Giselle drummed her fingers rapidly against the arm of her chair by the fireplace in the study as she waited for Auguste and Klen to return from town. Jean sat beside her, staring off absently out the window. A few silent tears were streaming down the side of his face as he anxiously bounced his leg up and down. He'd officially bore witness to the brutality the cult was capable of. Despite her urging that he get some rest, he'd insisted on staying up with her.
"Why would that vampire call Valerie by a different name?" Jean asked, keeping his gaze focused out the window.
"Because she lied to us, Jean. She wasn't who she said she was." Giselle leaned forward burying her face in her hands. All of the signs had been right in front of her: the rare horse, the sigil of Clan Boucher plastered on just about everything she owned; the way she walked; and how she talked to everyone around her like she was born to command."Remember the rumors that swirled in the wake of Halaafin's destruction? How they all swore that Princess Victoria had fled her homeland the night of the attack, and was still out there somewhere?"
"Yes. What are you trying to say?"
"Jean, Valerie is Princess Victoria. She didn't serve Clan Boucher—she was the heir apparent." Giselle couldn't believe it was true, but there was no other way to explain it. Which meant she'd just let a missing princess get carried off by a hoard of vampires on her watch.
"You saw what I saw, right?" Jean asked. "She was turning into a werewolf when the undead attacked her. I saw her claws, and the fur growing from her skin."
"She is not a werewolf. It's... terribly complicated, I'm afraid." The sound of Klen's defeated voice behind them in the doorway made both of them jump. He and Auguste came around to sit by the fire with them.
"How bad is the damage?" Giselle asked. Once the wyrz had flown off with Victoria, the undead hoard had turned and fled rapidly back into the grasslands to the east after their master, leaving them with little else to do but extinguish burning buildings and rescue trapped civilians.
"The bulk of the reports will have to be done in the morning when it's light. There are at least a dozen deaths confirmed, but there are undoubtedly more." Auguste groaned as he took his seat. Giselle hated seeing him look so weary. His usually neatly-kept silver hair was askew, and the fine lines around his eyes and brow looked more pronounced than ever before.
"We just let the princess of Halaafin get captured by the Hands of Death on our watch. When Her Majesty finds out, she'll be outraged. We have to get her back, and quickly." Giselle stood from her chair and walked over to her desk, rifling through the folders in her desk drawer. "What resources do we have from Her Majesty to call in on short notice?"
"Well, we have the Knights," Auguste said. "And, Her Majesty recently sent a battalion of two hundred men to be stationed at Fort Ynnez for us to distribute where we see fit."
"How long until they reach the Fort? We can meet them there and depart immediately." Giselle took a seat in the chair on her desk as she continued to flip through files, pulling out any document that remotely mentioned troop movements.
"About four days. It would take us about half as long to get there."
"And what about our banner-men? We could see what men can be pulled from the nearby town. After this attack, I'm sure there are many eager for revenge in Alize alone.
"You don't even know where they are taking her, though," Jean said. "We can't just run blindly into this. We need a plan. What if two-hundred men and whatever additional troops we can pull in aren't enough? We can't leave Alize undefended. The Empress has to know of this. We need her help."
Giselle sighed deeply, rubbing her eyes and face. Since when was her brother ever the voice of reason? But there was no denying his words. "You're right; we need a plan. But how are we going to know where they take her?"
"I'll go now," Klen said. "They only have a few more hours before sunrise. It won't take me long to catch up to that terror. Wyrz aren't designed for long-distance flights, either. So they can't get too far."
"Meet us back at Fort Ynnez about fifty miles to the south of here when they come to a stop. From an aerial view, I'm sure you can't miss it." Giselle grabbed the last of the letters she felt were relevant and began to stack them all together. "Jean, get a bag ready. Make sure you grab your weapons; you'll be needing them. We're leaving after we go over damages."
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Klen flew above them as the party made their way along the Golden Highway. Giselle and Jean were at the head of the group, followed closely by Auguste and Captains DuHain and Lambert. Behind them, a group of imperial soldiers and knight enchanters three hundred and seventy strong followed along. Jean sat giddily in Riven's saddle, towering above everyone else. He certainly looked regal in the warhorse's saddle, dressed in a suit of armor that had belonged to their father.
"Is your familiar certain that the princess is being held nearby, Your Grace?" Captain Lambert asked.
"He's not a familiar," Jean said. "And yes, he's completely sure."
"Fort Vaegar has sat empty for centuries and is in terrible disrepair. Is he certain the horde hasn't moved on since his last patrol?" Duhain seemed skeptical, despite his assurance that Victoria's safety was his top priority.
