After heading outside, Leona and Krieg were led by a now sober and enthusiastic Charlotte to the area in the back of the inn. The area was a large empty space save for a small house at the back near the city walls. The paved stone beneath their feet made it clear it was a private area for whoever owned the plot of land.
The aptly named 'Flying Crosship' was tucked beneath a large leather tarp. Its rather unique frame was visible even while covered. Around it, there were a handful of soldiers standing guard fully armed as if they were defending a national treasure.
"Khalid, Percival, Luka! Princess Leona has returned!" Charlotte announced as they approached them. "Come pay your respects!"
The three men lined up. Khalid had his usual scimitars, one on each side of his hip; Percival had a flintlock pistol in a holster on the left side of his belt alongside a cutlass; and Luka was the only one carrying a musket slung on his shoulder.
"There's hardly any need for formalities at this point."
Leona chuckled while shaking her head slightly.
"You're about to make history." Charlotte said confidently. "Might as well treat you as a Queen now rather than later."
Although Leona truly felt it wasn't necessary, the sight of seeing all three soldiers salute in unison made her feel rather proud of herself.
"Welcome back, Princess Leona."
Percival and Luka said almost in sync while Khalid gave a curt nod. One thing that stood out was a scar across the bedouin's face which prompted Krieg to ask.
"What happened to you?"
"Hah?" Khalid raised an eyebrow with a visible expression of annoyance on his face. "This is none of your business."
Charlotte let out a quiet sigh as she shook her head and raised her hands in disappointment while explaining.
"He challenged Yuriel to a fight and this is the result of it."
"Captain!"
The bedouin was clearly flustered from being exposed like that. The others laughed it off but Leona had a somewhat pensive expression on her face as Robert's words echoed in her mind.
"Whatever you do, do not use Eleonora's blessing."
She closed her eyes and let out a discreet sigh.
'I could heal him, but I would end up using her blessing again.'
The thought of the goddess of light, or rather, the goddess of life and death, using her as a puppet wasn't something the tactician viewed highly. As it stood, she swallowed the urge to help and instead stepped forward with a serious expression—said out loud.
"Soldiers, thank you for keeping my possession safe." She then looked at each one of them. "Percival, Luka, Khalid, you three as well as anybody that helped you, have my deepest gratitude."
Krieg watched silently as the soldiers were returning her gratitude with bashfulness and respect in equal measure. Charlotte had a big smile on her face as she threw her arm around Leona's neck.
"I hope to see you again soon. Queen Leona."
After exchanging a few words before departure, Leona and Krieg were finally ready to leave. The Flying Crosship was still in the same state as it was left a month prior—which surprised the Princess since they were close to the coast she imagined rust and other myriad coastal problems would arise, but Charlotte's younger brother made sure her vehicle was well taken care of.
From atop the deck, Leona waved to the soldiers lined below.
"Thank you again! We will return once things settle in Arcadia!"
"We wish you all the best!" Charlotte shouted atop her lungs—trying to fight against the ship's rumbling engine. "We'll make sure to send an envoy when things calm down!"
Leona nodded firmly before heading to the helm of the ship where Krieg was at.
"We can depart now."
He nodded and lifted the control lever. The ship started to slowly ascend.
"Are you sure you can pilot it?"
Leona asked, worried about him.
"Worry not, I watched you pilot it enough. And…" Krieg flashed a confident smirk. "Aunt Sylphia made sure I didn't get motion sickness anymore."
The way he spoke the last part made Leona feel a tinge of pity for him. Knowing her grandmother, she probably made him fly on her back to fight against his motion sickness.
"Very well then." She sat down with her back against the wooden railing around the helm. "I'll rest while you pilot then."
"Leave it to me."
With measured care, Krieg managed to take off with the flying ship and they were now on their way back to Arcadia. Every citizen that witnessed the ship take flight above the city's buildings stopped what they were doing to admire that miraculous piece of technological marvel before it eventually became a dot in the horizon.
Once they were outside the city, Leona shouted.
"Krieg!"
"Yes?!"
"Make a stop at Akrapocalis!"
"Understood!"
