What Lies Below the Surface

Chapter 16: Orders to Kill

Not long after the incident in Cyrkensia, Xander returned to Castle Krakenburg, and was greeted by Iago.
"Ah, welcome home, Lord Xander," he said with a slight smile.
Xander nodded. "Hello, Iago. It's a rare thing for you to greet me upon my return."
Iago slightly chuckled. Is it? My apologies for being so inconsiderate. Though, I'm surprised you returned at all. I heard about what happened in Nestra. You failed to kill the traitor as our king demanded..."
Xander shook his head. "I have no time for this now. I need to report to Father."
Just as Xander left, Hans took his place.
Iago sighed. "I think his encounter with Kai shook his faith. Would you agree, Hans?"
Hans shook his head. "Of course not. Lord Xander is Nohrian to the bone. He even turned down Kai's plea to join."
Iago crossed his arms. "Yet Princess Camilla joined in a heartbeat. It's awful. If we aren't careful, we risk losing more of the royal children. It would be wise to keep an eye on that traitorous army."

Elise was hiding behind a pillar, listening to the conversation, and slightly gasped. "Did I hear that right? Camilla is with Kai?" She then paused for a moment as she smiled. "I knew Kai wasn't a traitor! Then...I need to act too!"

Xander was walking towards the throne room when he was joined by Leo.
"Welcome back, Brother. I...I want to speak to you about Father. He seems to have gotten worse," Leo said with a sigh.
Xander shook his head. "Not another word, Leo. Father is just under the weather- that's all. You know how war can affect a person. Once we win, he'll recover."
Leo crossed his arms. ""I know what you're saying, but..." he said, trailing off, as they had arrived at the throne room.
Xander looked at Garon in surprise. "What is he-?"
Garon was standing in front of the throne, looking at the ceiling, his arms spread wide as he let out an evil laugh.
Xander grit his teeth. "Father..."
Garon sighed. "The war must continue. Everything must be burned to the ground. Not even ashes should remain."
Xander suddenly raised his voice. "Father! What's wrong?!"
Garon glared at him. "Xander, don't interrupt me! Listen and be silent! Both Hoshido and Nohr must be destroyed!"
Xander was taken aback by that comment. "What?!"

Once they both left the throne room, Leo looked at Xander. "Do you see what I mean now? It's like he's a different person...like he's...being controlled."
Xander sighed. "You really think he's being controlled?"
Leo nodded. "Yes. When I saw Kai in Izumo, she said something that stuck with me. She said there's a hidden enemy we need to be fighting, and that Father is being manipulated by that enemy. I...I wonder if she's telling the truth, Xander. I don't think we should fight Hoshido, even if it means becoming enemies of Nohr."
Xander shook his head. "Enough of this, Leo!"
Leo was taken aback, but shook his head. "I'm sorry for my words, Brother."
Xander smiled. "No need to apologize. We must protect Nohr. Kai told me when and where to meet her; the Bottomless Canyon on the day the skies change. We will have to gather our most trusted soldiers."
Leo shook his head. "What are you planning to do, Xander?"

===

About a day later, our ship arrived at Dia.
I looked around. "So, this is the port town of Dia?"
Azura nodded. "Yes. We'll need to find a ferry that can take us to Notre Sagesse..."
Just then, a Nohrian ran up to us. "There you are, Princess Kai! We've finally tracked you down!"
akumi grit his teeth as he gently gripped my arm. "Damn, Nohrian troops. Kai, be sure to stay close."
I nodded. "Right."
A Nohrian that I didn't recognize then came over to us. "Hello, Kai. It's been a long time..."
I gave him an odd look. "A long time? What are you talking about?
The man sighed. "King Garon has ordered for you to be killed. Now that we've found you, you can't leave here alive. It's really sad. No one should have to kill their best friend."
I shook my head. "What? You can't be talking about me, right?"
He sighed. "I am talking about you. Do you not consider me your best friend?"
I closed my eyes. "I...don't even know who you are."
He sighed. "You don't even remember me?! ...I suppose it's for the best. Draw your sword, Kai! I want to see with my own eyes just how powerful you are, traitor!"

