The Promises that I Keep

Nine Months Since Entering

The mood at the castle became frantic when news spread that Princess Sabine was still on the galleon. The King had immediately halted any plans to attack, and the troops along the shore were ordered to keep an eye for any activity that might signify a change in the situation. Inside the Royal Hall, Chancellor Saar held a special meeting between all the nobles that were still loyal to the Crown on options that would then be presented to the King. However, with so many conflicting ideas, no solid decision was reached.

Once the meeting concluded, Count Claus Bozes excused himself from the council as quickly as etiquette allowed, and left the castle. Stopping the attack on the galleon afforded a small window of action, and he meant to take it. Despite the talk earlier about noble houses giving their all for the good of the country, he still had his personal agenda. Part of that included saving the girl who was practically a member of his family for these many months.

"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me," Claus said. They were in a bar that catered to noble guests, which made his guests slightly uncomfortable.

"You've always been very generous to our province and to our Lady," Sven replied. "Besides, our leadership council believed that our County needed to contribute to the good of the Kingdom, if it came to that."

Claus demurred, "This mission... I admit might be seen as selfish in that regard. I'm going to break a vow of secrecy telling your group this..."

Sven nodded. It wasn't the first time his group had to handle sensitive information, though rarely did it go this high up in the nobility.

"The order to fire on the ship has been postponed. We've received information that Princess Sabine was onboard."

Sven and the other three mercenaries looked momentarily shocked at the news. "Are there plans to go rescue them?"

"That's being talked about among the council, but with so many differing opinions, I fear a quick decision isn't in the cards," Claus confirmed.

"The Kingdom's troops have the ship under watch from the docks and along the edge of the river," Szep added. "If anything unusual happens on the ship, they'll be the first to see it."

"I realize that," Claus admitted. "It's just that... something Michiko said and the way she said it... I keep thinking that... she had more in mind than just being a prisoner and hoping for the best. Everything she's done up to this point... while sometimes inelegant due to her ignorance of our culture and ways, has been planned and focused to her goals."

"You actually think she's planned some kind of escape?" Gritt asked.

"She went aboard that ship with a shoulder bag of scrolls and books," Claus remembered. "She claimed at the time they were works to be translated, but the deal didn't even call for that."

The mercenaries looked at each other with consideration. "That sounds like the perfect way to bring aboard some tools or weapons," Sven acknowledged.

"My thoughts exactly," Claus concluded. "And if she is planning some kind of escape, I want us to be ready to assist at a moment's notice. She wouldn't make a move without bringing Princess Sabine and ensuring her safety either, so be prepared for two."

____________________________________________________________________________________

On board the galleon, Michiko and Daniel both stared each other down with their hands shaking and weapons pointed. Keeping right behind Michiko, Sabine watched nervously, but keeping an eye out for any change or chance of escape for the both of them. Up above, the sounds of running footsteps and shouted voices in fear was evident.

Without warning, a sudden shout distracted both of them. Almost without meaning to, the musket discharged, missing Michiko's torso by inches. By reflex, the Beretta fired a three-round burst, sending rounds just above Daniel's head. Both Daniel and Michiko looked at their weapons in surprise; neither had been taught proper trigger discipline, leading both of them to accidentally fire. Taking advantage of the slip, Michiko stepped forward with her pistol still drawn. She might have missed at fifteen yards, but fifteen feet was another matter.

"Your musket's empty!" Michiko proclaimed. "Stand down!"

Daniel pulled away from the stairs going up without a word. In her mind, Michiko realized she had fired four three-round bursts; her current magazine was half-empty, but she didn't have the opportunity to reload with Daniel right in front of her. She switched to single-shot mode on the pistol; there was no telling how many more sailors would be in the way, and the last thing she needed was to run empty at the worst possible time. Then, keeping her pistol trained on him; she led Sabine carefully up the ladder.

