EMBRACE || a violet evergarden fanfic #1

XVII

I shot him a look, "Let's just get a move on. We cannot afford to waste anymore time, can we? Your brother's life is at stake," I said as I swung myself expertly on the already-saddled white stallion.

"My brother," Dietfried repeated with an all-knowing smirk. He was already seated atop his brown mare - the animal fidgeting impatiently as he tugged on the reins lightly to the side.

I rolled my eyes and drew in a sharp breath. Our confrontation yesterday was not making the situation any better. Gilbert .... All I could think about now was him. Only him.

Without saying another word, I nudged my horse forward and into a canter en route to Rhododendron residence. For a little while, I was riding in front of Dietfried and his men, but soon they caught up to me and Dietfried pulled his horse beside mine,

"How was he last night?" He asked.

One of my brows raised. One moment he was pestering me ; annoyed that I had chosen Gilbert over him, and another, he was being so nice to me, asking how was his brother's condition.

"What?" I was almost caught off guard in surprise.

I saw his shoulders sag, "My brother. How was he last night?" He repeated the question, "I heard from Akashi you stayed up all evening looking after him." 

"The doctor says he's just unconscious," I replied simply.

He tightened his grip on the leather reins of his horse, "Well, we better get a move on. The Marchioness of Rhododendron must be stopped for what she has done to Gilbert. And I will make sure of it."

The rest of the ride to Rhododendron residence was continued in silence. The only sounds I heard so far were the rustling of trees and the continuous hoof prints against the barely-visible cobblestone path.

I could tell we were arriving near Rhododendron, because the paths were starting to look clean and the weeds that grew in between the tiny spaces had been carefully plucked out.

There were also more variety of flowers leading up to the ever-so golden gates of Rhododendron, and looking past its gates, I could see the residence's massive courtyard contained a really beautiful statuette carved into the water fountain - its water being the purest of the pure.

But we had stopped just a few miles away from the entrance. When I wanted to ask why, Dietfried immediately dismounted from his saddle with an easy slip, and made a motion with his two fingers,

"Kaji, Akihiko," he signaled, "take a few men each with you, and flank a side. Don't open fire unless I say so."

Open fire? I grimaced as those two words came to my mind, is there going to be a war that's going to take place in Rhododendron? I thought as I dismounted from the saddle, but broke away when Dietfried turned to face me after he's finished barking out orders to his men.

"Violet and the others, you come with me," He said, "stay low. We wouldn't want to alert the guards on patrol."

Despite our differences, I followed his orders, and I felt my fingers clasp around the revolver I had sheathed at my side. I jerked upright when a nearby officer threw a crossbow at my direction,

"Here," He said as I caught it perfectly in my hand, but was confused on what to do with it, "use that. A revolver might alert the others ; a crossbow might be more silent and efficient. A quiver is already attached to it - so reloading the arrows will not waste any time."

I thanked him silently and faced the Rhododendron gates again. I peeked over to look at Dietfried, and as if overhearing the conversation between his officer and I earlier, he gave me a nod of approval.

I faced the gates again, "It's time." I found myself blurt out.

"Thought you weren't ready," I could tell Dietfried was smirking as he commented, pulling out his own nickel-plated revolver, "let's get this party started." He announced as he flicked the weapon's hammer.

A/n : Finally! Kapitel siebzehn published. Sorry it took so long for a new part to come out. I know my excuse is always "I'm busy" and all, but it actually is the truth. Grade 9 is really bugging me lately, and it's been so difficult to keep up with the subjects ( especially my Chemistry and Business classes )

I'll be working late on the next chapter, so hopefully it would be as good as the previous ones. Hopefully it will be able to come up before classes start again next week.

Also, emoweebs and I are currently working on another amazing project that will come up very soon, so get excited ;)

Anyways, toodles!