I sighed, and before I could even speak up, I was surprised when I saw Elise come into view.
She quickly looked around, but eventually came over to me, mounted on her horse. "Oh, there you are, Kai! I've finally caught up to you!"
I gasped, surprised by her sudden arrival. "E-Elise?!"
Camilla was also clearly surprised. "What are you doing here?!"
Elise smiled. "Camilla! I knew I'd find you with Kai! I came so I can join you!"
I shook my head, gently breaking from Takumi's grip. "J-join us? How...how did you convince Xander and Leo to let you leave?"
Elise giggled. "It's really simple! I didn't tell them!"
"What?!" I exclaimed, surprised by her answer.
Camilla sighed. "Elise, I won't allow it. This is a very dangerous war zone.  I failed my mission, so I no choice but to flee. You still have a place to call home. Go back while you can."
Elise shook her head. "No! I won't go! I'm going to fight with you! I want to help!"
I sighed. "Elise, coming with us means you'll face a lot of danger. And...we might have to face Xander and Leo at some point. Are you sure you want to come with us?"
Elise nodded as she dismounted her horse. "Of course! I had this feeling that you needed my help. Everyone in the castle has been calling you a traitor evil traitors, but I don't believe it. I trust both of you. You're my family!"
"Elise, I'll happily let you come along," I said with a smile. "Let's fight together. I promise I'll protect you!"

Elise smiled. "Ready for an adventure? I am!" she said with a smile before hugging me. "I'm so happy!"

Just then, a man and a woman I didn't recognize came over to us, and I sighed as Takumi returned to my side as Elise re-mounted her horse.
The male spoke up. "Lady Elise! There you are. We finally caught up with you!"
The female nodded in agreement. "I'm so glad you're alright. I was worried sick when I found out you left..."
Elise crossed her arms. "Awe, I'm sorry about that. Accept my apologies, both of you."
I then looked at Elise. "Um, who are those people?"
"Oh! These are my retainers," she said with a smile. "They'll be coming with us. The tall guy is Arthur. He's very unlucky, but he has a good heart. And the girl is Effie. She's really strong and kind, and she's my best friend!"
Effie smiled. "Nice to meet you, Lady Kai. Please let me know how I can help. I'll crush our enemies with my bare hands if I have to!"
I scratched my head. "Um, th-that's great to hear. We're happy to have you two, as well as Elise."
Takumi sighed. "Are we done with the introductions?"
I sighed. "Yes. Now, let's make our way to the port. We need to get to Notre Sagesse as soon as possible."
It took some time, but we were able to defeat the Nohrian troops.

The odd man was still on the battlefield, and I sighed. "The battle is over, but I could tell you were holding back. Why? King Garon ordered for you to kill me, right?"
He sighed. "Yes, but sometimes my honor as a knight is more important. You don't remember, but you saved my life once. We used to play together. You always said you wanted to see the outside world. I helped you do that, but when we returned, the guards tried to kill me, but you wouldn't allow them to do so."
I slightly gasped, as things were slowly coming back. "Wait! I remember now! I had a playmate named Silas. That...you're Silas?"
He nodded. "Yes. You were my best friend. I knew there was no way I could bring myself to kill you."
I shook my head. "But if you disobey the king, you'll be put to death."
Silas shook his head. "I don't care. I'd rather die than be forced to kill you. I was never able to get back all that time we lost..."
"You still can," I said with a smile. "Silas, will you join my group? I believe that we can save both Hoshido and Nohr."
Silas slightly smiled. "How can I say no? Of course I'll join you."
Not wanting to waste anymore time, we all got on the ferry.

Once we were on the boat, Takumi looked at me with a sigh. "Jeez, we seem to have a thing for almost missing these ferries..."
I nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Luckily, we didn't."
Takumi then gently took my hand in his, causing me to blush. "You know, why don't we go to the Astral Plane to do some training?"
I smiled, still blushing. "That sounds like a good idea."
With that, I called for Lilith, who opened a portal to the Astral Planes for us.