Up top, the ladder to the main deck took them right under the quarter deck. Most of the men manning the ship were in front of Michiko, shouting that the ArchPriestess was aboard. Good, just keep telling them that...! She climbed up, keeping Sabine behind her for her protection, and keeping the Beretta pointed in their general direction. She really didn't want to actually shoot anyone, but if it meant their escape, she realized that might not be up to her.

On the side, Michiko saw the rope ladder had been unrolled... lucky! she thought. That usually meant there was a boat tied off. It was in the same place they brought her aboard. As she headed towards the ladder with Sabine in tow, a pair of sailors started to drift towards her.

"Stay back...!" Michiko ordered, with as much confidence as she could muster, while pointing the Beretta in their direction. "If you come any closer, I will strike you with the power of lightning!" She then punctuated her point by firing another shot, missing the sailors by inches, causing them to recoil back. She cautiously moved herself and Sabine towards the rope ladder. When they reached the edge, Michiko asked, "Is there a boat down there?"

Sabine looked and nodded frantically. "Yes, Michiko-oneesan!"

"Climb down," Michiko ordered, while keeping her Beretta pointing at the sailors, who were looking for an opening to charge her.

"I'm in the boat!" Sabine called up.

"Undo the tie rope!" Michiko continued.

"The boat will drift away! What about you?" Sabine beseeched.

"I'll be right there," Michiko assured, using the Beretta to keep the sailors at bay. She glanced down; once the boat had drifted a few feet, she took a step back and allowed herself to fall into the water right next to the boat in a splash. She knew if she had attempted to awkwardly climb down, she wouldn't have been able to keep the pistol trained and the sailors would most certainly have rushed her.

Coming to the surface, Michiko reached up and grabbed the loosened rope trailing from the boat to pull herself closer. Up top, the sailors all shouted, calling for action. "Get to cover!" Michiko ordered to Sabine. She knew there was a chance the men on the galleon would consider shooting arrows. She pulled herself around the side, allowing the drifting boat to provide cover.

Up top, some of the sailors glared at the boat drifting away. A few of the braver members considered jumping down after them, but by this point, the current of the river was pulling the boat away out of easy reach. The boatswain called for archers, but soon realized both Sabine and Michiko were keeping themselves out of line-of-sight from the main deck.

"Man the cannons," the boatswain ordered.

"Wait!" Daniel countered as he came up to the main deck. "They're too valuable to kill!"

"They're no good to us if they escape!" the boatswain snarled.

On the gun deck, six of the sailors manned a pair of the cannons, three per cannon. Two more sailors were sent down to the orlop deck.

"Powder!" the men on the gun deck ordered.

Down below, one of the men grabbed the nearest barrel of powder. Unbeknownst to the man, inside the barrel, the two carefully balanced bottles spilled their contents of silver nitrate and alcohol into the black powder. Seconds later, slivers of silver fulminate began to form.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Sabine winced as the galleon erupted in a ball of flame from the bottom decks, as the multiple barrels of black powder cooked off one-by-one in a chain reaction. With no more threat of arrow fire, Michiko pulled herself into the boat and comforted Sabine. She knew there was a chance some of the sailors would jump overboard to safety, but they were far enough away that no swimmer could catch them.

"Thank you, Dr. Akhavan..." Michiko said sotto voce, remembering the author of the book on explosives.

"Oneesan..." Sabine asked with wonder. "Was that from..."

Michiko nodded. "Your father and the castle should be safe now. Now I need to get you to safety."

____________________________________________________________________________________

At the castle of the city, the tension continued to mount. In the main throne room, the King and nobles had continued meetings and diplomatic sessions. Some of the nobles representing wavering provinces were meeting with Chancellor Saar to discuss their grievances. The King and Prince Lionel held a private meeting to consider their country's next move. In the midst of these meetings, a watchman from the gates came running in, out of breath.

"My Lord," the watchman cried. "The galleon... it just... exploded...!"

Everyone in the throne room stood in momentary shock. "I ordered the attack called off!" the King declared.

"There's been no attack," Eibinger confirmed. "Platidus hasn't even perfected the payload yet."

"The ship just... exploded on its own!" the watchman clarified.

