A/N: The final week dawns! Foss is dead, but at what cost?

-x-X-x-

Victory could feel hollow sometimes. The day was won, but to call it saved would be an overstatement. Their triumph had not come without its costs… on both sides, at that. The war between Zuveria and Ocreatha had been mercifully short, but that didn’t change the fact that Zuveria’s entire Imperial Family was still dead.

Nor did it excuse the numerous Zuverian Citizens pushed from their homes and forced to become refugees as part of Foss’ scheme to put pressure on what bureaucracy the Empire had remaining so he could continue his blitzkrieg across their lands all the way to the Imperial Capital. Likewise, it was a cold comfort that Ocreatha had actually wound up suffering the most casualties in the war in spite of so much of it being fought on Zuverian Soil.

While the Order of the Rose had last hundreds of knights, it was Ocreatha who had lost tens of thousands of people in the depopulation of Alether. But as previously stated, that was cold comfort because at the end of the day, the war was never truly between Zuveria and Ocreatha in the first place. It was one man, one monster of a man railing at being able to see the end of his own natural lifespan and causing untold suffering across both countries in an effort to keep from having to pay the piper.

Foss Sangrey was the villain in this particular fairy tale. And not every story got happy endings. Alether was proof enough of both these simple truths. In the battle’s aftermath, there’s no salvaging the city, not right now anyways. The place is covered in blood and guts and rubble, buildings destroyed by rampaging Children of Syl, dismembered bodies littering the streets.

Instead of trying to save the city, the Knights of the Rose and the Children of Syl focus their efforts on evacuating those that Avina brought back to life. Mikael plays his own part here, his Soul Sense allowing him to pinpoint each and every survivor of Alether, directing the allied forces to them so that they might be rescued and brought to the camp set up just outside of the city.

In the end, the final count for survivors is just over a thousand people. The rest of Alether’s population had either been dead too long or torn to pieces in the intense fighting that had occurred while they were all trying so desperately to get to Foss.

… Still, it was a thousand more survivors than there had been when they’d arrived outside of Alether earlier that day. Avina’s actions could not be understated. What she’d done was a miracle, plain and simple. And while it might have seemed like such a small number compared to those that had been lost… it was a thousand people clawed back from Foss Sangrey. A thousand people he’d killed who were getting a second shot at life, a second chance at living. That was something to celebrate, Mikael figured.

Speaking of the dethroned ‘Supreme King’… his head had been retrieved from where it’d fallen to the streets below the Lord’s Tower. His body, shriveled up by the Soul Engine, had also been brought down from the top of the tower. Both head and body were thrust into a fire and burnt to a crisp with Mikael and his girls standing witness right alongside Knight-Superior Dawnguard and Chevalier Ironshield.

Standing around that fire at present, the six are silent and somber for a time… but eventually, the silence is broken by Thayla’s father. The Order of the Rose’s Grandmaster turns to Avina and respectfully inclines his head.

“Princess. What comes next?”

Mikael isn’t blind. More than that though, he feels more in tune with his Soul Mechanic than ever before. She hides it well, but he still sees the flinch, even as she purses her lips together in a thin line for a moment.

“Now… now I suppose we gather these people up and take them to the Capital. They can’t stay here. One day Alether might be resettled, but for now… for now it’s in no state for anyone to try and rebuild. A thousand survivors of a truly horrific attack do not make a city.”

Timothal’s eyes close in sorrow at the loss of life even as he nods. But Avina isn’t done.

“When I tore Foss Sangrey’s connections out of him and ended his necromancy, I felt how far his web spread. Thankfully, Alether was the only city he completely depopulated. He had his soldiers, the summoned heroes that Zadicus Quinn fed him, all over Ocreatha to keep the peace… but he hadn’t turned the entire Kingdom into undead yet, thankfully. He probably knew he couldn’t have controlled them.”

Taking a deep breath, Avina looks into the fire, a quiet satisfaction in her eyes as she watches even Foss’ bones burn to nothing but ash.