The view from the helm was breathtaking. Mountains, forests, rivers, plains; Leona could even see the Londrian borders signaled by the snow covered pine forest to the north. But what caught her eye were the human and dwarven kingdoms in front of her.
The dwarven citadel had walls so tall it would be impossible to siege it by conventional means and the Arcadian castle stood towering amongst the tall trees of the Great Forest.
It took them only about half an hour of flight before they were at the edges of the citadel's walls. Leona stood up from where she was sitting and looked around.
There were signs of skirmishes happening in Lugna Plains, but other than the occasional death angel or two, it didn't seem like the capital was under siege by the Arcadian army on the west border.
From below, she noticed a flash of light hit her eyes. As she squinted and looked at where it came from, she could see it was from a person holding some sort of mirror.
'Were they expecting me…?'
"Krieg!"
"Yes?!"
"Take us below!"
"Understood!"
With gentle control, he slowed the ship to a halt before lowering it in the middle of an empty central square, where he could also see the soldier using a mirror to reflect light at them.
Once the ship was properly landed, Leona went to the side where the ladder was and looked below. The soldier holding the mirror didn't seem familiar, but he seemed to recognize her.
"Princess Leona! The general wishes to talk to you!"
"General?"
Krieg muttered as he stopped beside Leona—who glanced briefly at him.
"Help me climb down."
He nodded and without wasting any time, lifted her up in both of his arms before jumping down from the deck. Once her feet touched the ground, the soldier in front of her became a bit rattled when he realized Leona only had one arm, but the surprise on his face was quickly overcome with a salute.
Six other soldiers surrounded them, they were all armed with rifles, each with a bayonet attached to the end of it. Krieg instinctively stepped in front of her with his right arm ready to draw Arondight from her sheath.
Leona looked at the soldiers surrounding them, they didn't have the look of escorts. Far from it.
"What is the meaning of this?"
She asked while tightening the grip on Avalon's shaft.
"You are to be held as a prisoner until further notice." One of the armed guards said while readying his bayonet at Krieg. "General's orders."
Krieg was but moments away from drawing his weapon, but a shot rang in the air as one of the soldiers circling them fell to the side screaming in pain from being hit in the arm with a bullet.
"Argh!"
Krieg quickly grabbed the closest guard's weapon and pulled him into a punch with his fist, knocking him out cold. The one that saluted at first drew a combat knife, only to be grabbed by the collar and tossed against the other four that were charging at his liege.
Before they could get up, Leona tapped Avalon against the ground once and ice started to quickly grow around all guards, encasing all of their limbs and locking them in place. The knight unsheathed Arondight from her scabbard and the sword's blade was humming with mana. The frostburnt silver left a trail of cold air as Krieg approached the soldiers with killing intent.
"Krieg." Leona calmly called him. "There is no need for bloodshed."
"..."
The knight complied, but he kept his sword out. Footsteps approached Leona from the right side and she noticed it was a man carrying a rifle slung across his shoulder while wearing a dirty brown hood to cover his face.
"And you." Leona spoke. "I believe you were the one who helped me?"
The figure nodded before removing the hood out of his face.
"It's good to see you again, Princess Leona."
Lest. A sharpshooter elf with heterochromic eyes that serves the Loxaerion's private army.
"Lest, it's good to see you again." Leona smiled softly before returning to her serious expression upon turning to the other soldiers frozen in place. "But what is the meaning of this? I thought Akrapocalis and I were on good terms when I left."
The elf's dark expression told everything she needed to know.
"That is…"
Leona shook her head.
"It's fine. I'm assuming Lady Fye has a different opinion on the kingdom's matters?"
He nodded firmly.
"It is as you say, Princess Leona."
"Very well. Take me to her."
"What about our transport?" Krieg asked while looking at the frozen guards, they were starting to shiver from the cold. "Should I finish this?"
"We'll take them with us." She answered before turning to Lest. "Could you disarm them?"
"Ah, yes. Of course."
By carefully melting the ice around their bodies, Leona allowed Lest to remove all their weapons and tie them together with thick ropes meant to apprehend the princess.
"This way." Lest instructed. "I'll take you to our hideout."
Leona and Krieg nodded as they followed behind him. The citadel was now in ruins. Many of the buildings the princess saw during her visit months ago were now reduced to rubble.
