shannon, you aren't helping by being stubborn..." Arthur began when Shannon then raised a finger at him.
"And what do you mean, I'll be safer with the general?!" she then began as for a moment Arthur was a little confused by her words.
"Huh?-"
"I'm a lot safer with you aren't I? And if we stick as a group, you can ensure my safety better..." Shannon proposed as Arthur found himself beginning to stammer in argument.
"Y-Yes- Well-"
"Arthur, at least let me go mid-way there... After that, I promise I'll head back..."
"...."
"...."
".... You really are too stubborn..." Arthur muttered, faltering somewhat as Shannon looked to him hopefully. He sighed as he continued to get Olier out. "Only mid-way there... You'll head back when I reach the village. If we run into any danger, then you take a horse and run as far away as you can..." he then gave in, as Shannon's face lit up, Louise giving him a rather sour expression.
"You are giving in?" he questioned as Arthur nodded, exhaling deeply.
"Well she's right, she is probably safer with us for now... Plus the extra help from break and Vincent won't be a bother and they are the only people I trust her with..." Arthur pointed out as Vincent seemed to flinch at the idea of him now being a battle pawn.
"I won't be any trouble, I promise!" Shannon announced as Arthur nodded, hopping onto Olier, before helping her up too.
"Uhuh, you already have been trouble..." he announced as Louise took out two other horses in the stable.
"Honestly..." Louise shook his head, handing one of the horses to Break and Vincent. "Well one of you take this..." he mentioned as Vincent raised his hand somewhat, pointing to Break.
"C-Can't he ride on your horse with you? I'm really just an extra burden..." Vincent pointed out as Louise frowned at him at once.
"What? No, I'm not sharing my horse with a peasant..." Louise responded coldly as Vincent gave a dry look to Louise's words. Before he looked back to Break, who seemed to be slightly annoyed at Louise's words. And upon noticing Louise's gaze on him, Break then gave Louise and uncomfortable expression...
"I don't know how to ride a horse..." he admitted, as at once Vincent felt part of his soul die, upon the realisation there was no getting out of this now...

Three horses left the palace as guards began battling creatures outside of the palace, for once their blades actually causing the bizarre creatures that held what looked to be the centre of a galaxy within them to give sharp cries, for many attempts of laying a hit upon the guards wound up inflicting their own wounds upon them due to the power of the Iscara stones. Shannon on horse with Arthur and Ciel, Louise following as well as a rather depressed looking Vincent who had been dragged into this riding his horse along with Break.
"You really reckon he'll find a way to end it...?" one of the guards asked the general as the another followed up this with a wary expression.
"What about what he said about her majesty... You don't think that's true right...?" he inquired as the general frowned somewhat, watching them leave.
"I don't know anymore..." he responded as he looked out to the plagued lands, a great level of uncertainty welling up within him, before he then gave a snort like a bull, snapping himself out of it. He raised his sword. "Enough chit-chat, and off to battle soldiers. If I catch you slacking off again, I'll take your stones off you!" the general then announced as the two guards went rigid, saluting their general nervously.
"R-Right away general!" the first announced.
"Indeed, right away!" the second repeated as the both marched off, the general frowning at the two guards that often seemed to idle away. Before he looked back to where the three horses were now vanishing... To answer whether or not he thought the knight could do it... He thought back to the previous general, Arthur's farther, before his look of uncertainty died down. The man had his father's determination, so that alone, lessened his fears...