The Villainess of Caerleon [ VOLUME 1 END ]

“Kyle,” Vivian said slowly, “Do you think this is what Diane meant by unstoppable?”

“Yep.”

For the record, soldiers were still slashing and thrusting their weapons at Vivian. Nobody seemed to know why they had all suddenly acquired Shroomtrooper Aim, and yet everyone seemed convinced that the next slash or thrust was definitely going to land.

“Is it just me or do you sound a little disappointed by this?”

“Only just a little.”

“My lady!” Emily’s voice quaked from behind us.

A torrent of azure flame swept the soldiers surrounding Vivian aside. For the few who withstood the might of the blaze, the battle maid battered them into the dirt with her fists.

“Are you alright, my lady,” Emily brushed her hands against her lady’s untorn dress, “You don’t have a mark on you…”

“I’ll explain later,” Vivian said, “Where’s Diane?”

“This way, the prince is pursuing her.”

Emily and Vivian hurried to the captured artillery stations at the edge of the hill. Behind them, Vivian’s forces pursued the rebel stragglers, many of whom had experienced Vivian’s newfound invincibility firsthand and had lost all will to fight. Further away, a number of rebels on horseback, led by a man in decorated uniform, fled into the distance.

Vivian peered over the top of the hill and watched Diane and her enchanters race across the hillside, pursued by literal knights in shining armor. Prince Pendragon, it appeared, had arrived, and with a sizable force that roughly tripled the amount of enchanters left on the field. None of the knights paid heed to the fighting on the hill. A few of the magicians turned to cast their spells, but whether it be fire or ice, their magic helplessly glanced off of the knights’ plating.

Vivian’s eyes bristled with fury.

“Magic armor,” Vivian hissed, “Killing Diane was their only plan. Treacherous schemers! Everyone! Load the guns!”

Emily blinked. It was the first time that I had ever seen the maid delay a direct command issued.

“My lady,” Emily bowed, “You are asking me and the others to fire upon a royal. The crown prince no less. You are aware of the repercussions of this?”

“Yes.”

“...Understood.”

Emily waved for some of the men to dismount from their horses and help her. Together, they carried missiles, loaded them into the firing chamber of each battery, and turned the guns to face Prince Pendragon and his gallant knights.

Vivian stepped forward so that she alone stood in front of the guns with her fists held to the sky. From the hill below, with the sun at its zenith, perhaps Vivian appeared to the knights as a sunfire angel, flanked by charcoal demons born of metal, descending from the sky.

“Artimael Pendragon,” she bellowed, “Flee like the coward you are!”

Vivian threw her arm forward and upon her signal, the captured artillery roared with deafening bangs.

It first sounded like a crack of thunder, a tremor of the heavens, mere feet from my ears.

Then came the deep rumble, like the awakened heartbeat of the planet, when the missiles clashed with the earth and scarred its surface with ash.

Much of the initial bombardment missed their targets, flying wide and long, uprooting swaths of forest and smearing the hillside with fire. But the prince’s forces rode tightly together, only a single round needed to land to deal devastating effect.

And indeed, one lone missile crashed into the middle of the prince’s riders and ruptured the formation with explosive force. The flames, shrapnel, and debris plumed into a lethal cloud while the ensuing blasts tossed lacerated armor and steed into the air.

Never before had Artimael’s knights faced the horrors of the Kapur war machine. Always, they had watched as others were mauled and torn apart. Now, scattered and frightened, hurled aside helplessly by a power perhaps more terrifying than nature or magic, the morale of the prince’s knights buckled like the mangled bodies of their comrades. They broke ranks and fled as the indiscriminate barrage continued to fall around them.

Prince Pendragon, in gleaming golden armor, rode at the head of his knights. He watched behind him as his knights abandoned their valor and scurried away like wounded rats.

He turned his eyes to the hill, where he must have seen Vivian screaming to fire another volley. White smoke poured from the barrels of the cannons and shrouded Vivian in vapor and mist.

I wondered what his eyes looked like with those beautiful cerulean, aquamarine, and sapphire colors that swirled in his eyes. Did they now glow red with rage?

But like the rest of his gallant knights, Artimael Pendragon did not stay to curse or scream profanities. He turned his horse around and followed his surviving knights into the cover of the nearby treeline, disappearing into darkness.

“Cease fire!” Vivian ordered.

The sounds of the battlefield softened. In the distance, the bulk of Diane’s army marched forth from the forest and turned their attention to the city of Arcadia. At the walls of the city, however, white flags began to rise from the dilapidated walls.

Below, Diane and the surviving enchanters regrouped and trotted towards the top of the hill. Many of the riders who had sallied forth with Diane had not survived, even in spite of her magical heroics. Horses returned to their fallen riders, nibbling at the grass beside their bodies.

As Diane approached, her dress and arms and face worn by flames and shrapnel, I noticed that eight of the ten gemstones on her hands had shattered, and the broken glass had gashed her fingers.