"Lest." She called. "Where are all the citizens?"
"Underground." He replied almost instantly. "The risk of Arcadia attacking is too great for us to leave the citizens above ground."
"Underground?"
Krieg looked at Leona and she nodded before explaining.
"Akrapocalis was built as a hub for mining operations, there is essentially another city sprawling below Lugna Plains."
"Oh ho… I never heard the Queen mention anything like that."
Lest looked over his shoulder.
"It's usually only used to store materials and provisions to combat famine, but given how tense things have been with Arcadia, we can't be too careful."
Amidst a ruined mansion, Lest had the prisoners climb down first before he followed them with his bayonet at the ready. Leona and Krieg descended the steep stairs until they reached a tunnel illuminated with incandescent light bulbs.
While the princess had no trouble walking with her head just slightly lowered, her knight had to bend his back in order to fit inside. They walked like that for a couple of minutes until they reached the end of the tunnel.
"Woah…"
Leona uttered as she walked out of the narrow stone corridor. The hub beyond was filled with people walking around either carrying crates or material for construction. Buildings were fit into the stone or even used as pillars scattered across the large area in order to sustain the weight of the rocky ceiling.
"This way."
Lest motioned to follow him through a narrow passage between the buildings to his left. Unlike the tunnel prior to it. The alleyways were a long walk. The tied soldiers had a certain level of apprehension to them that seemed unnatural.
'Was Lady Fye this intimidating before?' Leona thought for herself. Given how Lest was escorting them back to her, it could only mean one thing. 'She and the general don't see eye to eye, huh?'
After just a few more minutes of walking, they reached a secluded building embedded into the walls. A thick metal door separated them from the Loxaerion's base inside. Lest knocked on the door with a distinct rhythm to it and the door opened.
As it opened, Leona could see a distinct coiled black horn protrude out of the side. From behind the thick door, she saw a man of her height. He used round glasses and had to adjust his messy blonde hair out of his crimson red eyes.
"Lest, why did you bring prisoners this time?"
"It was complicated, my Lord."
The young man looked beyond the prisoners and saw Leona. His eyes instantly widened in surprise.
"Princess Leona?!"
He stepped outside for a moment. He used the same uniform Lest was using.
"Ah. Lord Cyrus." Leona gave him a formal bow. "I'm glad to see you in good health."
"I should be the one offering you our thanks!" He bowed low. "Please, come in. We may not have much but at least I can offer some semblance of hospitality."
"Don't need to concern yourself with us." Leona spoke sincerely. "We're just here to gather some information and we'll be on our way."
Cyrus was about to say something but he eventually decided against it before nodding and showing them the way in.
Inside the building was rather different from the gritty exterior. The floor was made out of marble tiles with metal ventilation shafts in each room and incandescent light bulbs illuminating the interior. It felt like she was inside a normal home, aside from the lack of windows.
"This way please."
He led Leona and Krieg down a different corridor from where Lest took the prisoners. At the end of the hall, there was another steel door blocking the way. Cyrus knocked against it twice before knocking a third time after a few seconds. He then pulled out a key and inserted it in the hole. There was another brief moment of pause where Leona heard two distinct clinks of metal as if the door was being unlocked by another person from the other side.
With that, the thick slab of metal opened and Cyrus headed inside. The next room was strangely disconnected to everything she had seen thus far.
A brown carpet covered the main floor, there were multiple couches and low tables set up alongside the walls of the rectangular room. The back had multiple bunk beds carved into the stone with small step ladders to help people get to the upper beds.
Sitting on the couch looking straight at them was a woman of long, wavy, deep blue hair. Unlike the expensive looking dress she wore during their last visit, she was now wearing the same uniform as anyone else. She smiled while rubbing the sides of her jet black coiled horns.
"It's good to see you again, Princess Leona."
The princess bowed low and her knight did the same.
"Greetings Lady Fye." Leona smiled as she straightened her back. "I'm glad to see you in good health."
"Please dispense the formalities." She stood up and walked over to Leona. "Take a seat. I'm sure you want to know about Arcadia."
Leona nodded firmly—her eyes narrowing in a serious gaze.