synergetic | Prince of Fire Emblem: Gray Waves

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Prince of Fire Emblem: Gray Waves

A princess with a poker face, Yukimura thought, as Yanagi took away the tea cups and retreated to where the rest of his entourage waited near the doorway.

He had open across the small negotiating table a letter from Princess Azura's stepfather, promising him that he would make her marriage as valuable to him as if she were his own flesh and blood. King Garon had a reputation that his own children shrank from, even as they bowed to his every whim. Azura didn't have the same fawning, wincing air as Garon's own children, from what Yukimura remembered of the spy reports. She looked placidly into his eyes.

"You pushed for this?" he asked, bluntly.

"No, milord," said the princess calmly. "Having just returned to Nohr after a long stay in Hoshido, I was as surprised as you."

Was she lying to him? She'd appeared at the gates of his castle alongside a delivery of flowers and wine for the ball celebrating Marui and Lissa's engagement, accompanied by her stepfather's offer of her hand and a ne'er-do-well with an axe as large as his body.

"He's this eager to get rid of you?"

"Or to gain your goodwill," she answered delicately.

Was she lying to him? The timing angered him immensely.

"By sending you here? Customarily, the pleasure of the bride's company is withheld until the marriage has been satisfactorily arranged."

"Your refusal is noted," she said, not without a certain heaviness.

His eyes narrowed. An outright refusal, in front of the man with the axe... his head burned. Could he afford to refuse Garon's offer without at least the pretense of consideration? Was she simply manipulating him into making a mistake?

"I said no such thing," he answered tightly. She inclined her head apologetically. "But my concern is with the engagement of my own princess, which you're interfering with."

She didn't contest his choice of verb, and his blood boiled.

"Like your princess, I am at the mercy of kings," she said. "I mean no disrespect to Lady Lissa."

But do you mean her harm? he wondered. Did Azura mean to displace her? The king's wife was necessarily given more authority than the king's sister. Yukimura didn't want that. He didn't want a wife for his own sake, there was nothing left within him that could love or cherish the princess before him nor any other, and he certainly didn't want a queen, who'd expect to see her own child on his throne in due time.

A queen would displace Lissa in the hierarchy of the court, and an heir would do the same in the line of succession. A perfect sabotage of his failsafe. A waste of Marui's and Lissa's sacrifices both-- not to mention the hints he'd tried to give them during their dance practice for tonight.

He had to play this intelligently-- even if he was starting late. He swallowed back the venom and vitriol he felt for this interloper and, hating himself for the debasement, stood, only to bow to her gallantly.

"Enjoy with us the festivities already planned," he said, more instructing than inviting. "We can talk more when I've discharged the business already in front of me."

"Yes, milord," she said, opaque as an iron wall.

Felicia -- delighted to be visited by a princess of her native land -- quickly escorted Azura and Hans, the axe man, to their lodgings, and Yukimura turned to his friends, pale and glowing with displeasure.

"I want to know why Nohr chose now to do this," he said, "but I will settle for what I should do to them in retaliation."

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He calculated an 86% chance of this outcome and was either kind enough or masochistic enough to not dodge it. Possibly both. Well, Niou has no complaints about that.

For now, he doesn't respond to Azura. The show isn't over yet, after all. Without missing a beat, he rounds on Sanada with a dark smile.

"You're next."

Sanada stiffens and shifts to face Niou more frontally. "You wouldn't dare."

"That's right, I wouldn't. And that's why you angled that tight ass as far away as you could, isn't it. You get out too."

Sanada, seemingly without any solid comeback to that, hesitates, and looks to Yukimura for a confirmation. Is this really okay?

Yukimura hesitates for a single second, in the middle of his own calculations, but in the end... Niou realizing what's going on is easier to face. His disappointment won't sting as much as Sanada's.

"Sanada, you made sure I was safe. Thank you. Now I need you to do the same for Lissa and Marui."

Reluctantly, he pulled himself free of Sanada's support, nearly tripping over the damn tome as he stepped away from Azura but towards Niou, beckoning him closer.

Sanada nods once, understanding and not questioning now that he has what he needs. "As you wish." And follows Yanagi out.

Once the door closes behind Sanada, Niou exhales with pleasure.

"Isn't that better," he comments to no one in particular as he moves towards Yukimura and assumes the place Sanada vacated. "Now then... I think I'd like a cup of tea. Princess Azura? How do you like yours?"