Eibinger took a moment to think. "The rebels have been bringing powder and cannonballs into the galleon. Someone may have made a mistake... and with all that powder, it'd only take a moment of carelessness to..."

"I need to know if anyone made it off that ship!" the King ordered. He turned back to the watchman. "Have word sent to the soldiers manning the docks to watch for any sign of survivors!"

____________________________________________________________________________________

"What the hell happened...!?" Count Lansen roared.

"The galleon, sir...!" the rebel soldier retorted. "Something must have set off the powder in the storage of the ship! The whole ship is burning!"

Lansen looked around in anguish. The whole plan hinged on keeping the country's leadership paralyzed into indecision by the threat to the castle that they couldn't retaliate against. With that leverage gone, this would turn into a battle of open forces on the battlefield, and he honestly wasn't sure his coalition would even hold together. Some of the weaker provinces might waver and switch sides, now that the King had regained control of the Capital.

"You have to attack!" Jerome pressed. "Don't let all our plans go down now! We have no other options... if we fail now, it means we all go to the gallows!"

Lansen glared back at Jerome... why did I even listen to this man...!? He shook his head... but he's right...! We're committed now...! But first we need to escape! He turned to his servant staff. "Pack up all the wealth we can... we need to be out of the city by sundown or we'll be rounded up for sure!"

Jerome seethed inwardly... what could have gone wrong...!? How could this have happened...!? The plan was going so perfectly... no ArchPriestess to stop them... their ship crew was trained and prepared to handle cannons... He took a breath... Daniel... did his weak son somehow fail him? If he was the cause, then son or not... he would pay for this...!

____________________________________________________________________________________

Michiko and Sabine kept an eye out for any chance of pursuit; in the back of their minds, they were still fearful that some of the sailors might have tried to swim to their boat. Michiko despaired at the contents of her shoulder bag. Some of the books and scrolls were legitimate; trying to salvage them from the water damage would take a miracle. Putting those thoughts aside, she reloaded the Beretta with a fresh magazine, just in case any of the galleon sailors headed their way.

Michiko had originally worried they would have to row their boat to the shore, which would have been strenuous for the two girls, but to her surprise, Sabine knew the basics of how to set up the small boat's sail. How does a Princess know such a thing...? she marveled. She really is a genius! This made their trip to the shore much easier.

As they approached the shore, Michiko watched with caution; the docks were ringed with visible soldiers. They were showing Kingdom colors, but she knew they were dealing with a potential civil war; knowing friend-from-foe wouldn't be trivial. They would have to be Royal guards, and not just city guards, to be safe.

On the docks, the soldiers had spotted the approaching fishing boat and stood ready. How they would react depended on who was on-board; if they were rebel sailors trying to escape into the city, they would be greeted appropriately. However, much to their shock, they quickly saw two girls.

"It's the Princess!" the lead soldier shouted. Behind him, other soldiers formed up into a protective detail; although the palace had tried to keep the news of her abduction secret, servants had wagging tongues and word had spread. More to the point, the failure of the Royal detail from the night of the Festival was well known and weighed heavily on their collective reputations.

As the boat hit the dock, soldiers ran up to tie them securely. Michiko watched their reactions carefully; did they look relieved and happy or shocked and angry? The last thing she wanted was to rescue Sabine, only to deliver her back into the hands of their enemies. Hopefully, she wasn't dealing with a group of careful actors, but that seemed unlikely an entire platoon could "act" a role.

"Hime-sama!" one guard cried in clear relief.

"Hime-sama, you're safe!" another one added.

OK, so far, so good... those felt genuine, Michiko thought. Both girls were pulled off the boat and into what she hoped would be welcoming arms. "I need you to take her back to the palace as quickly as possible," Michiko said, with surprising authority in her voice. "Protect her with your lives, if anyone tries to grab her."

"Wait...!" Sabine cried out. "You're coming too, aren't you!?"

