"So, what do we do now then?" Maria continued to stare at the picture, her hands fidgeting in her lap. "Should we just, wait here for her to arrive, is there something we could do? Maybe we could finally plant Yggdrasil here, in the garden maybe?" This idea caused Lord Lavelier to almost choke on his last bite of food.

"I do not believe so, my master." Sin continued to speak quietly into her ear. "Armoire is, uniquely incapable of concealing herself. Her magical presence is too strong, so she appears like a massive flare to anyone with even basic magical sight. Moving alongside her would be inadvisable, for now. She is however being quite helpful, even if she may not know it."

Sin took the tablet into her own hands, bringing up a map of the country. "On foot, which I would imagine her to take, it would take her about two and a half days to reach Paris, not accounting for any troubles she runs into, which there will be quite a few. That is unless she is startled of course. Antonius, am I right in assuming that the enemy guards Paris at the current moment?"

Lord Lavalier gave a slow nod. "From what I have been able to tell, yes. Both the Samdel disciples and the Paladins are mainly stationed around the city, though not inside it. I would guess that the defence of the city proper is left to the Merlayne." Both Sin and Maria could not help but grin at his words, though neither helped in clearing up his puzzled expression. "Let us consider our progress, my master."

Sin ran her long nails across the map. "In your hometown we killed one of their greatest icons, then we went and laid all of Aranville to waste. Our enemy is so endeared by the common insect they call a citizen, my master. Think of how those commoners must feel, seeing the loss of life, this close to home, and all of their symbols and people they put their trust in getting mauled and hunted down."

Maria was puffing out her chest as Sin spoke, and leaned in further. "They can't let her reach Paris, so they'll attack her and get slaughtered?" The calm with which Maria spoke had Sin take a moment to compose herself. "Quite so, my master. They know not where we are, but they do know where Armoire is. I know not many of the lower nobles on the side of the enemy, but I am sure many of them would be easily deluded into thinking of great personal glory, march off on their own accord."

She zoomed in on the tablet on Paris itself. "And leave a gap through which we can stroll through."

"While that may allow you a way inside Paris, your majesty, how do you suppose to deal with the Merlayne defenders?" Lavalier spoke with very open concern. Maria flicked her hair, it took much of her composure not to laugh. "Me and Lady Elizabeth are on very good terms, Lord Lavalier. I will personally not worry about them, and more about what we will do when we get past."

"That, my master, is a matter of military strategy. Antonius, if you would." Sin dismissed him and his staff with a wave, who were quick to leave the room. After the large doors closed, Maria was once more alone with her beasts, and she slumped forward, exhausted. "I don't know how to stay all composed like that, Sin. Help."

Her words elicited a laugh from her servant, who sat down on the table just to her left. "Soon you will have ample opportunity, my master. But you are bringing up a point of importance. In all honesty, I do not know what we will do."

Maria's head hit the table with a thud. "You're telling me we've come all this way, and there is not even a plan? At all? We are not going to march on the Senate, and have them, I don't know, proclaim me the new queen, anything?"

Menagerie could not contain herself this time, filling the room with a howling laughter. "And have them coronate you too, yes, young master? You could have them get you a copy of the constitution to burn to really sell the-"

"I was not joking." The room went silent, even Elaine and Tetra looked up to see Menagerie laying on the ground, abject fear in her eyes. "Forgive me, young master, I simply thought-"

"Don't. Think." Maria was clawing at the table, and slowly pushed herself up. "You do what I tell you to, and you have nothing to do or meaningful to say then you stay quiet! You're not needed here, out!" Before the young master could point to the door, Menagerie was already scurrying out.

"So we are plunging the country into absolute chaos, we are breaking the old order, we are making a damn mockery of the heroes and all the bile they stand for, good. What are we going to DO now? I don't want to rule over a kingdom of ruins, abominations and corpses!"

When her gaze landed on Sin, the servant shuddered for a moment, lowering her head. "We affected the world of man until now, but only as a side effect, my master. I understand your frustration, but you do not see yet. There is much more to this than this country and it's people."

Maria began to pace, hands behind her back. "And what is that then, Sin? If I am not fighting for this world, then what else? What is it that I don't see?" The anger was still present in her voice, though a sting of worry had begun to grow underneath.

"The world of magic and it's foundation, my master. One cannot be proclaimed queen without the might that is associated with it. My master, your venerated ancestor never got further than Paris. It is there that you will fulfill your inheritance, from there however, there is no path to retread."

The words halted Maria's pacing, and worry snuffed out her anger. "So I'll be put solely on my own." Her trembling hands went up to her head she grasped her hair, staring down at the floor. "I can't, do that, Sin."

Sin's feet hit the ground only three times before she was back at her master's side. Both Elaine and Tetra followed suit. In front of a bewildered Maria, they knelt down. "My master," Sin's voice was as warm as on the first time that she had heard it, the day of her rescue. "You stand tall, and we are at your disposal. Worry not for the future, but allow yourself to bask in the glory that awaits you."

She reached out to take Maria's hand into her own. "You will be the first Len-fey in generations to take up the mantle, all of my sisters will be at your beck and call. And we will not fail you."

Maria's lips were quivering, but she did not break down. Instead she pulled the three into aa tight embrace, which was answered in kind. After a scraping at the door, Menagerie stuck her head into the room. She froze as her eyes met Maria's, but she did not chase her away again.

The tall beast sat down next to her master and her sisters. "In Paris we will find a good place for Yggdrasil." Maria had found her smile again, and it was infectious for her servants.

