Chapter Text
Princess Alfin Reise Arnor was watching clear sky visible from the window of her room aboard the Pantagruel, the Noble Alliance's command ship. It was somehow noisy outside, maybe they are passing another warzone today, but Alfin didn't know and couldn't find strength in herself to wonder. All she could do was press her hands together in silent prayer for the souls of the erebonians losing their lives in this meaningless war.
It's been more than a month since the start of the war and briefly 10 days since she was held captive by Duke Cayenne. On one hand - neither she nor Elise was harmed or disgraced in any way, on the other - both of them were separated from each other almost instantly after they met with the duke on day 1. Although they let her communicate with her friend once or twice through a call, Elise's absence was a hard blow to the princess. In the gravest times, when the civil war started, they still were together, encouraging each other. But now? Alfin was all alone here with no way to escape and no hope to cling to. She was told practically nothing of the situation in the country aside from proud babbling of the Alliance's superiority.
How was Rean? How was baron Schwarzer, he was hurt pretty bad when she last saw him. What if he is already dead? And there was only Alfin to blame - if only she wasn't there in Ymir, the jaegers wouldn't come there! No, if only she could stay still and hide in the mansion like a good girl, maybe there would be no need for Schwarzers to protect her with their bodies. Did... did Rean hate her now because of it? The princess shook her head forcefully. No, these thoughts would bring her nowhere. She must stay strong, they will not break her, the proud princess of the Erebonian Empire. No one here should ever see her crying or anything other than dignified. Cayenne may be one of the strongest and noblest houses in the empire, but they're still no match for her Reise Arnor main bloodline. No one would dare to lay a finger on her here as long as they respected her and she will use it. There must be some way for her here. If not run away, then use her position in the Alliance to influence the war, the morale of the soldiers, to support civilians! This ship is fully under Cayenne's control, but if she could speak with the people outside!
Alfin thought back to Cayenne's proposal. He wanted her cooperation in pacifying civilians, taking the commoners population of Erebonia in Nobles' favor. It was a smart move - Alfin knew the man wasn't as foolish as he looks. But Alfin wasn't just a naive little girl either. Of course, she agreed to this, looking pained and reluctant, but when she was first given a chance to talk to people in Parm the speech she was passionately reciting had a noticeable "the imperial family will judge and punish all the crimes made during this war be it committed by commoners or nobles" implication. Cayenne wasn't happy, but when called on it Alfin only said that her father indeed has such a right and even the duke can't steal it away. "We'll see about that" was what he said and left very irritated and Alfin felt dread instead of accomplishment. Who knows how that man will retaliate? Maybe that noisy warzone beneath them is exactly it.
The answer came later that evening. When the sun completely left the sky and only darkness could be seen in the window, duke Cayenne once again visited her. A victorious smirk on his face only worsened foreboding, but Alfin smiled politely but coldly, noting Crow three steps behind the duke. It gave her a strange sense of safety. At first, she hated the traitor of class VII like everyone else here, but with time she noticed that there was no hostility or other negative emotion toward her in him, he acted friendly, sometimes he looked almost sympathetic, sometimes only his presence stopped the duke from his habit to touch the princess. So this time she also gracefully welcomed them both.
"Good evening, duke Cayenne. What brings you to my quarters this late?" She asked with her tone both an innocent question and cold implication he should leave her alone.
"Oh, I just wanted to inform your highness of the delightful victory I had today. Maybe it’s exactly what will bring us all an earlier end of this war we all want to finish faster."
"I don't think there's any need for you to be personally relaying it. There were other victories you called so but the war still lasts, as we can see."
"Oh I only felt you'd be curious of this particular one, Your Highness! After all, it happened in the place you came to reside for some time not so long ago" his smirk grew even more disgusting, even though it was as polite as her own smile... which considerably faded when she realized what he was talking about.
"It can't be... you attacked Ymir?!" Silence and smirk was her answer. Her heart grew cold, but at the same time fury aroused in her body, "how could you possibly do this?! Ymir is a neutral ground with no imperial army present! What is even there for you to gain by attacking it?" She rose her voice, but that was exactly what the duke wanted to see because he smiled even wider.
"Oh, I only came to inform you of our victory. I don’t think I should burden a young princess with politics and tactics. With this, I bid you good rest today and hope our cooperation would be long and fruitful, Princess Alfin." With this, he slightly bowed his head as etiquette insists and left quickly and practically glowing with self-pride.
Alfin sat back on her chair, grabbing the fabric of her dress desperately, trying to hold herself from further outrage. It would only serve as duke's entertainment, she thought, taking a long breath in and out. When she lifted her eyes back to the door, she noticed that Crow was still standing there, somehow hesitant to leave.