"Just plain matcha, if you please," said the princess, her lance still poised and leveraged to strike. Held over her shoulder, blade pointed down at Yukimura, gravity would do the rest.

The king felt no animosity from her. Rather, she seemed resigned. She wasn't looking at him, exactly. Her gaze veered just a little over his shoulder, and he followed it to the Trance tome.

Just the same, he couldn't bear to look her in the eyes. His attention was captured instead by the pendant hanging from her neck.

"Niou, do as our esteemed guest asks," said Yukimura. He'd been infuriated by her existence eight hours ago; now he was afraid she would take his mistakes and drag Lissa down into a war he'd never prepared her to wage. "There should be supplies in the cabinet hidden behind the portrait of my father... you know how Yanagi arranges things."

He waited for Azura's eyes to rest on the portrait warily.

"The weapons cache is within the conference table; it's hollow," he added, speaking honestly because he needed her goodwill, and the only way to get it was to prove he had nothing to hide. "The cabinet there really is just tea and snacks for when we're working."

"I'm aware I provoked you with my song," she said. "So I will not attack while your man is occupied."

Having started about the business of making tea, Niou's head is turned away from them when Azura voices the missing piece to this puzzle. It hides the flash in his eyes. So, the princess did covertly do something to Yukimura. The magic he threw at her was self-defense.

He resists his first impulse to assert that she won't attack at all, because he wasn't going to let her. Resists the urge to get between them with his knife set to her throat so fast she'd think it a teleportation spell of his own. Proving that the preemptive strike was hers would be extremely difficult, and Yukimura was trying to smooth tensions, not escalate them. He didn't want a war with Nohr.

More to the point, what was her objective? If she meant to assassinate the king, she wouldn't give herself away like that, would she? No. Her eyes hadn't quite been on the king. They'd been on--

...

He moves to the cabinet and retrieves the matcha, sifter, whisk, kettle, and three sipping bowls. He sifts the matcha into the bowls, then conjures water into the kettle. As he pulls his fire tome to boil the water, he removes a small packet from his hidden arsenal of tricks. The fine powder inside it joins one of the bowls.

"Be just a minute. Go ahead and have a seat."

Neither of them sit, and Azura smiles briefly.

The longer Yukimura is in her presense -- no, the presence of the Lance, she didn't have this effect on him when she was unarmed -- the more clearly he can think. This is the Nohrian king's stepdaughter, the daughter of his second official wife, not one of the children he fathered with one of his many backstabbing concubines. This is the child who was kidnapped after the assassination of the Hoshidan king, and--

"You have nothing to fear from King Garon if you kill me," said Azura, confirming the conclusion he was coming to. "At least not immediately. He would be happy to use my death to further his plans, but the only plan he has shown any interest in is his conquest of Hoshido."

It didn't explain why he sent her here, but perhaps she didn't know.

Yukimura studied the lance.

"Niou," he said softly. "Open the cache inside the table... once you've served the tea, of course. There should be a dagger there that has the same glowing, misty aura as the princess' lance. You must keep it with you at all times, since I don't think you can sing like her."

"Not without this pendant, certainly," she agreed. "I could teach him the words to the song, and the song has a mysterious power of its own, but you have already vastly overestimated your resistance to dark magic, milord."

"You got it, boss," he drones in response to the instruction without turning his head. Water pours into each bowl, the powder dissolving seamlessly into the drink. Niou gives each of the three bowls a good whisk to mix the matcha and bring the drink to a froth, mixing the drugged bowl last.

Dark magic, huh? That checked with what they already knew. What's most interesting about it is that somehow, she knew about it. Useful information to keep in mind.

He carries the tea out on a tray. Azura receives the first one as the guest. He gives Yukimura the drugged bowl next, and sets the remaining one aside while he opens up the cache to retrieve the dagger Yukimura requested. The powder will take a minute to take effect, but it should put him under a deep slumber once it does.

Azura hesitates before accepting the drink... only because it requires her to lay down her lance. Noticing this, Yukimura is at a bit of a loss-- he can't really disarm to make her feel safer, not with the magic tome following him like this.

The best Yukimura can offer is the admission, "I had no choice."

"Let's leave that aside for now," Azura answered. Once she decides she's comfortable setting aside her weapon, Yukimura takes a seat at the table. He watches her contemplate the bowl, and wonders himself if Niou has a trick up his sleeve. Well, the existence of a trick is a given, he decides. The question is whether he's chosen to employ it.