After a few moments of closeness, Maria returned to her room with only Sin at her side. Menagerie had wanted to take a walk outside, and Tetra had dragged Elaine into the library once more. At her bed Sin helped her get dressed into a nightgown, a gift from the Lord. It was near transparent and softer than anything Maria had worn, her eyes were practically glowing as she stared at herself in the mirror. "I really look like a princess, Sin."

They had left the window open for fresh air, and a cool breeze now passed through the room, making her hair dance. It was cold, but her mind had wandered enough that she could not feel it. "Do you think that, my mom is proud of me?" Sin guided her to her bed, pulled the blanket back and tucked her in. "I am very certain of that, my master. You are truly becoming everything a mother could wish for."

She rummaged through a small bag Elaine had brought along with the clothes, and laid Sir Screech into her master's arms. Holding the plush tightly near her chest, Maria was again at peace.

"I look forward to meeting Armoire, too. She looked quite, well, scary but, when I looked at her eyes I just couldn't shake the feeling that she was very sad."

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Throughout the day, Armoire had marched, as day turned to night, Armoire marched on. She stuck to the roads less travelled, avoided towns along the way whenever she could. Her very existence was a beacon to the world of magic, she did not feel the need to draw even more attention her way. Over hills and fields her march took her, as the moon shone brightly upon her path she had reached the outskirts of a forest.

The nightly sounds of life scurried away from her, wherever she walked. Birds grew silent, the tapping of small paws stopped, even the buzzing of insects faded around her. Though not all shared the wisdom of animals. "Halt, beast!" a shrill voice sounded, and a young Paladin burst through the woodwork to her right. Armoire did not halt as she eyed the newly arrived.

They were young, of lesser rank as they were not fully encased in armour, and to her magical sight, their blade was dim and weak.

"So is your coward of a chapter master now sending children against me? I didn't know you lot were in that dire a condition." Armoire walked past the Paladin, much to their dismay. "I said halt!" They struck at her back, though the blade cut across her hair with a gruesome screech, and without cutting a single hair.

"I have places to be, child, and you do as well. Go swoon an impressionable guy, or girl, whatever you want. I am sure they will be impressed."

The lack of mockery in her tone only incensed the Paladin further. They followed her, attempting blow after blow, all ineffective. At the fourth Armoire stepped to the left, avoiding the strike.

As the blade passed her, she grabbed it by the blade and pulled it out of their hands. The Paladin was stumped and stopped their march, watching the beast bend the blade, only to run after her with new determination. "You, give that back at once, for a beast to hold a holy blade is absolute blasphe-"

With a crack Armoire bent the weapon enough for it to break. Even the beast rose an eyebrow at her own feat, before throwing the blade piece still in her hand off into the bushes, and dropped the hilt. "You rush at a beast before you are knighted, and you do not even do so with a real sacred weapon? Either you truly have a death wish, or your superior must really hate you."

The Paladin's eyes filled with tears, they grasped the hilt and ran past Armoire to once more stand in her way. Their body was trembling as they held onto the hilt with both hands. "I do not fear death, I will gladly perish in the name of the order in the fight against you abominations!"

The closer Armoire got, the less control the Paladin had over their body. Finally they rose their useless hilt over their head, letting out a defiant cry that was silenced when Armoire punched them in the chest.

They went down on the ground, blood seeping out of their mouth. When they stared up at Armoire, who had stopped in front of them, the fear of death was clear in their eyes. "You will die for nothing, damn idiot." Armoire grasped them by the collar and pulled them into the air to resume her walk as if she was as unburdened as before.

"You cannot wound me, you have no training, you did not even try to steal a proper weapon. You did not locate me, it is not hard to find me. You are doing nothing else than throwing your life away to offer me a meal that could not even satisfy me if I had not feasted on souls for a decade."

There were many opportunities for the Paladin to strike her, to at least pull at her hand that was holding them up, but they did nothing. "If you are that eager to die, then wait for a moment where you could slow me down for more than a single step, alright?"

Armoire had reached the end of the forest, where she threw the paladin up against a tree. She was about to leave them behind, when their words made them stop.

"Please, kill me."

Armoire took a deep breath, and turned around. Her hands were trembling in anger as she walked back towards the paladin.

"I wanted to perish, in service to the order, beast. I failed my initiation three times, on the fourth."

"I KNOW what happens on your fourth failure, you idiot. So instead of losing your pretty rank and fancy armour you decided to throw yourself into death so they will put a pretty little medal on your corpse, yea? If I didn't know that letting you live would piss you off more then I would kill you just for pissing me off right now!" She grabbed the Paladin by the collar again, pulling their face towards her.

"You do not understand, you do not get it, how it feels to be weak, beast." Despite their bruises, the fear still written across their face, their voice was defiant. "You live forever, you feast on the souls and misery of man, you sold yourself for power, you could never understand."

Armoire narrowed her eyes. "Yeah. I don't. I could never relate to a feeble and pathetic thing like you." She grabbed their right arm, and twisted it, ignoring their screams of suffering, until she heard muscles tear and bones crack. When Armoire let go, their arm was thoroughly broken and useless. "Heroes die because they want to protect something, something that means more to them than their lives or their pride. I once wore that armour, and even now I am seething at the shame you bring to it. That was for being an embarrassment to everything I stood for."

She let go, and before she left she stomped down on their right foot. "And that was for wasting my time." Without another look Armoire continued her path northward. Towards Paris, towards her master.