"Is there something you want to tell me too, mister Azure Chevalier?" She asked, trying hard to make her voice as normal as possible.
"Oh, nothing much. I thought you'd want to know that baron Schwarzer looked pretty healthy and energetic today, though obviously still injured. And there was little to no harm done to the village itself." He said simply, opening the door.
"Thank you," said Alfin before he left and she meant it with every bit of her soul. She was so relieved she almost cried. Thank Goddess the baron was alright! She has been so worried and guilty and upset about it all this time she had a hard time sleeping at night. And the village! She would never forgive herself if it was harmed because of her again. Yes, she was sure that the duke did that just to hurt her into obedience. It couldn't be a coincidence, especially with the fact he came here today just to shake her.
But no, she thought, there must be some other goal. Ymir truly doesn’t have a military presence, the only one who could fight there was...
Alfin gasped in realization. Rean and Toval! Were they the goal of the duke? And the Divine Knight, of course! Dread came back to her and now it felt even more crushing. What did they do to Rean? Is he alright? Did he find his classmates or he had to fight alone? Are they all alive?
That was another sleepless night filled with worries for princess Alfin. The sky seemed as dark as the future of Erebonia...
Next morning she couldn't bring herself to even eat her breakfast. The maids begged her, tried hard to somehow cheer her up with her favorite dishes, but she sent them away, only sitting in her chair beside the window, trying to concentrate on the book she held and failing to do so.
About noon there was a knock on her door that instantly got her attention. For a second or two she gathered all her courage to face whoever was coming and only then politely asked to go in.
She was ready to see the disgusting face of the duke, or cold amusement of Rufus or sympathetic playfulness of Crow, even the annoying phantom thief who visited her once before. But nothing could prepare her to see Rean Schwarzer enter her room here, in the heart of the Noble Alliance.
It was like a dream because she did dream of him sometimes but even then she never dared to believe it. But here he was. And suddenly everything stopped matter anymore and that strong and dignified princess was nowhere to be seen, but only one lonely scared girl, dashing to him so happy she couldn't say anything other than his name for some time.
It felt so nice to hear Rean's voice again, someone who is not her enemy, someone she could trust her life without fear. It felt nice in his embrace, as he gently patted her hair saying something soothing, while she cried in relief so strong it took her minutes to calm down and just believe it's really happening.
The words he said to her there were the ones that Alfin carried in her heart for years. The words that gave her strength and warmth even when Rean himself was away: "You must have been really lonely. I'm here for you, though. I might not be the most reliable person for the job, but I'm not going anywhere."
After the princess calmed down they talked. Rean briefed her on what happened in the last two weeks after they parted, including yesterday's events. And Alfin told him everything she knew about Elise's whereabouts. Neither was a merry talk, but still, Alfin felt so much better now, like she was breathing freely again after being trapped in a dusty room. So much better that she was actually a bit grateful to the duke that he invited Rean onboard, however awful the circumstances could be.
"And you? Why are you imprisoned here alone? Surely there's some kind of reason?" Rean asked looking around the room.
"It's actually pretty simple. The duke wants to use my name to calm down any rebellion forming against him, be it noble or commoner." The princess answered, deciding not to tell of her own plans and ideas on this matter. Rean would surely say that it's way too dangerous for her to pull it off right before the duke's eyes.
But Rean frowned because he didn't like the answer as it is too. "How he even dared to use you like that!"
"It's not like I mind it, really. At least this way I can do something to help the people of my country, not just sit somewhere locked away the whole time. It's my responsibility as a princess to calm down the restless and help as much as I can to stop the bloodshed" the princess smiled wryly. She meant it, really. She wanted to have something to do, but the whole idea of working with Cayenne was so unnerving she wanted very much to run away from all of this. But that's not possible. Not when you're are born into the imperial family.
But Rean cared not of things like this. Still frowning deeply he came closer to place his hands on her shoulders. "And you have to do this at the expense of your own feelings? I understand very well how you feel obliged to the nation, but I'll never believe that you're happy to be used like this. It's just not right. To be alone in a place like that, separated from your family and friend. You have all the right to be upset and decline such unfair duty."
He looked her right in the eyes and with such conviction Alfin couldn't find a word to object. Because he was right and she was in no way happy with it. It was just a facade, what a princess is expected to do. Alfin always tried to oblige, to live up to this image she created herself for everyone to see, but how could Rean just look through it without a doubt? See her as a little lonely scared girl that she was beneath her heavy title.
