She’d been deflated when she’d left Lord Siegbert’s side, knowing that he had spoken true- she had only tried once, and then given up. She knew it was because she didn’t want to risk any more injury to Rose, or now Daedra, than was strictly necessary, but... the fact remained.
She’d sat on her bed for a few minutes, stewing, but now she got up, and with one swipe of her arm, cleared her desk. No. Lady Daedra may be the queen of Nohr, but she didn’t deserve to be at the mercy of a man like that. And besides, if aid from Hoshido would improve Nohr’s opinion of her country and people, she had to do everything in her power to provide that aid.
She sat down and opened the desk’s drawer, pulling out a fresh sheet of paper, bottle of ink, and quill. Although she started with a simple letter to her mother, she ended it on a post scriptum requesting that the enclosed document be given to someone else.
With another fresh sheet, she then started writing.
(Liberally translated from Modern Hoshidan for readers’ convenience)
Dear Saizo,
I would not be surprised if, with the resources and abilities at your disposal, you had already caught wind of this, but allow me to summarize nonetheless. Under threat of bodily harm to her daughter, Princess Rose, Queen Daedra of Nohr has been kidnapped by a criminal from another world, sending the Nohrian court into an uproar.
The reason for my writing is twofold. First, I want to let you and my family know that I am unharmed, and no one in the royal family appears to blame me for Lady Daedra’s predicament. No action on the part of Hoshido will be necessary in that regard.
Secondly, it has not escaped my notice that this otherworldly criminal -I believe his name is Valter- used the services of a shinobi to keep Princess Rose away from those who would have rescued her. I do not suspect Mokushu as a whole, but I’ve a mind to fight fire with fire. I know you have no more love for Nohr than I do, but I have a terrible feeling about all of this and I will not give Nohr any more gripes with Hoshido that they can respond to with violence.
I would request the help of the man who bears the name Saizo.
A reply will not be necessary. I will be at the Bottomless Chasm in thirty days after writing this. If you are inclined to help me find out more about this entire mess, please meet me there then.
With Regards,
Princess Caeldori.
She proceeded to date and seal the letter before handing it to a messenger to be sent to Shirasagi, although not before making it clear Prince Siegbert trusted that his wife’s mail would not be read before being sent. In reality she had no way of knowing if that was the case, but screening her letter would delay its delivery and risk her and Saizo missing each other.
“Come, Rose,” Siegbert peeked over the side of the crib, his stomach in knots. He had never seen her this upset before, not even when she was in pain, and it left him feeling helpless. Just what was the matter with her? In his hand was a bottle, and in the bottle was milk, mixed with a mild sleeping potion. It would calm her down enough so that she would not exhaust herself, according to his uncle, but he didn’t want to drug her unless there was no other choice.
“Let’s calm down,” not sure what else to do, he climbed into the bed, very carefully so as not to injure her or tip it over, then gathered the child into his arms. “Hush,” he was imitating his mother now. “It’s okay. Hush…”
Rose continued to wail out, despite her brother’s presence. She was happy he was around, but he wasn’t her Mama. Rose didn’t want to play or go outside. It was dark, and she wanted a nap. She wanted to go to sleep, but her mother had yet to come and see her.
The baby girl had gone to sleep without complaint plenty of times to this point. She’d taken bedtime for her aunts, her uncle, her cousins, her Father, and even her older brother. It had been fun but now she wanted the old way back. She wanted her mother to talk to her about things she didn’t understand... to have a bath and nice soft bed dresses. Rose wanted lots of kisses good night and her blankets wrapped in the way she liked best.
Even as her sibling climbed into her small sleeping space to offer her comfort, it did not ease her. Once Siegbert settled into the cramped crib, Rose was quick to climb herself upon him, her small fists gripping at his shirt.
Didn’t he understand? Wasn’t he sad too? Did he know where their mother was and he was not letting her know?
For a moment, the words and speech pattern made her go quiet, thinking they were indeed from the person she wanted the most currently. However, when she realized it was only Siegbert talking, her cries started up again, or she tried to anyway.