"I'm not familiar with the particular magic you've gone and embroiled yourself in," Azura said. "Rather, it's similar to things I've seen in the past. But it has its hooks deeply embedded into you-- that it was able to overpower my song is proof enough of that."

She hadn't touched her tea yet.

"I thank you for a heroic attempt," said Yukimura, contemplating his own tea. "I don't know how safely you can speak in front of me."

She nodded in acceptance. "Weapons that have anti-monster properties appear to force it into a stasis of some kind, but I'm in no hurry to test the limits of that. And it is a part of you now-- that I don't fear telling you. You already know that much."

"Maybe it was always a part of me," Yukimura said. "It appealed to a need I've always had-- my illness only made it worse."

But it wasn't the only part of him that mattered. What he needed most was another part who could act independently of him. A second brain who could come to the same conclusions -- sometimes faster, sometimes from a different angle -- and be ready with what Yukimura needed before he even knew it himself.

"I luckily have the services of an ingenious trickster," he said ruefully, and drank deeply of the tea. The tea his friend suggested as soon as he had control of the room, and Yukimura played right into having him prepare it. "Niou, your sense of shamelessness is the only one I'll never be able to steal."

Edited 2023-11-08 01:17 (UTC)

It's almost a pity for Yukimura to be losing consciousness soon. He and Azura are adding good context to the situation. So there was an attack earlier, but it was really more an attempt to help. The attack from Yukimura was self-defense, but from the dark magic that had integrated itself with him. There may be ways to keep it from taking over as much, but it was highly risky to attempt to separate them. That's why Yukimura wants him to start carrying that dagger. The implicit request: stay beside me. That much was always a given, figuratively at least.

"I wonder about that," he says mildly with a look of amusement. "It's a tight race with that outfit."

Yukimura only closes his eyes, wanting to speed along Niou's plan and the relief unconsciousness will bring. His stomach sours at the thought of leaving Niou alone to cope with what he's done, but it isn't the first time they've saved each others' lives.

"That just means I don't have anything spare to rest my head on," he said mildly, "since I don't have any extra clothing."

Azura waits until the king's head becomes too heavy for him.

"Was that a command to you?" she asks Niou, some amusement coming through.

"I should apologize -- or at least clarify -- my earlier remark. My siblings' retainers are all prone to misbehave, but they are each loyal and true."

"You don't need to concern yourself with apologies," Niou says as he moves over to make sure Yukimura's pretty head doesn't suffer any bumps as his consciousness leaves him. He carries him to the bed in the infirmary area and settles him there to rest for the next couple of hours.

"Sorry, boss." He whispers, knowing he can't be heard. This is for the best, for all of their sakes. He returns to the table and settles down with his tea in one of the seats.

"Now we can both talk freely. Please don't hesitate to voice any way I can make you more comfortable. And on behalf of the king of Rikkai, our thanks for your understanding of the situation. To have already grasped it, you're quite astute."

"Written directions to the nearest body of water would do a great deal for my peace of mind," she said matter-of-factly. She couldn't explain why without activating the Invisible Kingdom's curse, but considering Niou had more pressing matters on his mind, she doubted he would venture too far down that path.

"I was only lucky enough to be here," she added, getting down to business. "The Kingdom of Rikkai has a vital role to play in the interests of peace. I believe Rikkai, Seigaku, and Hyoutei keep each other check. Each dares not risk attacking the others, for fear of the third swooping in and finishing them both off. It's not my ideal, but Nohr is a harsh place of harsh people, and I must adopt its mindsets or die. My power is at your disposal, whatever good it may do."

Water, huh? Niou is no Yanagi, but he's ready to wager a 99.5% probability that this preference is about more than idle leisure. Something to keep tucked in the back of his mind for later.

Frankly, he's impressed listening to her speak; that isn't easy to do with him. Wasn't she the one that's spent the last several years as a political hostage? She's quite well-versed in foreign affairs for a prisoner, isn't she. What's that about? How interesting.

She's savvy, too. It's not just an awareness of the international power balances she carries but a dispassionate sense of perspective on the best interests of both herself and the world more broadly.

In fact, it's almost too good to be true. How often did such a perfectly timed solution fall in your lap? Had she in fact been among the RSVPs? He'll have to check on that. It's not distrust, per se. It was simply never a bad idea to keep a healthy sense of cynicism.