Vivian and Diane stared at each other from a modest distance. The silence between them lasted so long I wondered if Vivian had lost her voice from screaming.

“You look terrible by the way,” Vivian finally said.

“You think so?” Diane brushed her fingers across her face, “I actually think some people just love their women with scars.”

“Do they also like these sorts of women to abuse their best friend’s trust?”

“Maybe, you never know who’s in the market,” Diane shrugged, “Speaking of manipulative, where’s Kyle? He’s being mighty quiet for a relic that can now talk.”

“What?” I blurted.

“Ah there you are.”

“You can hear me?”

“Technically everyone can now,” Diane replied, “So be careful what you say to Vivian when you think you’re alone with her. Don’t blurt out your lovey dovey confessions whenever you have a chance.”

“Diane, stop bullying him,” Vivian snapped, “And I’m not finished with you yet. Get over here.”

To my surprise, Diane approached Vivian with a sheepish diffidence that was very unlike her. All her usual irony-laced pretense evaporated and for a brief moment, I saw again the vulnerable enchantress staring listlessly into the night aboard the Greymoor carriage, her life hurdling into the uncertain future.

But amidst all that uncertainty, Vivian pulled Diane into an embrace to bring her back to reality. In spite of her anger, the heiress to the Greymoor family dropped her maddened facade and sobbed uncontrollably into the burnt ends of Diane’s hair. Behind them, Emily and Guin arrived at the edge of the hill.

“Were you trying to die?” Vivian cried, “I was so scared.”

“Oh come on,” Diane snorted, “I really wasn’t in danger. I knew you’d come to bail me out of it. And you can’t make me sniffle after I lured you all the way here.”

“You can’t keep doing this,” Vivian pouted, pulling away to show her puffy eyes, “This time you really pulled me into something troublesome.”

“They’re going to start calling you the Villainess of Caerleon,” Diane snickered.

“You could’ve just told me what you were planning and I would’ve come around eventually,” Vivian sighed, “What was the point of all this subterfuge?”

“Oh come on, don’t look so glum,” Diane said, “Look what you got out of all my scheming. Rekindled friendships, solidarity with your ex’s lover, and now your boyfriend can actually talk to you. I may be devious, but consider that the greater glory in this story belongs to me.”

“Lady Astral,” Guin shuffled forward, “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Yes, Guin,” Diane nodded, “Still, it’s a surprise to see you out here–”

Guin Veridian stopped Diane with a finger to the enchantress’s lips. When Guin moved her finger away, her face stepped in to take its place.

Emily and Vivian widened their eyes.

I whistled an innocent tune.

“Lady Astral mentioned that women are her preference,” Guin blushed.

“Guin, dear, no, you should really reconsider,” Vivian warned, “You’re too pure for this witch.”

“Vivian, I set you up with Kyle, don’t ruin this for me,” Diane firmly held onto Guin’s hand, “Guin, Emily, let’s give these two some space.”

“These two?” Emily asked.

“I’ll explain later.”

As the others left, Vivian stood alone on the remainder of the battlefield.

No, that wasn’t right. I stood next to her.

“What now?” I asked, “You’re going to let Diane drag you into a mess of a war?”

“She didn’t drag me through all this.”

“Really?”

“Only partly,” Vivian sighed, “The empire needs changing. We’ve all known that. I preferred peace, but Diane might be right. This war may be necessary.”

“You could probably win this all on your own, you know,” I said, “You put all your points into luck and now no one can touch you.”

“So putting all my points into luck was a good thing?” she smirked.

“Yes, yes,” I said, “But only because I got rid of a curse that’s been plaguing me since my last life.”

“Okay you don’t have to work so hard to impress me, lover boy,” Vivian laughed, “What is it with men and their incessant posturing?”

In spite of all her fierce qualities, her vigor and indomitable nature, it was the pleasant sonority of Vivian’s laugh that reminded me that I was dazzled only by her. But in the presence of her beauty I was reminded of myself, that I wasn’t handsome like Prince Pendragon or presentable like Vladimir Greymoor or even funny like Stefan.

Doubt crept in my mind, as it did in times like this, that in my current state I would never be right for someone as lovely and free spirited as Vivian Greymoor.

“You’re really okay with a lover boy like me?” I asked, “You know, I don’t even have a body. I don’t know if I’ll ever have one."

Vivian stared blankly.

At first, I thought she had realized the absurdity of our romance and wanted out. But as she did with her friends, with her family, with all those she cared about, Vivian reached out to me with her all too familiar brand of sincerity and reassurance.

She raised her hand to her face and pressed her magical bracelet to her lips. She smiled and then, like water bursting from a dam, she let loose another fit of laughter.

“What?” I whined, “What’s so funny about what I said?”

“Kyle,” Vivian chuckled, wiping her eyes of joyous tears, “I just blew up my ex-fiancé's cohort of knights in shining armor with guns I stole from a band of feckless brigands. How many men do you think are lining up for my hand right now?”

“...I see your point.”