Michiko shook her head. "Once word of the galleon's destruction spreads, the ringleaders will almost certainly pack up their treasure and try and leave the city. If they aren't captured, the Kingdom could be facing a far greater civil war... and it could go on for years. One way or another, they have to be stopped... and I think I know where they are."

"H-how...?!" Sabine demanded, on the verge of crying.

"On the table of the maintenance station, there was a logbook," Michiko explained. "There was an entry made by one of Lansen's vassals that talks about one of his warehouses in the city slum district. When we were discussing strategies in Chancellor Saar's office, they said the Larsen mansion had already been abandoned. That leaves those warehouses the most logical place they would use as a staging area."

"Then we'll go together!" Sabine insisted.

Michiko embraced Sabine, who reciprocated. She then spoke softly. "Sabine... you're the Third Princess of the Kingdom. You represent the future of this country... getting you back to safety is vital, not just for yourself, but for what you mean to your father and your people. I'm... I'm just a commoner, who isn't even a citizen of your lands... I'm... not as important as you are. That's why it has to be me... and before they can escape."

As Michiko pulled away, Sabine started to cry. "Y-you're important to me...!"

Oh God... now I'm about to cry... Michiko thought as tears began to well up. If I don't leave now, I'll be a blubbering mess and won't have the nerve to do this...! She turned and headed into the city. All around, she could hear the sounds of fighting and the occasional musket fire. It's already begun... she thought. She needed to keep to the alleys and stay under cover, at least until she got closer to her destination.

There were already dead and dying people in the streets, which made Michiko momentarily recoil. While she had attended a funeral or two for relatives, along with her fair share of movies and TV, she had never actually seen someone die in real life right in front of her. Her heart cracked for a moment with profound sadness before she forcibly steeled herself. This has to be stopped now, or there's going to be far more death. On the ground, she picked up a dead man's musket and kit, along with a dagger. She checked the musket, confirming it had been fired and needed to be reloaded. The dagger was similar to the one Daniel had gifted her a few months ago, though less decorated and more utilitarian in design. The other difference was this dagger was already stained with blood, which seemed to underscore the threat she was about to face. No turning back now... she thought, with her resolve firming up. These were probably the men who attacked Mitsuha... maybe even killed her... all for their stupid war and need for power...! For the good of the Kingdom and my own peace of mind, they were going to be brought to justice!

____________________________________________________________________________________

A few hours later, a group of the rebel soldiers had finally made it back to land, downriver from the city. They had managed to survive by being near the edge of the galleon when it exploded, then clinging onto floating debris to avoid drowning. Those who were too far to the interior of the ship however weren't so fortunate.

"This is your fault!" one of the sailors accused Daniel. "You had one job... guard the prisoners!"

"No one told me there was going to be a swap!" Daniel retorted.

"That shouldn't matter!" the sailor snarled. "A prisoner is a prisoner!"

Daniel cringed at the accusation. I had her in my sights... it was less than twenty yards... how could I have missed...?! Or did I really want to hit her... did I freeze up when it was time to fire...? He looked glumly to the ground. What is Father going to say...?

As the group made landfall, they looked around. Luckily, landing far outside the city meant there weren't city or royal guards waiting for them. Both Daniel and the lead boatswain did a headcount; less than twenty remained. That meant less than half of the full group made it. The group gathered and began their trek back towards the city.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Back at the palace, the King and Prince Lionel kept a quiet vigil as news came in from various parts of the country. Messengers came in by horse, carrying updates and scouting reports, indicating that there were individual sparks of violence breaking out across the surrounding border provinces. News from the outlying provinces would take longer to reach; they could only hope the news wasn't as grim as they were seeing closer to the capital.

"My Lord!" a guard cried out, running into the throne room. That he did so without any initial introduction or preamble underscored the urgency of his news. "Princess Sabine has been found! She just arrived by the gate, under escort!"

This got everyone's attention; the King, Lionel, Chancellor Saar and Marquis Eibinger and their respective assistants all got up and headed towards the palace gate. Upon arriving, they were greeted by a platoon of guards, all in a protective cordon around a weeping Princess Sabine. The King charged past the guards, and immediately they both hugged. "Thank the Goddess you're safe!"

