Chapter 13: What Could Have Been
As Nu looked around the house she tried to picture what it must have been like when her superiors had all lived there. She thought it must have been a little cramped, the three-bedroomed house would have been cozy fit for a family of five. It must have been a stretch for the seven girls (with occasional visits from their master) to use this place as both a home and a base of operations.
That said it was cozy in the more generous use of the term as well, it seemed lived in and well cared for. Lady Delta still slept here often rather than use one of the beds in Alexandria and just sprinted through the mists every morning to report for duty, so a few recruits were always assigned to keep the place well maintained.
Suddenly the distressing thought of Delta or worse Lady Alpha discovering how she had arrived entered her mind. When news of Cid's 'attachment' to Princess Rose reached Mitsugoshi the atmosphere had felt like a recently kicked beehive. Not outwardly angry, but buzzing with agitation. She was fairly certain the only reason Rose and Alexia were alive and unharmed so far was section two of the Black Concord "All of Lord Shadow's romantic relationships (both within and outside of Shadow Garden) are his own purview. It is forbidden to interfere with such relationships unless directly requested by Lord Shadow."
The mood grew funereal when Eta calculated the probability of Shadow ending up with two human princesses without selecting for either variable as 1/379,000.
Strange to think I might be more to his taste than any of the shades.
She'd been contacted by Lord Shadow that same night and told to be ready for a super-secret mission in two days time.
So early that morning, with everything she would need neatly packed she met her Lord at Mitsugoshi who took her bag in his (she still wasn't sure how it fit so easily) and set off. Lord Shadow had been eager to get here and while she wasn't unathletic, fast paced multi-hour sprints were not her speciality. Eventually growing impatient, he picked her up like a husband about to rush his new-bride to the bedroom and sprinted so fast their surroundings blurred to an indistinguishable mix of brown and green. Even being pressed so close to him hadn't distracted from the nauseating sensation at the beginning, though she did eventually acclimatise to the transportation method.
As they stepped into the house Shadow began to explain the purpose of their mission here and what he expected her to do.
"And you had no idea this whole time, you never noticed anything?".
"No, but I wasn't really paying attention. Between mastering magic and proper bowel control I had my hands full at the time" he considered a moment before hastily adding "So to speak. I mostly tried to tune out my parents and my sister as much as I could".
Nu probably should have realized that being less than a year old even he wouldn't have been able recognise anything was wrong, and she smiled at his little joke.
It's good to know he isn't disturbed by this too much.
"I expect you to keep everything relating to this mission to yourself".
"Does that include Ladies Alpha and Gamma?"
"It includes everyone that isn't me" he said seriously.
"Might I ask why, and why I was chosen for this mission?"
He shrugged "Until I know more, there isn't much to say. As for why I chose you, it was because your disguise work is on point. I almost didn't recognize you at the academy festival"
"You knew I was there?" she blurted out. He was so far away, in the middle of putting on a spectacle, and he still saw through my disguise.
"Yeah, you were good, but you did make a mistake and it's hard to fool a pro. The academy festival's a sports event for the nobles, by making yourself look all drab you kinda stood out in a way".
She had considered that, but there hadn't been a better option. If she'd dressed in noble finery she would have looked too much as she once had "Please don't tell Lady Alpha, I wasn't supposed to be there".
"Why not?"
"Because my old fiance was there, Marco Granger".
He gave her a curious glance "Oh, he's nice, I guess?"
"Yes he is"
"Did you go because you missed him?"
She didn't like the implications of that question, it made it sound as if her commitment to him wasn't absolute "No, not at all. I just wanted to see your performance live my lord. It was quite different from the stands compared to playing the opponent".
This would probably be the best time to discuss the incident during their last mission.
"During the last mission, I think Marco recognized me"
Cid's eyes momentarily widened before asking "How did that happen?"
"I'm not sure, my mask wasn't displaced at any point, but he called out my real name so I assume he must have recognised me by my hair, or my voice or something else. Most of out time together was at that school so I suppose that might have helped bring me to mind". If he'd recognised Lord Shadow his death would have been the only correct answer, but she was unsure how they should proceed in this situation. Cid considered for a few seconds before responding
"The church knows you were possessed right, like your name and background?"
She nodded.
"Well then your cover would be blown if he saw you at Mitsugoshi anyway, so nothing's changed"
She nodded again. That had been her opinion but she knew she wasn't objective on this issue.
"Well, if you keep my secret I'll keep yours" he gave her a little nod "You should get ready, I don't want this to take all day".
The impulse to take his order literally and start changing right there (just to see how he would react, naturally) flashed through her mind. but that would be pushing her luck. She set off for the bathroom and prepared herself while Shadow patrolled the grounds outside.