“There were small contingents of his soldiers spread across Ocreatha, but without his control they’ll have become feral. No cohesion, no intelligence. They’ll still be armored, but they won’t even know how to use the enchanted weapons he had made for them. It won’t be difficult for the Kingdom to handle them once they know that Foss’ threat is gone.”

Her voice is strong. Very… regal-like, Mikael notes. But he also notes something else in Avina’s tone. Hidden beneath that strength of hers is something… resigned.

The Knight-Superior doesn’t seem to notice it. Perhaps because he has other things on his mind. Sighing in relief, Thayla’s father also looks into the fire, nodding along with Avina’s explanations.

“That is good. That is all very good to hear. I wish that I could pledge the Order to your cause further, but we must return to Zuveria from here. The battle is won and the war is over… for the Knights of the Rose to venture into Ocreatha at this point would only serve to potentially provoke further hostilities.”

Avina’s lips are pressed tightly together as she hums at that. But Timothal isn’t done.

“It is my fondest hope that Zuveria and Ocreatha can renew our bonds of friendship. That together, we can both rebuild what we have lost at the hands of Foss Sangrey. I admit… I received a message from the Imperial Senate just a few hours ago. It would seem the vast majority have already grown weary of having to run the empire by themselves. They are becoming desperate to name a new Emperor as soon as possible. So desperate that they’ve turned to me.”

Wait, what? Mikael is glad to see he’s not the only one that pauses in confusion, but it doesn’t change that he IS confused. Brows are furrowed, blinks are had, and everyone turns to Timothal at that, not entirely sure what he’s saying.

Smiling somewhat ruefully, the Knight-Superior rolls his armored shoulders and lets out another sigh.

“I must confess, I have not been entirely forthright with any of you… not even you Thayla, Nathaniel. I, like most people, have a past. However, unlike most people, my past involves me being born a bastard to a lowly serving girl that served the Emperor before last. Essentially… I was this latest Emperor’s half-brother.”

Well shit. Talk about last second bomb shells. The older man at least seems to understand how insane this is, as he looks down at his gauntleted hands for a moment before shaking his head.

“Many, many years ago, when I was still a young child, I was sent to the Order of the Rose to keep me out of the way and prevent any potential claim to the Imperial Throne. I grew up unaware of my true bloodline. In fact, it wasn’t until I was already Knight-Superior and Grandmaster of the Order that my half-brother contacted me. By that time, I had already made a name for myself, literally. I wore the name Dawnguard proudly, having earned it through distinction along with my titles and position. Fortunately, the newly enthroned Emperor understood this. We had a… professional relationship throughout his time on the throne.”

It finally dawns on Mikael and everyone else what this really means. Eyes slide over to Thayla Dawnguard, who has gone incredibly pale the more her father has spoken. Icy blue eyes stare at Timothal in horror and shock, even as Timothal finally lifts his head, looking at his daughter with a half-hearted smile.

“It seems I have to be Emperor now, Thayla. At least if those old fools in the Imperial Senate have their way. Will you come with me, daughter? To the Capital?”

Even as he asks, Mikael can tell that the man already knows Thayla’s answer. It’s written all over her shocked whitened face. Once the words permeate through her stupor however, Thayla is quick to shake her surprise off and regain herself, even as she’s also quick to shake her head.

“I-I’m sorry father, but I cannot. I must… I must remain at Sir Mikael’s side. My pledge to him does not end simply because the Supreme King has been defeated! Just as it did not end when Zadicus Quinn was brought to justice either. I… I took Mikael’s life, unjustly and in a cowardly fashion. I offered him my own in recompense, but he chose to accept my offer in a different fashion. Therefore… I have no choice. I MUST serve him until my dying day. I am sorry.”

That’s a lot of words Thayla just spouted there, but Mikael has a sinking suspicion that it’s not just her sense of duty or even her love for him that pushes Thayla to reject her father’s offer. No, he can easily imagine what’s going through Thayla’s head right now. If she went with Timothal to the Zuverian Empire’s Capital… there would be no more adventuring. No more armor. No more swords.