"How did you get off the galleon?" Chancellor Saar asked in wonder.

"M-Michiko-oneesan..." Sabine explained between wiping her eyes. "She rescued me, fought off all the bad guys, and she sabotaged their black powder with chemicals to keep it from hurting the castle."

Marquis Eibinger gasped in shock. Like Count Bozes, he suspected Michiko would have some kind of plan and not just blithely march to her death, but he never would have guessed she could have pulled all this off. That girl might have just saved the Kingdom, breaking the deadlock that was keeping them paralyzed; now they were free to act with decisiveness against the rebellious noble houses. "But where is Michiko?" he pressed. "Didn't she come back with you?"

"She went after the bad guys' leadership," Sabine explained. "She said they were in the warehouses in the slum districts. But she's all alone!"

The King turned to the guards. "Send a company of soldiers to the warehouses in the slum district! Find Michiko, and give her any assistance she needs! If you find Count Larsen, have him brought in for his crimes, along with whoever else is helping him!"

____________________________________________________________________________________

Michiko worked her way through the city, going alley by alley, keeping out of sight, or so she thought. Looking across the streets, she saw a series of buildings and warehouses. According to the maps that were in Chancellor Saar's office during their previous meetings, these were all owned by the Larsen noble family. She could see several carriages in the area, with men on guard and others loading boxes onto wagons. They're moving out, she thought. Unfortunately, there were way too many people here. No way I could sneak past all of them, and it only takes one sentry to call out and I'd be overwhelmed instantly. They'll probably drag me to their boss and let him kill me himself... or maybe not even that... maybe they'll just finish me off and be done with it, if they're in a hurry.

She pulled back to her hiding place in the alley and sighed. What was I thinking anyway? I got lucky on the ship, bluffing that I was the Lightning ArchPriestess and counting on Mitsuha's reputation to give them pause. That's not going to work on all those guys, and unlike Mitsuha, I don't have the powers to back up that title.

Just then, Michiko felt herself grabbed from behind. She panicked inside... crap, they got me...! A hand moved to her mouth, keeping her from crying out or making any additional noise. She looked to her captor and froze in recognition.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Gritt whispered harshly.

"Knight 2, Eagle 5, we've got Baker," Ilse whispered into a radio.

Baker... really...? Michiko thought wryly, then returned to the serious reality. "Ah... what are you guys doing here?"

"What do you think we're doing?" Gritt whispered with a hiss. "We're getting you out of here!"

"But the rebellion leadership is here!" Michiko insisted. "They have to be stopped now, or this war will...!"

"That's the Kingdom's job, not yours!" Gritt countered.

"You don't understand," Michiko protested. "It's more than that... these are the people who may have killed Mitsuha... this is something I have to do... it's all I have left here-"

<Slap!>

Michiko froze in shock... ouch, that was hard... Her cheek stung from Gritt's open-handed slap across the left side of her face. Ilse looked just as stunned, almost dropping her radio.

"For someone who's supposed to be... so smart..." Gritt said, as tears flowed down her face, "you can be... so stupid sometimes...!"

"I..." Michiko started but trailed off.

"We passed Princess Sabine on the way here... she's crying her eyes out, because someone she considers an older sister is putting her life at risk!" Gritt explained harshly. "Count Bozes and his family have been worried sick ever since you volunteered for your crazy plan... and now that you actually managed to escape... you're putting yourself in even more peril, and for what...? Do you really think Lady Mitsuha... alive or not... would have actually wanted you to throw your life away on some foolish notions of revenge or justice?"

Ilse added in her quiet voice, "Don't you see you have so many people who care for you... how can you still not see how much you have to live for?"

"Sven and Szep are on the other side of the city block... we didn't know which direction you were going to be approaching from, so we had to split up," Gritt explained. "We're pulling back and regrouping, then taking you home! If this is where the rebel leaders are, we'll call in the Kingdom soldiers and they'll handle it!"

