Chapter 37 - Persuasion

The rooftops in central Alvania were far less cohesive compared to Tervana. The houses were much more varied, and quite a few buildings had fixtures or decorations above forcing them to be careful not to break anything as they crossed above. Tetsuo hoped that Alon would still be awake by the time they arrived.

Bianca called out to Tetsuo as she went for a long stride over the space between two apartments. “Do we really need him though? I’m sure between the two of us we could handle it.”

Tetsuo yelled back. “He’s one of the best knights I know. Alvania’s gonna be guarding this place with the best knights they have, so we’re gonna need one of our own.”

“Yeah but… he’s Alvanian… Doesn’t that make you worried?”

“Bianca, I’m telling you, most Alvanians are just normal people. For better or worse they either don’t know or don’t care about what’s going on with Tervana or us. Your rebellion gave them a reason to care. Now it’s time we go show them what’s been happening beneath their noses.”

Bianca still seemed doubtful. She had avoided the rehabilitation program, and Tetsuo had been her main guide in terms of learning the way things worked here. He wondered to himself if he’d be more like her if Alon hadn’t been Alvanian. Regardless, for now she’d have to trust him. Tetsuo knew he’d join them, the question was really whether he’d give Tetsuo the chance to ask.

From the distance, Tetsuo could make out Alon's two story house. A faint light within, told him that to some extent he was awake. He prompted Bianca to come with him, and they both bound over buildings until they reached his roof. They were going to descend to the ground, but they could hear a gruff voice inside yelling.

“I can’t believe it! I mean why? There‘re knights all over Tervana who could do th' job!”

Tetsuo signaled to Bianca to keep quiet. It seemed like inside Veera had visited and was talking to Alon about something.

“I mean my daughter. Strongest in Alvania, er… respectfully. And they 'ave her holed up in some basement!”

Tetsuo could hear Alon calmly respond. He seemed annoyed by Veera’s tantrum. “Yeah I get it, you’ve said it like four times now. But why are you coming to me with all this?”

“Ain’t you friends with that Eleanor lass. She’s got high say in the kingdom. Can’t you get ‘er to move some things around?”

“If I saw her maybe. She’s been holed up in her workshop for weeks now.”

“Gah! Then go in and talk to ‘er. My daughter woulda ended the civil unrest in Tervana in one day! Instead, they’re sending the worst of the worst, those bumbling idiots who get off on pushin’ around the weak. So the war’s not endin’, people are sufferin’ and my daughter is gonna get sick from being in that workshop's basement all day.

Tetsuo whispered to Bianca. “Do you hear that? Lunette’s in the workshop basement!”

Bianca spoke rather dejectedly. “That guy with the weird accent is her dad? Talking to her crush about work?”

“That’s not important right now.” Tetsuo began mapping his thoughts out on his fingers. “If they’ve got the strongest knight in the kingdom guarding the same building that the smartest person in the kingdom is working in, there’s gotta be something crazy in there.”

“Can’t be all that smart if she hit on a married man…”

“Again besides the point. If we’re gonna figure out what’s going on, I’m betting she’s the only one in the kingdom right now who really knows the full story. We catch her and figure out what’s going on down there, we can finally have a full picture for getting back home.”

“You really think some Alvanian would help us over his childhood friend?”

“You really don’t like Alvanians huh?”

“Sorry.”

“Trust me.”

Bianca didn’t respond, instead opting to swing herself off the edge of the roof and slide down a wall. Tetsuo copied her until both of them were standing in front of the main entrance. Using the key he still had from when he was working at the workshop he jostled the lock open. An swung open the door with gusto.

“ALON! I–” Before he could start his sentence, a knife flew into the side of the doorframe, scattering splinters in front of his eyes. Tetsuo looked and saw Alon had thrown it out of reflex, wide-eyed after recognizing him at the doorstep.

“Dude! I told you not to do stuff like that! I could have killed you!”

Tetsuo had lost all doubts he had regarding Alon’s fighting abilities. He took a deep breath in and began to resume his train of thought.

“Alon! I need your help, so I’ll fight you in a duel! If I win, you–”

“Dude, just say what you want help with.”

“I want you to help me and Bianca raid the workshop.”

“Sure.”

Tetsuo stood in the doorway, feeling like all his courage had been wasted. “That’s it?”

“Why not? I’m worried about Eleanor, she’s been acting weird lately. And Lunette will be there too right? I’ve got something I want to tell her.”

Veera called out, “Come in and have a seat.”

Tetsuo and Bianca entered, as Bianca locked the door behind them. The main living area was cleaner than usual. There were still utensils and pans left out, but they were all clean, and stacked in neat piles. For Alon, this was a pretty noticeable upgrade. Tetsuo and Bianca sat down at the table in the center of the room where the other two were.

“So that’s it? You’re in? I kinda thought you’d still be upset about… you know…”

Alon shrugged. “I already got you pretty good for it anyways. It’s no big deal. Besides… it’s not like you were completely wrong anyways… About me, I mean.”

“Still, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have--”

“It’s all well and good. I’m sorry too, I could’ve held back a little more but hey, what’s done is done. Although, I’m curious now, how exactly did you think you were gonna beat me this time?”

“I didn’t really think I could. I was gonna try to win you over with my indomitable spirit or something…”

Alon shook his head, tutting. “See that’s why you can’t beat me. You're always overthinking things. If you focused more on the fight and less on me, maybe you’d have a chance.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. So we’re alright then?”

“Peachy. Although next time you say something about Lunette, I won’t hold back.”

Veera quickly swiveled to Tetsuo, his unkempt beard and wild eyes giving him a maddened look. “Wh’ d’ y’ say about my daughter?!”

Tetsuo and Alon tried to calm him down, assuring him that it was nothing. As they did Tetsuo remembered something important he needed to ask.

“Veera, are you still acting as Pia’s supervisor.”

“More of a guardian at this point, but yeah, sure.”

Tetsuo paused and tried to cleanly present what he had to say. “Can I talk to Pia? I have a plan to end the conflict between Tervana and Alvania, but I’m gonna need her for it.”

“No.” Veera’s immediate response took the three of them by surprise. “The lass has been through enough. No more fighting for her.”

Tetsuo waved his hand in the air. “No, don’t worry. She won’t be fighting. In fact she won’t even have to do anything once the plan starts. But she’s the key to how we’ll show everyone the truth of Alvania.”