Chapter Text
In the void of Hana's mind, her thoughts swam and thrashed like so many agitated and equally-famished piranhas. Ever since the debacle at Fort Jinya, she and her fellow retainer Subaki had been prisoners of the victorious Nohrian army, they and the late Queen Mikoto's retainer Yukimura surviving despite the Nohrians' reneged-upon promise to spare the remaining defenders. To add insult to injury, after taking the Great Wall of Suzanoh and discovering Prince Takumi's body, some of the Nohrian soldiers dragged the princess and her retainers to gawk at the prince's body, taunting Sakura until she broke into tears and fled into the nearby woods and placed his body towards the capital as a warning to the Hoshidans. And they have the gall to call us "savages" and heathens!"
To the surprise of both the princess' retainers, they had been treated humanely, if not well during their captivity. However, the fact that their accommodations had been moved to the dungeons of Castle Shirasagi seemed to take away some of this pretense of civility; after all, they had executed Yukimura just last night for "backtalk" using a horrific Nohrian device to slowly break his neck and spine and the increasingly nasty taunts by the guards as to the Hoshidans' ultimate fate had stoked Hana's anger further and further, but Subaki attempted to take the jabs in stride.
"Come now, Hana." he insisted. "It could always be worse."
"No it couldn't, you idiot!" snapped Hana. "Lady Sakura is still missing, these Nohrian bastards are marauding about, and gods only know what they're going to do with us!"
"Hey, pretty boy." insisted one of the guards on duty, unlocking the cell. "Our commander wants to talk to you for a bit."
"See, Hana. I'm sure all we need do is establish a rapport with them and-"
The second guard struck the pegasus knight in the abdomen with the handle of his axe. "Quit your yammering and save it for the boss!" he scolded.
Whatever they were discussing, Hana had scarcely little recollection of it due to one strangely intrusive voice, not her own or anyone with whom she was familiar, but an extremely persistent one none the less. Ever since Sakura's disappearance, she had heard said voice, more of a disgruntled mumbling than anything else fairly consistently, becoming clearer and clearer. Hana had attributed it either to despair or her increasingly questioning her own sanity, but for the first time, it had become distinguishable as a distinct sound, communicating words and phrases to her.
"My child, what ails you so?" inquired the mystery figure, his intended fatherly tone barely masking the naked contempt in his voice. "Is it the despair and destruction which surrounds you?"
"What do you care?" Hana muttered bitterly, turning over on her cot. "You don't know me."
"But I do know that pain you feel. I know it quite well. That sting of betrayal, that pain of the loss of all one calls dear, the murderous folly of your kin- the human race. Tell, me girl: If this Sakura was endangered, what would you do to protect her?"
"Wait, what do you know? Is Lady Sakura in trouble?!"
Hana shot upright, desperately awaiting more news of her liege.
"It seems the Nohrians intend to do away with Hoshido's royals after all - to the last man, woman, and child." droned the voice. "After all, what better way to crush a people's spirit and will to resist once and for all but to deny them a symbol around which to rally?"
"No, no, NO!" cried Hana in anguish. "Listen, I don't care who you are or what your angle is! The bastards murdered Lord Ryoma, Lady Hinoka, and Lord Takumi, but they will NOT take her from me! Hoshido needs her! I need her!"
"And you should not doubt their intentions for one second. The wielder - or should I say, usurper of, the Yato and her merry band are in the throne room right now, threatening to finish the job! And look at what their 'conversations' with your fellow retainer look like!"
Pressing herself against the bars, Hana cried out at the sight of the five Nohrian guards kicking and spitting on Subaki, their commander shooing them back slightly before bringing down his axe on the prisoner's neck.
"Hey look!" he shouted, kicking Subaki's lifeless body. "A good savage!"
Already a woman on the edge, this act and the amused reaction by the guards saw Hana's anger explode, culminating in an upset which would go down in infamy in Nohrian military history.
"What do I have to do?" asked Hana resolutely. "What do you need me to do to protect Lady Sakura?"
"My smiths have already forged you one of the finest blades in all the worlds." replied the figure with a not-insignificant hint of satisfaction. "All you must do is use the fear, the anger, and the hatred of their empire's victims along with your own."
After the guards had finished having their laugh from Subaki's murder, their commander noticed something amiss; an odd, purple light emanating from one of the prisoner's cells.*
"What the hell is that?" the commander asked. "Muller, go check it out."
Reluctantly following his superior's order, the pikeman inched towards the cell. Just as the occupant came into his sight, he gave a quick yelp of terror before all hell broke loose in the dungeons. The cell exploding in a sickly purple haze, Hana sprung forth, pinning Muller to the nearby wall while deftly seizing one of the knives on his belt, driving the blade several times into his torso faster than any of his comrades could have ever thought possible. Scarcely looking at the guard approaching to her right, Hana hurled another of the blades at the Nohrian's face, the knife making contact with his throat, causing him to suffocate on his own blood and the horrible purple smoke emanating from the wound.
"W-what are you idiots waiting for!?" squeaked the commander, a far cry from his earlier bravado. "K-kill her!"
The two pikemen advancing on the swordswoman as if going to their own execution, from a heretofore absent scabbard, Hana, a faint red gleam in her right eye, unsheathed a regal, unnaturally brilliant blade, faint, black wisps of smoke trailing off the edge. With one fine, smooth motion, Hana swept through the two pikemen, both of them spending the last milliseconds of their life futilely nursing several deep cuts across their bodies.
Now less than half a meter from the axeman, the commander feebly raised his weapon in a vain attempt to defend himself. To his surprise, Hana snatched the weapon from his hand, effortlessly snapping the handle over her knee before delivering a punch which sent the Nohrian to the ground.
"Wh-what are you doing!?" he plead, futilely backing away. "Stop it, you crazy little bitch! Stop!"
Summoning an increasingly powerful spire of that sickly, purple flame from her blade, Hana, from the pleas to his screams of terror and pain, ignored the guard commander, directing the flame onto the Nohrian; several seconds later, literally the only remaining trace of the man's presence, let alone existence, was a considerable scorch mark where he once sat.
True, Hana got a perverse sort of pleasure from her handiwork this time, but the presence of her fellow retainer's defiled remains and the danger in which her beloved liege found herself dampened this considerably.
"I'll be back for you, you smug, lovable idiot." Hana promised, sheathing her blade for the time being. "But Lady Sakura is in danger."