(Ending spoilers for Black Eagles/Crimson Flower)
It was then that Edelgard remembered herself. In circumstances such as these, the best thing she could do is calm herself and think things through.
Struggling is pointless. I’m better off saving my energy.
Their conversation with Petra seemed to have ended. Two of the men approached the table and reached down, claiming another of her friends. Mercedes was the next victim, judging from her scream. It seemed she would soon share the emperor’s fate.
Edelgard lay on her side, in the cradle of her captor’s palm. He stared down at her, mirth and lust in his eyes. Edelgard felt like his finger might move in at any moment to defile her.
How has this happened to me again? Edelgard thought, cursing her luck. Captured and bound while I am helplessly small. The fact that I am wearing nothing but a swimsuit makes it somehow so much worse.
She wriggled without thinking, a silent objection to her current state. That only made the shame and humiliation burn even more.
Ugh, the indignity of it all. I feel unfit to be emperor. Surely none of my predecessors ever ended up in anything even remotely like this…
There was nothing she could do but listen to the screams of her friends, unable to help them as they were bound one by one. Edelgard had never felt so helpless, so powerless. But she refused to give in to despair. She had to stay strong. Byleth was out there, somewhere, and she knew he would not rest until he found her. He had to. And when he did, she knew he would make these men regret ever laying hands on her.
Please, Byleth. Don’t keep me waiting long…
Dressed in armor and with sword close at hand, Byleth was ready for battle. Yet he felt rather useless as he stood around, watching Ashe speak with a merchant. Byleth didn’t understand their words, but judging from their tone, it seemed this was another bust. Standing beside Ferdinand, Lorenz and Sylvain, the strange looks he was gathering from passersby made him feel self-conscious.
“She hasn’t seen anything either,” Ashe reported sadly.
“Come on,” Sylvain sighed, “those men came right through here, didn’t they? Someone has to have seen something.”
“Excuse me. Captain Ubert?”
Byleth didn’t hear the man approach. He almost jumped out of his skin, whipping round. Before his eyes stood a cloaked man, what little he could see of his face wizened. There was a thin smile on his lips.
“And who might you be?” Ferdinand asked the man, lance drawn.
“It’s all right, Ferdinand. He’s on our side,” Ashe told him, “a spy who works for the royal family.”
“I would rather you did not reveal my occupation so openly, sir,” the man tutted.
“That accent… you are from Dagda, are you not?” Ferdinand said, putting away his weapon.
“Yet he speaks our language so well. As should be expected from one of his line of work,” Lorenz commented.
“With respect, the five of you stick out like a sore thumb. Perhaps it would be best to procure cloaks before traveling any further,” the man said.
“A cloak? In this heat?” Sylvain griped, “give me a break.”
“You wanted to speak to me?” Ashe asked the man.
“Indeed,” he nodded, “I have a report. Judging from the questions you have been asking of the locals, I believe you are in dire need of this information…”
Edelgard had never been gladder to leave someone’s hand. The hard surface of the table was far from comfortable against the side of her body, but it was much better than a hostile palm.
“I should’ve known they would tie up Edie too,” she heard Dorothea comment. Edelgard looked over her shoulder to see her, Petra and Mercedes, bound like she herself was. She couldn’t see Ingrid but was sure she had suffered the same fate.
“This is the most humiliating thing that has ever happened to me,” she heard Ingrid groan, “I’m never wearing a swimsuit again…”
“I can’t believe they would do something like this to us,” Mercedes said, “we’re so small and helpless. Why did they need to tie us up? They could have kept us contained so easily.”
“There are plenty of ways we could have escaped otherwise. Restraining us was a logical decision,” Edelgard told her.
“Petra, what were they saying?” Dorothea asked her friend, “anything useful?”
“It is as we were thinking. They did not expect to see us so small,” Petra told her.
“Right. Anything else?”
“They have not decided what to do with us. One of them is thinking… to kill one of us to send a message.”
Edelgard felt her heart sink.
“The other two are in disagreement,” Petra added.
“Oh, that’s so terrible! Why would they even think to do that?” Mercedes asked.
“Doing so would be foolish. We should be safe, for the time being at least,” Edelgard told her.
“Right. They wouldn’t want to lose any of their bargaining chips without a good reason, right?” Dorothea said.
“They also have knowledge that you are the emperor and I am to be queen. Moments ago, they were deciding how to be sending a ransom demand without giving away their location,” Petra revealed.
Edelgard could still hear the man say “emperor” to her. A sound that would surely haunt her dreams. But right now, more than fear, she felt guilt.
“Everyone, I… I’m sorry you were all caught up in this,” Edelgard said.
“Huh?” Dorothea uttered, confused.
“It’s not the first time something like this has happened to me. The rest of you were dragged into this because you were with me, even shrinking down to become as small as I am. If it wasn’t for me, none of this would have happened.”
“What are you saying?” Ingrid asked, “this isn’t your fault!”
“That’s right. You certainly didn’t ask to be kidnapped, did you?” Mercedes pointed out.
“We were just unlucky, that’s all. Same as you, Edie,” Dorothea said.
“If you are to blame, then I am as well. It is my fault we were all shrunken and captured,” Petra asserted.
“What? You can’t say that,” Edelgard told her, “that’s—”
“Ridiculous, you are wanting to say?” Petra said with a small laugh, “no more ridiculous than you are sounding.”
Despite their circumstances, Edelgard couldn’t stop herself from smiling.
“Heh. Thanks Petra, and all of you. I don’t know what I was thinking. Besides, such thoughts will not aid us in escaping.”
Now Edelgard was certain. Despite the guilt and pity she felt for her allies, it was a lot better for her having them around, in the same predicament as her. The feeling of utter hopelessness was even abated a little with their presence. Keeping her cool, Edelgard thought about what to do next…
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