---
When Nu announced herself at the front door of the Kagenou manor she was not unrecognisable but noticeably different. She was wearing a long black skirt, a black blazer over a white shirt along with a pair of austere glasses and was carrying a clipboard, completing the picture of a formal public servant. Even her walk had been modified from it's usually graceful stride to something resembling a march. As Cid looked on from his rooftop perch he had no doubt the Baron would fall for her disguise.
When Cid first heard about his potential new origin he considered just serious dashing to Velgalta, but that would be stupid for a lot of reasons. Firstly he had no idea where in that massive country to begin looking, secondly he was already planning a trip there with Epsilon later in the year, so it would waste time and thirdly he'd look like such a dweeb just running around randomly asking 'do you know my parents?' 'Who are they?' 'don't know, so do you know them?'. Finally, there was a cowardly old bald guy much closer to hand that could give him the information he was looking for.
After she talked to the maid and explained her business was for Baron Kagenou only, it didn't take long for the familiar bald head to appear in the door-frame.
"Miss Aldherst, please do come in".
She stepped inside, and was waived over to a table where she set down her clipboard and prepared to take notes.
"I'm sure you're aware of the nefarious villain Shadow and his recent activities in the capital".
"Of course. Even the gossips around here talk about him now and my daughter has mentioned him in her letters". Cid thought he saw the familiar flush of pride that came whenever Claire was mentioned.
I'm infamous even here, sweet.
"Well some of the damage he inflicted damaged some record facilities. Some which related to the adoption of Cid Kagenou" the baron paled and shrank back slightly. "We need you to provide some of the details back to us, so that our records can be complete again".
He sighed "Very well".
"Can you give us the names of Cid's parents?"
"Alastor and Cassandra Kagenou"
"And their current place of residence?"
"The Velgaltan Empire"
"I'm afraid I need somewhere more specific?"
"My apologies, but I truly don't know anymore than that".
"Okay, and the reason for the adoption, why he was given up and why you accepted him?"
"That wasn't needed in the request last time?"
Nu smiled sweetly "I'm afraid the format has become more detailed since you last completed it".
"Well his parents weren't able to take care of him, and our reasons for taking him are personal".
Nu sighed dramatically "Baron Kagenou. My responsibility is to investigate issues on behalf of the crown and to find things other people, our potential enemies, are trying to conceal. To speak frankly, this adoption seems incredibly suspect. Given the connection to Velgalta and our recent conflicts with them we cannot afford to leave any questions unanswered and now you seem to be reluctant to give me any details. I would advise you to answer my questions completely and honestly to avoid any escalation of this investigation".
"Are you threatening me?" he asked, trying to show backbone he didn't have.
Nu adopted a look of faux concern and looked at him right in the eyes before continuing "Oh no, not at all sir. I just mean that if the investigation escalated there are costs to cover that you could be held liable for. Not only that but we may need to interview other witnesses, your wife, Cid, Claire" she emphasised the last name specifically "and I wouldn't want to create a scandal unnecessarily".
She's got a bit of a sadistic streak. I might need to warn some poor sap if she starts dating later.
Much like the egg his head resembled, he cracked "What do you want to know?".
Nu's smile was what he imagined a spider would look like after convincing a very reluctant fly to come into it's web."The whole story, from the beginning, nothing left out".
His father(?) went on reluctantly "That goes back a long time, back to when me and Alastor were boys growing up together" he looked around the room then, probably remembering some long past time with his brother.
"He heard this old family story, just one of those legends that every family has, you know, like that they descend from gods or heroes, or they built some masterwork, or came up with some revolutionary policy. Our family's legend is that magic began with the Kagenou's, and that the most powerful spellsword ever born was a member of our family who lived over a thousand years ago. Nonsense obviously, but my brother took it very seriously".
The start of magic huh, I guess there are theories that magic wasn't always in this world, but as long as it doesn't go anywhere, I don't really care. I guess it could be a pretty good world-building mystery to unravel slowly as the plot progresses.
His voice seemed to wilt while Nu paid rapt attention to the story "He kept saying that we should try to reclaim our rightful place and how we shouldn't settle for being nearly the lowest of Midgar's nobility. He never explained exactly how he would achieve that but I can't count how many times he asked me for money or old family records. Eventually I had enough and sent him packing. I hoped a little time away would calm him and he'd come back soon enough but I had no such luck".
"He went to Velgalta and actually managed to convince the emperor to sponsor his mad project, but it seems his imperial majesty's patience was only slightly better than mine. After all of his failures he and his wife were imprisoned on charges of defrauding the state, and Cid was ransomed back to me. My wife and I were...struggling with having another child after Claire and taking Cid as our own seemed like an easy solution."
