Silence reigned in the throne room before a deep hum echoed off its walls. 

 

"You have returned… and news of your success already precedes you." the Emperor regarded Ameragi from atop his throne, leaning back with his chin resting against his hand. And still, there was a satisfied smirk upon his face. 

 

"The rebellion has been successfully suppressed, and our losses were kept to a minimum." another content hum sounded in the room just as she summed up the events, her expression cold and calculating. 

 

"Well done, child. You prove time and time again that your knowledge and power exceeds those of your siblings." Ameragi paid those words no heed, for instead, she narrowed her eyes slightly. 

 

"I shall mention that my companion, Maren, has done exceptionally in aiding our troops, just as you had commanded. I have watched every bit of his progress." her eyes revealed nothing, and for once, the smirk upon Sumeragi's lips was quick to fade away again as he regarded her closely for a moment. 

 

"... very well, I take your word for it, and I will fulfill mine. He may stay under your service in whatever way you see fit." a bare hint of a gleam appeared in her eyes, and she was content. More than content. 

 

"Thank you, father." Sumeragi didn't speak another word in return, merely flicking his wrist in an off hand manner as a sign for her to leave, which she did without an ounce of protest. Despite that, his eyes were still critically trained on her up until the moment she disappeared behind the large double doors.

 

With a deep sigh, she allowed her form to relax ever so slightly once she stepped into the main reception hall, glad that this whole ordeal was at least finally over. For now, she wouldn't have to fight for Maren's right to stay anymore… 

 

Thinking of him, she reminded herself that she had not yet seen him for the entire day since the night prior, for her duties had occupied much of her time. Albeit it allowed her much time to ponder over everything that had happened until now, and looking back at it, she felt a surge of happiness. When was the last time she had felt like this when a day came to an end? When she had fended off her duties to allow for a night of rest, all in the knowledge that the next day would be no different? 

 

And still, right now, she felt as though she could take on whatever came next. 

 

Just as she was about to move, her eyes suddenly caught sight of a certain red-headed figure which hurriedly snuck out of the main entrance. 

 

"Kiel…?" at such a late hour, she couldn't think of a single thing why her younger brother would suddenly have to leave the palace grounds, and for him it was twice as dangerous at night. With narrowed eyes, she immediately descended down the stairs and headed outside the palace as well, just quick enough to still catch sight of her brother in the distance, who was clearly heading off into town. 

 

And she cursed the guards once more for being ineffective. 

 

---

 

Kiel almost panted as he came to a stop, desperately looking ahead at the main marketplace. At this hour, it was devoid of any people, instead, one could only barely hear a few shady voices in the small alleyways. Regardless where he looked, disappointment and frustration was written all over his face as he failed to spot the figure whom he had tried so hard to follow from a distance. 

 

Thus, now that he was alone, his previous enthusiasm and excitement had faded away far more quickly than he was comfortable with. He… hadn't thought that far… 

 

The hushed and shady voices in some of the alleys sent a slight shiver down his spine, and he couldn't find a single guard either as he glanced around. However, he almost jerked together the moment he heard several pairs of footsteps encroaching upon him from behind. He immediately spun around in fright, his hands shakily grasping the hilt of his sword as he spotted three cloaked figures in front of him. 

 

And they were more than armed. 

 

"W-what do you want?" Kiel tried his hardest not to sound afraid, clasping the hilt of his blade more tightly. The leader of the trio calmly took another step forward, and even though Kiel could see beneath his hood a little bit better as the assailant willingly stepped into the light of a street lantern, he soon realized that he was wearing an iron mask. 

 

"A child should not be wandering alone at night, especially not here." for a brief moment, Kiel could have sworn that his tone sounded genuinely apologetic. 

 

"... I'm sorry, but regardless, I must ask you to come with us quietly. If you don't resist, I promise no harm will befall you." Kiel gasped as his heart almost jumped into his throat, beating furiously in his chest once the other two figures began to close in around him. 

 

"... guards… guards…!" he helplessly called out into the void of the night, but even the voices in the alleys seem to have grown deadly silent. 

 

"They are not here, kid. We made sure of that." the masked assailant almost shifted his eyes to the ground, the open fright and horror in the eyes of Kiel more than evident. But still, the others steadily came closer with each step that the young prince took back-

 

-all until suddenly, one of the two figures coming closer gagged, blood trickling down his chest the moment a throwing knife burrowed itself deep into his flesh. He succumbed to the ground, and the other immediately became alert as he stopped in his approach, trying to look for anyone hiding in the shadows. However, both him and the leader of the former trio were forced to shift their attention elsewhere once they heard somebody else rushing towards them from behind. 

