Work Text:
This other world, this one without the Storm Surge, was not without its perils, its danger. Nations would continue to behave as they always had — vying for more power, more territory, more resources. Alexandria was no exception, really. There was still the powerplay, the concerns of territory against its rivaling neighbors; and the concerns of helping its scarce allies. Things weren’t ideal, politically, but they were tenable. Things were tenable — until they weren’t.
A neighboring rival, alongside one of its allies, had decided to start shelling the Capital. Something that was unprecedented.
Gabriella had always been a light sleeper, only more so in the last three years since she had moved to Alexandria proper, and had become a Knight. She would have irregular sleep patterns, depending on what duties were assigned to her and when. But there were some duties that had always been hers. Protecting the Princess of the Kingdom? That had been near the top of the list for as long as she had proven herself that first day she had arrived in the Capital — that she could look out for someone she didn’t know, and that what she was willing to do for someone who she wasn’t familiar with. Of course, it had turned out then that the person she had been sent to look for had been Princess Sphene Alexandros herself, but at the start? She didn’t know. She was willing to stick her neck out for someone who might have only been a civilian or a tagalong, rather than someone important — and that proved to many what she was capable of, and what her values were. Her rationale after the fact was irrelevant compared to what she did and how she acted in the moment. Her fighting style was strange, and her unorthodox rationale only added to her charm among the ranks of Knights; quickly earning her the moniker of The Periphery Knight.
So, the light-sleeping Periphery Knight was one of the first to react to the sounds of the shells raining down on the city, and was the first to raise the alarm to rouse the rest of the Knights who were asleep and hadn’t heard the screeching of the shells as they arced through the air and landed just beyond the city’s walls, rapidly encroaching until they breached and began to impact houses and buildings within the walls.
She darted through the halls of the Castle, the rattling of her swords in their holsters on her hip accompanying the pounding of her footsteps as she ran towards the chambers of her charge, the one person she was expected to protect at all costs. There was no threat within the castle due to hostiles, but there was the concern of the shells landing too close to the castle or — heavens forbid — impacting the castle itself. She slid to a stop on the carpet in front of the Princess’ room, and slammed her fist against the door. The door itself immediately swung open, and on the other side of it, a surprised and scared expression was on Sphene’s face. She had heard the alarm, and was already prepared to move to the safe rooms. She was dressed, and while scared, was more prepared than Gabriella had half-expected her to be.
“We need to get you to the safe room, your highness.”
Sphene nodded, her expression not matching her composure. “Who’s shelling us?”
“I don’t know.” Gabriella said, taking Sphene’s hand as the two began their jog down towards the safe rooms below the castle. “Someone is, and that’s all that matters.”
Sphene would frantically look through the windows, out over the city of Alexandria as the two moved, her heart crying out in pain with every flash of artillery landing against the streets and buildings of her precious homeland. There was a shriek from in the sky above the castle, and reflexively, Gabriella tugged Sphene forward, just as the deafening crack and blinding flash of a shell exploding overhead caused the hallway where Sphene was standing to collapse in on itself.
They had hit the castle. Gabriella’s eyes darted to Sphene’s face — just long enough to register the horrified look on the Princess’ face. Gabriella could feel her jaw clench reflexively at the expression.
She hated those who had brought this destruction, and the inevitabilities that came with such a provocation. She had spent the last three years training and practicing to be a protector — and all she could do was protect her Princess with all her strength and talents; but there wasn’t anything she could do against an artillery shell launched from miles away.
“We need to keep going…” Gabriella urged Sphene, who simply nodded, unsteadily as she stared at the space where she had been just a moment earlier, having been reduced to rubble.
The shells continued to fall, even well after Gabriella made sure Sphene was secure in the safe room. She did her duties; making sure that the King and Queen were safe as well in one of the adjacent rooms, before eventually returning to the Princess’ side — who clung to Gabriella like a scared animal.
The shells fell like rain against Alexandria, and eventually, Gabriella noticed that Sphene was crying as she clung to Gabriella’s right sleeve.
She reached across the tear-filled space between them, and with her left hand cradled Sphene. It was a comforting, gentle touch, even though Gabriella still wore her gloves. Something to remind Sphene that things would be okay, even if against all odds. That she would still be there for her, at the barest minimum. This was her duty, in spite of whatever danger might come her way. This was her responsibility and it was something that she could see through always.
“Wh-why are they doing this?” Sphene whimpered.
“I don’t know…” Gabriella whispered, her hand never leaving Sphene alone. A reminder. I’m still here. I will always be here.
When day finally began to break across the horizon, the shells ceased, and despite the lack of sleep, the Knights were the first into the city to help those they could — to assist with the firefighting and to rescue those trapped beneath the rubble.
Gabriella was one of the last to leave the castle in that first hour, but not without someone with her. A cloaked person, just like who she had brought with her the first time that she had arrived on these castle grounds; someone who wanted to see what the world had enacted on her people, and to do what she could for them.
Despite the fear, despite the tears that had flowed not even a few hours prior — Princess Sphene Alexandros would be there for her people.
No matter what anger Gabriella harbored in her heart for those who had decided to encroach on Sphene’s happiness, on that who she cared for — she could follow the words and stand behind the deeds of someone who would, when it came to it, try and do the utmost for even the weakest among the people of Alexandria.
This life wasn’t what Gabriella had expected when she agreed to come to the Capital with Otis — but this was a life that she was proud to live, nonetheless.