"When was the last time anyone went to ensure that it was empty?" Giselle asked.
DuHain didn't answer. Giselle shook her head. At this point, the Commander had been missing for almost eight months. It was becoming very apparent that he'd met his demise somewhere in the ruins of Halaafin, and DuHain and the other captains were left completely unprepared for the sudden loss of leadership. She would have to start considering a replacement outside of Guillamar to bring in.
Klen suddenly descended toward the ground. Concerned, Giselle held up a hand to stop the group. Jean held an arm out for him to land on. The spirit shook his feathers as he caught his breath. He'd been flying around nonstop for over a week as they'd chased Victoria's kidnappers. Even for a being like him, it had to be exhausting.
"Did you see something?" Jean asked.
"There's still activity going on in the fort. It looks like they're bringing in reinforcements. I can sense Victoria in there still. But, so is Lucaese," Klen huffed. "Thank you for the perch, Your Grace."
"How many undead can you sense from here?" Giselle asked.
"They've cut back on how many are stationed at the old fort. In the beginning, it was close to two hundred. Now, it's closer to half that with the new arrivals coming back in." Klen changed his form, turning into a small monkey. He climbed up Jean's arm and sat on his shoulders, pointing into the tall grass. "The fort is about fifteen miles to our south. We can get pretty close before sundown if we hurry."
"You heard him. Let's move," Giselle said.
"We don't know what's out there in the grass," DuHain said as Giselle started to lead the group off the road. He stopped his horse, with Lambert pulling up beside him.
"Are you a trained knight, or a coward, Captain DuHain?" Jean scoffed. "I'm not scared."
Several of the soldiers behind them laughed, bringing a bright red flush of embarrassment to his face. None of Duhain's fellow knights seemed to find Jean's teasing funny. Giselle resisted laughing with them.
"I'm right to be cautious. There are more than just vampires that stalk the Vermeil forest and its outskirts. Just because we don't have to worry about the undead during the day doesn't mean something else couldn't ambush our group." DuHain followed them, spurred on by a word of encouragement from Lambert. "You may think of me what you like, Lady Labelle. But Lambert and I are all the Knights have for leadership right now, with the commander missing. If something happens to the two of us, we are truly leaderless."
"They won't miss much," Giselle said, "if the last few months of your 'leadership' are any proof of your abilities, Captain."
"You may be appointed to guide us by the empress, but that doesn't make you a knight. You know nothing of our code, or how we operate." DuHain's face continued to turn red as a beet.
"Rendon, let it go. You're getting yourself worked up for nothing," Lambert warned DuHain.
"She—"
"—is our leader right now, whether we like it or not. And remember exactly what we're risking our lives for. Our princess lives."
"You're right, Ian.... I'm sorry, Lady Labelle. I've been letting my fears get the best of me," Duhain relented after taking a moment to collect himself.
"You are a good man to worry for your people and those under your command, DuHain. Your commander left you without a contingency plan in the event of an emergency. I'm sure that hasn't been easy." Auguste gave Giselle a disapproving look, which took her by surprise. "We are all just trying to do what is right, and with an angry empress breathing down both of our necks, tensions are high. Let us not divide ourselves by pointing fingers at one another."
Silence fell over the group. Giselle didn't care if she seemed harsh or cold toward DuHain and Lambert. Whether their leader had left them a plan or not, they had been doing less than the bare minimum that their duties required. Their incompetency had come at the cost of dozens of lives.
Klen took to the skies again after a while of resting on Jean's shoulders. From so high up, the ghostly spirit almost looked like a shooting star in the evening sky as he circled the group. By the time they stopped to make camp for the night, they could see the ruins of Fort Vaegar. There were lights in a few of the narrow windows in the towers of the fort that were still standing.
They lit no fires as they pitched their tents for the night. The last thing they needed was for the undead to see them coming if they hadn't already. Klen came down to the ground once everything was set up and the sun had set completely. He joined the first group on patrol, taking the form of a giant wolf.
"Do you think she's okay?" Jean asked, peering into the woods behind them.
"I don't think they have any intention of harming her," Giselle said, more to comfort herself than him. "I just hope she doesn't think we've abandoned her to her fate."
"Are you nervous?"
"Yes." Giselle felt no need to hide it. Failure would spell disaster for the whole empire and potentially cost Victoria her life. All they could hope was that Lucaese's interest in using her for his own means would spare her any real harm. "But, I believe we have good fortune on our side."