"I..." Michiko looked downcast. "I just wanted... needed... to help..."

"You can," Gritt emphasized. "With your intelligence... your knowledge of science and technology... your..." she broke out into a brief smile, "...amazing cooking..." then turned back to a serious look, "but not like this. This... this isn't your battlefield. Leave it to us warriors. We need your acuity, not your muscles."

Michiko slowly nodded, wiping her eyes. A large part of her was relieved... what was I thinking... they're right... I'm no warrior... I got lucky on that galleon. I should take my win and quit while I'm ahead.

Satisfied, Gritt and Ilse took Michiko under wing and turned to the alley. They looked left and right for any active lookouts, then started their moving out of the area. However, as they made it up to the next block, they were immediately surrounded by soldiers.

"Drop your weapons!" the soldiers ordered.

Surrounded by soldiers, and outnumbered by more than two-to-one, Gritt, Ilse and Michiko all prepared to drop their recognizable weapons. Unnoticed, Michiko's Beretta was holstered and concealed on her hip and Ilse's radio were ignored; the latter in particular as she cannily kept her finger on the "transmit" button on her radio.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Sven and Szep looked at the radio with alarm. Their last message indicated that things were going well and they expected a call to meet at their pre-arranged rendezvous . However, much to their surprise, they kept hearing words and conversations . More urgently, a stranger's voice was heard; "Drop your weapons ... " , which didn't sound like good news at all. Sven and Szep looked at each other; their friends needed help and they had a job to do.

____________________________________________________________________________________

The sailors of the galleon finally made it back to their leader's headquarters. By now, word of the galleon's destruction had reached them. Count Larsen had already ordered his vassals and personal wealth to be packed and ready for transport; he had no intentions to be here when the Kingdom's forces would soon be here. Of that, he had no doubts. Jerome Lafette continued to seethe; how could this have fallen apart so fast. He already made a note to check on his son... he had his suspicions that, somehow, his weakness had led to this.

Jerome came forward; he was still furious that his strongest supporter, Count Larsen had made the decision to pull out to save his own hide. Of course, this was expected; nobles were selfish creatures after all. He had just hoped to string them along just a little longer; just long enough for the shooting to begin.

"Sir, the survivors from the galleon are here," Larsen's butler reported. "Along with the Lafette boy."

Jerome and Larsen headed to meet the survivors. They were a miserable looking bunch, Jerome thought. "So... who wants to tell me what happened?" he asked icily.

"The prisoners got out of their cage!" the boatswain reported. "The girl we brought on board somehow still had a weapon and..."

"And you didn't even search her before taking her prisoner?!" Jerome demanded.

"We did," the boatswain insisted. "She was carrying books and scrolls... we were told she was there to be a translator, so..."

"How did she get out of her cage?" Larsen brusquely.

"She had a weapon," another sailor remembered. "She must have threatened the guard."

"And where were you?" Jerome turned to Daniel. "You had one job!"

"I... I had her in my sights..." Daniel admitted.

"And you missed?" Jerome concluded. "How do you miss from such a short distance?!" He then got a disgusted look on his face. "Or did you go soft, because it was her?!"

"I... I didn't know it was going to be her... I thought I was going to be guarding the Prince," Daniel admitted.

Jerome slapped Daniel hard across the face, who took the blow without a word. "Do you have any idea... what you've done...?! You... are a failure as a son... and as a man!" he hissed. He then shoved Daniel into the arms of the other sailors. "Tie him up and leave him here!"

"Wha...!?" the sailor asked with a surprised look.

"Father, what are you...!?" Daniel retorted with a shocked expression.

"The Kingdom's going to be looking for a scapegoat, aren't they?" Jerome snarled to Larsen.

Larsen looked momentarily shocked, but then took on a cold, pragmatic expression. "I see... are you sure about this, Lafette?"

"I won't tolerate a traitor," Jerome growled. "Let him serve as your doorstop for all I care... I can always have another son...!"

Daniel looked back at Jerome, with a mixture of sadness and regret. "I see... then I have no father..."