She would be named Imperial Princess, dressed in fine silk robes, and likely pushed into a bunch of etiquette classes by the Imperial Senate to make her more ‘royal’ and ‘majestic’. Mikael can see it writ large across Thayla’s face… her whole life is flashing before her eyes, both her past and her future, and what she sees in her future if she goes with her father clearly scares her to death, amusingly enough.

Not so amusingly… this meant that Thayla actually WAS a princess all along! Damn it all! It wasn’t enough for her to just be a quasi-princess thanks to her status as the daughter of the leader of Zuveria’s preeminent Knightly Order. No, she had secretly turned out to be the Heir to the entire Zuverian Empire… at least once Foss Sangrey got his way and had the whole Imperial Family assassinated anyways.

What was up with him and his luck? Did someone tag him with some sort of Princess Catnip when he first arrived in this world or something? Or was this merely the universe balancing the scales in his favor? Oh sure, you’ll be torn from your old life, your mind ripped in two, and then killed. But don’t worry because afterwards you’ll be resurrected by a Hidden Princess descended from some sort of White Mage Analog, have an oath of eternal service sworn to you by a Hidden Princess Knight, and then also play a pivotal role in freeing a Druidic Nature Princess from slavery to an evil wizard.

Sheesh, when he spelled it all out, his life really had become something straight out of a fantasy, hadn’t it? But never mind all that. Focus back on the present, Mikael.

Thankfully, Timothal takes his daughter’s words in stride, nodding along amicably enough in a resigned fashion that makes it clear he expected just such a rejection from Thayla.

“I understand, my daughter. I understand all too well.”

The knowing look he gives both Thayla AND Mikael makes it clear he has at least some understanding of their true relationship. Mikael can’t help the heat that rises to his cheeks but at least he’s not quite as bad as Thayla. The female knight is positively incandescent with embarrassment. Still, the Knight-Superior shows mercy as he smiles and continues after a moment.

“I suppose then that my only course of action is to name you my unofficial liaison with the Kingdom of Ocreatha, Thayla.”

“What?!”

“What?”

Thayla’s exclamation of surprise is expected, while Avina’s slightly more understated response is nevertheless audible enough for Timothal to hear her. Turning to Avina, he inclines his head in Mikael’s direction.

“I imagine you’ll be keeping this one close by, Princess. And since he’ll be at your side and my daughter will be at his side, there’s no reason not to kill two birds with one stone. As such, Dame Dawnguard shall be my liaison with you. Unofficial for the time being, but we’ll see about making it official once the Senate forces a crown upon my head and names me Emperor. Acceptable, I hope?”

Avina bites her lower lip for a moment before nodding.

“I… yes. That’s acceptable.”

The crow’s feet at the corners of the Knight-Superior’s eyes crinkle as he gives her a broad smile.

“Thank you, Princess. To a brighter future than, for both of our countries.”

Avina nods, but there’s a not of hesitance to it. Even as they part ways with Timothal and Nathaniel from there, and then in the morning see them and the rest of the Knights of the Rose off, Mikael can tell that something is bothering his Soul Mechanic. There’s a mulish expression on Avina’s face whenever she thinks no one is looking, a sort of contemplation that makes it clear she’s not happy about something.

Unfortunately for her, he’s always looking. And he’s not about to let her bottle up her emotions anymore. Just a matter of figuring out how best to approach her. Or perhaps more honestly… ambush her so she can’t hide how she’s really feeling and is forced to admit what’s bothering her.

After all, they’ve won haven’t they? Sure, Alether is all but wiped off the face of the map, but Foss Sangrey is dead. Her family has been avenged. Avina is happy about that, Mikael can see that much… but she’s not happy enough for his tastes. And as his Soul Mechanic, her happiness is one of his top priorities. That meant it was time to get to the bottom of things. No matter what it took.

-x-X-x-

A/N: Mikael bout to put on his monocle and detective's hat and start smoking a pipe.

Be sure to let me know what you think!