Tears were about to well upon her eyes as that heavy burden on her shoulders seemed to disappear suddenly leaving only the feeling of light, calmness, and warmth. But that wouldn't do, she said to herself, it's not the time to come undone, you can cry all you want later when everything’s over.
With it, she once again composed herself and changed the topic back to Rean himself.
And Alfin never regretted what she did, because it was her turn to lift his burdens. Alfin long since knew about him - Elise had mentioned everything to her this year they spent together as friends. She knew he was kind beyond measure, always putting someone else before his own needs, she knew he was so keen on details and flow of events, but totally oblivious to other people's feelings, especially concerning himself. She even knew about that story of 8 years ago he just retold her, about his ogre power, that it's the reason for all his insecurities. But Alfin never had a chance to see his perspective of all this, what Rean himself think of this and Elise, and hearing it, she couldn't stay silent any longer.
"Get hold of yourself and stop using Elise as an excuse!" - It was what she said to him, after speaking of what she could about her best friend's feelings. Alfin knew Elise pretty good by now and knew exactly what Elise would think on the matter. Conveying it to him now, when neither Elise nor anyone else of Class VII was around, was Alfin’s duty, she decided. And it also was her utmost joy she managed to reach him, to help him overcome at least one barrier he had been struggling against.
He thank her earnestly and honestly, the same way he did everything else, and again the princess not only couldn't find words but also felt unable to look him straight in the eyes. What is going on? She wondered, but Rean did not give her time to ponder on it.
"I think it's time we get going," he said, and Alfin felt as if she was suddenly pushed out of her safety and comfort. He was leaving. And she knew with her brain it was the only right thing to do, but still, the thought of separating, return to being alone here, was terrifying. But as a proud princess, she betrayed nothing of this fear, hiding behind a joking tone.
"I said it is time 'we' get going, didn't I? There's no way I'm leaving my sister's best friend imprisoned in a place like this. I will get the two of us off this ship, just stay close to me." Rean said before she could fall deeper into her own little hell. And again, there was not a hint of doubt or uncertainty, like he never even considered how impossible it might be. His confidence was overwhelming and again the princess couldn't say anything other than yes to him. The feeling of complete safety came back and Alfin was beaming with energy.
What came next was the most exciting adventure princess Alfin ever had. She wasn't a damsel in distress, a hostage, a chess piece at the board, but once again felt herself a little 15-year-old girl, cheerful and teasing, as she really was. It was so fun to plan their escape, sneak out of the guest quarters, mess with maids and Rean by saying something suggestive, and of course crawling through the vents and fighting soldiers.
Alfin never felt more alive and energetic before. And it also felt so different from the adventures she and Elise came through on their way to Ymir with Toval. Because now she wasn't afraid. Somehow she trusted Rean, a student as he is, more than a seasoned bracer, and this feeling was so strange. Even when he transformed into his ogre form, there was still no fear. Only worry, as it was a pair of Oroboros enforcers standing before him.
He didn’t let her join this fight even as support and Alfin couldn't object. She was nowhere confident in her skills against an enemy of that level. But Rean seemed to do just fine by himself in this form and soon he decided there's no need to waste more time. With an apology, he gently but firmly lifted her in his arms and leaped up to another path to the deck.
Oh, to say Alfin's heart was about to burst was no exaggeration, as he carried her through the enemy lines. Even though it wasn't even the first time she found herself in this position - she woke up in his arms once before when she got kidnapped by the terrorists - it was so different. And actually felt pretty nice and comfortable, Alfin even found it possible to joke and tease Rean about Altina.
As they reached the deck it was no time for jokes, as the strongest enforcer and Crow were waiting for them there. Even though both of them were not really aggressive, it was clear they won’t let them go without a fight. Rean did not object, as he clearly intended to challenge his fellow Awakener, and Alfin found it curious how amiably the two of them talked to each other, as though they were just friends on an academic duel, not enemies in the middle of the war.
This day happened to be really hard on emotional stances for the princess. Once she was worried about the fight, Rean won. But as she rejoiced his powers faded. As she despaired, the hope came with her brother and his Crimson Wings, together with the whole class VII. No one could blame her for being tired, even though it was only midday.
Even as Courageous was selges away, it was still too early to hit the bed and rest, as lots of things needed to be sorted out, but that was nothing nearly as stressful, giving the princess time to think and ponder, watching Rean interacting with his classmates and other guests. He was smiling so peacefully, thanking everyone who came to save them, Alfin also couldn't help but smile.
Oh, she thought to herself, I'm sorry Elise. Seems like I have fallen in love with him too.
And it was a very complicated feeling as she was yet to properly decide what to do with it. But it all can wait till tomorrow, right?