But she's correct that the effects of war among Rikkai, Hyoutei, and Seigaku would ripple beyond those borders-- not least of which because they didn't abut one another. She has legitimate cause for interest in a resolution to the compromised status of Rikkai's governing head.

"That balance is shaky for other reasons as well right now. Anything we can do to stabilize it will benefit everyone. First, what would be most helpful is knowing everything we can about the root of the problem. You've picked up on a lot for having been here so little. Is there anything more you can tell me about his affliction? Or about the tome that seems connected to it?"

"I'm afraid I know nothing specific about this tome. Not its name nor its purpose. I only recognized that the King of Rikkai was acting oddly first by building up his sister and her fiance, and then by the violence of his reaction to my presence and his perception of the threat I posed to them. I guessed that he did not envision a future for himself as your king, and his reaction when I sang to him suggests that the reason for that is that he doesn't believe himself capable of dispelling the dark force controlling him on his own."

She paused to sip at her tea.

"I'm sorry."

It's not true.

Azura can't be faulted for not knowing the engagement is a ruse. She doesn't know how overwhelmingly not-ready Lissa is for running a country or how ill-suited Marui is for being a king alongside her. There's no way on the planet Yukimura is entertaining thoughts of just leaving her to it. None.

There's no need to panic.

"Let's save the condolences for when your prediction comes true," he suggests. "In the meanwhile, I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to make that time 'never.' What do you need? Should I tie him to a chair and give you a literal captive audience?"

"I'm willing to, if you are," she said mildly. "Stand next to him with my lance or your dagger, and hope for the best. If I can actually finish the verse, there is a chance."

She drank again, to collect her thoughts.

"I promise nothing. But a chance exists."

"What are the risks? Any side effects? Any worsening of the status quo if it fails?"

Azura shook her head.

"You may want to observe him a while to see if what I've already done has any lingering effects, but I don't think it will. The song, when paired with this pendant, has a purifying effect."

On the target, at least. The effect on herself was... worse, and the hot tea was a great help in masking the fatigue she felt. Looking down at the way the blue gemstone caught the light, however, her belief in the choice to do this did not waver. The cause of peace was rapacious,

"I don't know what kind of entity has him in its grasp. I don't know if it can feel... slighted."

Purifying... No wonder Yukimura hated it. Was this what they meant about it being a part of him?

Setting that aside, there's more to her answer than the potential impact to Yukimura, isn't there? Slighted... Hadn't she mentioned a moment ago a bad reaction to her presence? She was already on thin ice, then. And she sounded uncertain whether even physical bindings would fully protect her to allow a completion of the verse.

"Let's keep our options open. I can't agree to any unnecessary risks on your part, however willing you are to take them."

She inclined her head in acknowledgment. He didn't need to be interrogated on how he defined 'necessary' and 'unnecessary.' She wasn't sure if she could withstand the reciprocal questioning... she had a part to play in the grand finale between Nohr and Hoshido, and Rikkai's dilemma was but an interlude.

Yet she wanted to see its performers triumph.

"What would make you feel safe enough to try?"

"Well, there's not really such a thing as feeling safe enough here, is there? It's the risks we can afford to take, and the ones we can't afford not to take."

And the question that needed answering was whether this plan fit into the latter of those categories. It had already failed the first check. They couldn't afford a war with Nohr, and it wasn't worth arming the king with the PR chip of having caused harm on the princess. How lucky that she was already on the side of simply wanting to resolve the problem rather than complicate it.

Azura takes a long, pensive look into her drink.

"If you can eliminate witnesses you don't trust," she began, "you have my word I will not bring the might of Nohr down on you. I would prefer not to hurt the king's children, but I have no wish to see Nohr ascendant over Rikkai."

But with Niou having no reason to believe her, she has to say more, doesn't she? It's not in her nature to tell more than necessary, but...

"The war against Hoshido is different. King Garon cannot be stopped except by his children, and they are both loyal to and terrified of him. The only way I can convince them not to support him is by proving to them that he is not the father they believe they know, and the only way to do that is to have him sit on Hoshido's throne, which has the power to bring people back to their true state of being and mind. And, obviously, the only way to do that is by having him conquer the kingdom, and take that glory for himself."

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Prince of Fire Emblem: Gray Waves

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