 

"The princess…!" with narrowed eyes, Amaragi watched her opponent closely as she swung her blade against him, the moment of surprise on her side. The cloaked figure struggled to block her strike, desperately trying to push back to gain an even ground against her. However, he didn't even get a chance to do so before she beat him to it, pushing his own blade aside with a smooth swipe before she impaled him through his chest. 

 

With a last gurgle, he joined his comrade on the ground with a thump once she swiftly freed her blade from his torn flesh, blood now staining the ceremonial sword. However, Amaragi's eyes were immediately focused upon the last one that remained, his mask preventing her from getting a glimpse upon his expression. 

 

"You will pay dearly for threatening my brother." her opponent slowly unsheathed his own sword, holding the heavy blade in both of his hands as he studied her closely. 

 

"Everything that happens is based upon your own actions… and the Empire has long forestalled our retaliation. You are doomed." he circled his blade once, and Amaragi had long stopped to pay his words any heed. His motivations were clear, his deeds even more so, and she saw only one judgement. If he so desperately wanted revenge by force, then he would be met with the same amount in return. And even more… 

 

She readied her stance, watching his every move closely as he approached her, and soon she saw her opening. He swung at her as she seemingly charged at him in a reckless manner, but she was more than prepared for it. His blade was heavy, limiting his own mobility, and she used it exactly in her favor as she sidestepped his strike. She was awarded the moment her sword tore through his cloak and skin underneath as she sliced his vulnerable side, for it took too long for him to recover from his swing. 

 

With a pained outcry, his next swing was more sloppy than the last, and Amaragi had multiple openings to take advantage of now. Each missed attempt to hit her in return resulted in another deep injury of his own, all until he ultimately stumbled back and upon the ground, no longer able to keep himself steady with the amount of pain that was coursing through his body. 

 

Amaragi imposingly stood in front of him, swinging her blade once to the side in order to wipe some of the blood off before she regarded the fallen assailant with a merciless gaze. He merely huffed, holding a hand to his side as more and more blood escaped him. But the eyes were still glaring at her from beneath the mask. 

 

And with a last swing of her blade, his body grew entirely still, a long cut reaching along his throat before he succumbed entirely. Meanwhile, Kiel had watched the whole scene with horrified eyes, and as he watched the blood seeping upon the ground once the fight was finally over, all of the tears let loose. 

 

Amaragi's previous demeanor immediately faltered and her cold mask began to crack as she turned around and rushed over to his side, placing her blade upon the ground to hug him against herself. He buried his head against her shoulder, and she whispered sweet words of assurement into his ear to try and soothe him. 

 

"It's over, there is nothing to fear anymore… I'm here…" his entire body shivered and trembled, and she held him more tightly. Amongst everything that she felt, her rage against the unknown assailants only grew with each moment that she saw Kiel suffer like this. 

 

She gave him as much time as he needed, soothingly gliding her hand through his hair, until his body slowly but surely started to calm down again and his tears ceased to fall. It was then that she gently pulled back slightly, seeing that his eyes were stained red due to all of the tears he had shed. 

 

"Kiel, I was worried sick for you… why did you sneak out of the palace like this?" her tone was gentle, and she made sure that only the amount of worry and fear for his safety seeped into her voice. He sobbed, hesitantly looking back into her eyes. 

 

"I… I sa-... wanted…" she gently hushed him with a finger, encouraging him to take a deep breath before he spoke, which he did. 

 

"... when I was in the main hall… I saw that Maren was leaving the palace grounds… I… I was just curious, I wanted to surprise him… so I… I tried to follow, but I lost him after a while before… b-before…" his breathing hitched again, and she stopped him from continuing any further, gently holding him against her once more instead. 

 

"Shh… it's alright. You're safe now. Let's go back to the palace, I'll bring you to bed…" slowly but surely, he weakly nodded against her shoulder, and thus, she calmly stood up from the ground and held his hand in reassurance. 

 

And yet, she cast one last glance at the now dead bodies of the cloaked assailants, and one certain thing caught her eye. As she passed one of the corpses, she eyed the throwing knife that was pierced through his chest before he had died. With a sharp glance, she had surveyed the shadows of the night once more, but found nobody else. Who… did that… 

 

Thus, upon regarding the body once more, she reached down to rip a small part of the cloak off, the blue but silky texture of the piece of cloth feeling soft in her hand. She only glanced at it for a second before she put it into her satchel, and she merely smiled at Kiel due to his questioning eyes before she led him away from the dead bodies. 

 

She would instruct the guards to set out and deal with it, and she would increase the patrols throughout the marketplace tenfold. If only to find out where the night patrols had disappeared…

 

… and besides, there was one more person that she needed to talk to. 

 

For she could no longer ignore it.

 

---

 

AN:

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