Baron Kagenou's voice picked up as he continued "He's a decent son, we were worried about him as a boy but in the last couple of years he's really come into his own. He's still got nothing on my Claire. Even after all my brother's boasting, it was my daughter that came in second at the academy festival and she might have even been Bushin Champion this year if not for getting unlucky. I tell you…"
"Might I return to the topic at hand, you mentioned his wife, what can you tell me about her?"
"Cassandra, she bought into a lot of my brother's story, the poor girl. She was very clever, but she didn't always come across that way to others, she was very soft spoken and...seemed very delicate, you might say. She was the third daughter of a landed knight who got into the Midgar academy through a scholarship, she met my brother there and they married just after graduating".
Damn, there goes my hope of inheriting a vast fortune.
If you thought baron's were poor and lived out in the sticks, they were royalty stacked against landed knights. Comparatively the average baron had around ten times the wealth and land of a landed knight.
"That leaves just two small matters to attend to. Do you by any chance have a picture of them?"
The baron was quite reasonably confused "Why would you possibly want…"
"If they return to the country they may wish to establish contact with your son. If that occurs we need to be able to identify them to process the claim".
"There are a couple of wedding photos hidden in the attic, I'll send a servant to collect them now".
"There is one more point of concern. When I tried to talk to Cid and Claire about this they didn't seem to understand my questions, as if they didn't know about his adoption at all. When I left them, they seemed to think I confused them with someone else, and they seemed so sincere I actually thought I might have been mistaken." Baron Kagenou paled again "I must ask you why they've been kept unaware of all this?"
"Cluh…" he trailed off, he began to shake and dazedly clutched his head
"I'm sorry?" Nu prompted.
He snapped, gesticulating wildly with bulging eyes he practically screamed "Claire!!!. She wanted a little brother since she was two but even so...she became totally obsessed with him as soon as he arrived!. At first I just didn't want to disappoint her but as she's grown stronger, I've known I'm in for a serious ass-whoppin if she ever finds out!"
He took a deep breath before continuing, even more incensed "That's not even the worst part. Claire's the best hope our family's had in generations, her marriage could massively benefit the Kagenou's for years to come, but if she found out it was an option she'd probably say something like 'father, there's no way Cid can look out for himself or make an appropriate marriage. I'm marrying him myself so I can always be there protect him'".
***
Two years ago, in a parallel universe where Claire just found out Cid was adopted
Cid was lying in bed, calculating the precise angle he should faceplant at his next fencing lesson when Claire entered the room in a white summer dress.
"Cid, put on your nicest clothes. We need to go to church now" she commanded imperiously.
With trepidation, Cid got dressed and followed Claire into town, all the while playing the part of the timid and unassertive little brother.
The next few hours were occupied with a surprise shotgun wedding, a honeymoon tour around the village, and finally a screaming match between Claire and her parents (who were as of four hours ago now technically Cid's in-laws).
"Mother, father, there's no way Cid can take care of himself properly and he isn't highly ranked enough to make a good marriage. I've married him so I can always be by his side to protect him"
***
Yup, he definitely knows his daughter.
"AGHHHH, the stress of it's driven me bald!" he continued, running a hand through his phantom hair. "But I have a plan. Once Claire gets married she'll have to continue the family line and that's my opportunity. I'll tell her right after the birth, outrun her while she's weak and exhausted to a prearranged carriage, and then hide out for a few months in the capital. Then when I come back, she'll have calmed down and I can just act like nothing happened. It's perfect right?!"
Damn, that's a good plan. He has a solid understanding of conflict avoidance.
Feeling respect towards Baron Kagenou for the first time in his life he looked on at Nu as she tried to calm his father down from his outburst. Watching what happened next reverted his paternal respect back to it's usual level below the floor.
"You won't tell her right!, RIGHT!!!. I answered all your questions so please, PLEEAASSEE"
It took about ten minutes for Nu to rock the baby calm, collect the picture and get back to the house so he could take a look at it.
His biological father looked much like his brother had twenty years ago, except being slightly taller and slimmer. Even though it was a wedding photo he seemed grim, as if the whole thing was a waste of time he'd been talked into.
His mother reminded him (somewhat uncomfortably) of Rose, though that may have just been because he knew very few human blondes. As he looked more closely he saw some other similarities, they had similar heart shaped faces and gentle smile. She at least looked incredibly happy to be there and it was disturbingly similar to how Rose looked any time she caught sight of him.
There were some differences as well, her hair was a red-gold instead of Rose's honey coloured curls (he was also willing to bet the curls in the photo weren't natural) and her eyes were a lively green. While not overweight he could see a softness to her that implied she wasn't a spellsword at all.
He put Eta's gift to work and stowed the picture where no-one else could find it.
"Come on Nu, I'll take you back to the capital before I head off to meet the others".
He held his arms out and she blushed, obviously embarrassed by her lack of speed which necessitated him carrying her back to Mitsugoshi.