His warm body and comforting hold were soothing though, and despite her grip on him, Rose found herself growing weary. She couldn’t manage the ear shattering wails she sounded off earlier. Instead , she would only whimper and moan tiny cries as her tiny body trembled against him.
Daedra had been asleep, curled under enough blankets that she could barely be seen. All that hinted of her presence was a splash a red against the pillows. She’d taken to the habit of clutching the blankets to her with a surprising vice grip. Should they be moved of pulled in any fashion - she was up immediately.
It was the only think that alerted her these days, as she was not keen of nightly surprises. Unfortunately, that is exactly what she was graced with.
The hiss in his voice practically tickled the inside of her ear like a darting snake tongue. Daedra was awake in an instant, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the blankets with renewed force.
Shooting up, she flew off the bed, dragging her sheets with her to keep wrapped around herself like protection. Daedra backed against the way, glaring out into the dark room to where she knew his voice to come from.
She did not reply back. She only stared with burning hatred.
Valter chuckled softly. He could hear her heart racing as she tried to put distance between them. Part of him felt like the whole headache he’d had to endure to obtain her would all be worth it, if only for this one, singular moment.
“Calm down, my dear...” he murmured softly, moving towards her with an almost unnatural sort of smoothness. It was as if he was being rolled forward on a well-oiled wagon than walking with his feet.
Touma frowned a bit, clearing his throat as set the tray down in front of her. “I was given the strict orders to make sure you eat this,” he muttered quietly.
“Today is the day Master Valter intends to…” He paused, visible discomfort written upon his face. “… Consumate your… erm. ‘Union’. So you’ll likely need the energy it provides.”
Daedra had intended to ignore the ninja, to not acknowledge the man who had knowingly worked with the monster that was currently keeping her hostage. A man who was willing to kidnap and drug an innocent baby, so that a she as a married woman would have to shatter her vows to her husband and family. Destroy her marriage and her family life to simply indulge a viciously cruel and selfish child masquerading as a general.
Try as she might, she could not block out his words. When she heard what the day’s ‘activities’ would eventually be, Daedra’s body went stiff as her skin bristled. The red head wasn’t naive enough to think she would only be held a hostage, considering she’d been blatantly told his intentions before even making her agreement. Yet, some small hopeful part left in her desperately wished he’d lose interest in her being there. He’d lose interest and simply move onto something else to please his twisted desires with.
Her head snapped up to the ninja, staring him down. She had yet to utter a word, but her eyes spoke far more than her tongue could currently. Enraged and disgusted, her eyes pulled down from the man to the tray of food. As if it could have some baring on the situation, without warning, Daedra grabbed the edge of the tray and violently flung it towards the fire, tossing the meal to the burning logs.
It had only been a week or so since Daedra was taken in exchange for Rose, and Touma already felt so much stronger. Good food and good pay would do that for a man. Praise be given to Lord Valter. He'd delivered on every promise he had given, and then some. Today his liege was seeing to some business and had left Touma in charge of his captive. A bothersome task, but one he would uphold to the letter. He rapped on the door and came in with a tray a maid had given him. "Breakfast," he grunted.
@bloodthirstymoonstone
When the ninja entered the room, Daedra was where she’d taken to keep herself in her free time, which was generally any moment she was not sleeping. She was nestled in a chair before the main hearth, watching the bright flames as they danced and crackled the wood logs.
There was not much for her to look at, as the room had no windows present. Despite modestly furnished and looking the quaint bedroom, Daedra only saw it as her holding cell. She merely spent her time sitting quietly, too lost in her thoughts much of the time.
The redhead looked up when she heard the door to her room unlock and open. It was the only sound she took to paying attention to. Daedra expected one of the maids to be stepping in with a meal. Her expression was light as she always greeted the young girls with a smile and a quiet thank you. They were never harsh or mean to her so she refused to take out her sorrows on them.
However, her eyes set upon a familiar man, not even realizing he was holding her tray for breakfast. The meal didn’t matter to her anymore. Daedra’s eyes suddenly went void of what little emotion she had before turning away. Without a word, she went back to sitting and watching her fireplace.
