Chapter Text
“You’re so weak, Ferris,” Fourier said with a hint of humor.
Ferris blushed heavily as he lay on the ground, having once again lost to Fourier.
“I’m sorry that I can’t be a proper match for you, Your Highness. You really should just ask one of the other guards if you want—”
Fourier let out a laugh.
“Banish that thought, my dear Ferris. Let’s just try this again,” he said.
Ferris looked down, his embarrassment clear on his face.
“But your highness, I really can’t match you. Even if you fight me all day, it won’t do anything to help you practice.”
Fourier held out his hand.
“Ferris, I already told you this isn’t about practice. I just want us to spend some time together. We haven’t been able to see each other as much lately,” he said.
Ferris’ ears twitched ever so slightly.
“But shouldn’t Your Highness get some real practice out of this? Ferri would never forgive himself if your skills rusted because you wasted time with him.”
Fourier rolled his eyes.
“Ferris, I’m not going to die because I skipped out on one practice session.”
Ferris’ blush grew even more crimson as he took Fourier’s hand and let himself be pulled up.
“You really shouldn’t waste your time with Ferri, Your Highness. You have other things you should be doing…”
Ferris refused to look his friend in the eye.
Fourier pretended to consider what he said.
“Hm, perhaps. I could be studying or practicing or asking my father for something to help with, but…” he started.
Fourier grasped Ferris’ smaller hands with his own.
“...but that’s not what I want to do right now,” he said.
Ferris felt his mouth go dry as he looked down at where Fourier held his hands. His ears started twitching wildly.
“Your Highness s-surely—”
Fourier held a finger up to his lips, instantly silencing him.
“Ferris, I said what I said. Stop worrying so much and just relax. Let’s have some fun rather than waste time on whether we should be allowed to.”
Ferris’ ears flattened on his head.
“Alright, Your Highness. If you’re sure I’m not being a bother,” Ferris said.
Fourier smiled softly before wrapping an arm around him, pulling him into an embrace.
Ferris stood stock still for a second before he leaned into Fourier’s chest and hesitantly hugged the prince.
“You would never be a bother to me, Ferris,” Fourier said.
“Never question how I feel about you, no matter how weird you are.”
Ferris felt tears falling down his face as he opened his eyes.
Ferris let out a groan as he forced himself into a sitting position on the bed. Ferris wiped the tears away and blinked rapidly, adjusting to the light in his room. A grimace crossed his face.
A cold stone floor, a barred window, and a metal door he had no hope of knocking down.
Yup, he was still trapped.
Ferris shoved his head into his hands.
He just could not win this past year-and-a-half, could he?
First had been Gluttony stealing his beloved master's memories. In an instant, his Crusch-sama had been reduced to a fraction of her original self. Parts of her were still there no matter what Gluttony took—that was to be expected considering how magnificent she was—but to say she was set back by this would be the understatement of the century. So much of what made her an appealing candidate was gone and they quickly lost most of their support base. They dropped to dead last in the race over the past year.
Maybe they would’ve still had a chance under normal circumstances but with Meckart’s death, Wilhelm leaving the camp, the loss of all their support, the massive popularity of Felt, and everything else that could go wrong… to say that their chances were slim was putting it lightly.
On top of all that, Ferris had been captured by an insane bitch with an ego the size of a mountain. He really appreciated all the curveballs life was throwing at him. It totally didn’t make him want to find the nearest water dragon and jump in its mouth.
Ferris sighed. He couldn’t afford to do that, though. Not while there was still work to be done.
If he was lucky, Crusch hadn’t been captured. There was a good chance she would’ve managed to hide away long enough for the psychopath to get bored. If she escaped, she could’ve gotten help. At the very least, she’d be safe.
Ferris got up and started looking over the steel bars, hoping to see one he could pry loose.
But he really shouldn’t hedge his bets on such an idea. Even if she did escape and get help, there was no guarantee that she could find him.
Maybe it was better that way. With how she was currently, she would stand little chance against Capella unless she got allies. And well, Ferris wasn’t optimistic enough to believe that many people would miss him.
Crusch was strong. Surely the disappearance of a person with no value like him wouldn’t be a detriment. This way, he wouldn’t be holding her bac—
Ferris punched one of the bars on the window, accomplishing nothing other than hurting his hand.
No, he needed to stop thinking like that. It wouldn’t help him get out of here. He promised to be by Crusch’s side no matter what. Even if it killed him a thousand times over, he had to at least be there for her until the end.
Ferris turned around and moved towards the door. Maybe there was something he missed, some way to sneak out, something he needed a little more investigation to escape through. Just as he did though, it swung open. Before Ferris could even think about making a run for it, a figure emerged from behind the door that made his blood run cold.
His captor stood there, with nothing but a malicious smirk on her face. She was a woman a full head smaller than him with hauntingly familiar blonde hair and red eyes. After the events in Priestella, he’d recognize her anywhere.
“Capella…”
The Sin Archbishop of Lust let out a laugh.
“This lovely lady wouldn’t try that if she was you. You might make some people very angry~,” she said, mocking him.
Ferris’ mind raced for a way out of this situation and before he could stop himself, he spoke up.
“Ferri apologizes for his rudeness, but I disagree with the idea that this is anything to be upset about.”
Capella seemed slightly surprised at his back talk, but a small grin formed on her face at his words.
“Oh? Why is that?”
Ferris didn’t like her positive response to his words but quickly continued anyway.
“Well, isn’t it only natural to anticipate that a prisoner will survey their surroundings to try and escape? Why should Ferri receive punishment for doing something that’s pretty much expected?”
Capella stroked her chin, pretending to mull over his words.
“Hm, perhaps it is expected, but does that make it right? It’s still against the rules to so much as attempt escaping after all, and this lovely lady thinks looking for a route isn’t all that different.”
Ferris forced a knowing smile onto his face, refusing to show even a hint of his fear.
“Ah, but they’re not the same, are they? One is breaking the rules and the other is just planning to break the rules. No one can control the way they think. You wouldn’t punish someone for so meowch as thinking about doing something wrong, would you?”
Capella snickered.
“You underestimate this lovely lady if you think that,” she said.
Ferris grimaced for just a second, before returning his expression to normal and changing tactics.
“Well, perhaps I did, but maybe you should think about this in another way. If Ferri did get out, isn’t there someone else you should get angry at?”
Capella let out a snarl.
“This lovely lady thinks she sees where you’re going with this. If you got out, it would likely be the fault of whichever child was stupid enough to put you in a cell you could escape from.”
Ferris nodded vigorously.
“Yes, exactly!”
Capella’s smirk widened.
“You have a point, but why shouldn’t this lovely lady punish both of you?”
Ferris struggled to form an answer for a moment.
“Well, maybe you could consider my attempt a favor of sorts? Ferri would be showing you who among your subordinates was a weak link.”
Capella was silent at that, and dread piled up in Ferris’ stomach before she burst out laughing.
She wiped a tear out of her eye.
“Holy shit, you're hilarious for a meat bag. This lovely lady would applaud your audacity if it didn’t piss her off so mu~ch,” she said.
She moved closer to him, closing the door behind her.
“Still, you earned yourself a slight delay to your misery. It’s been so long since anyone matched wits with me besides that damned, bastard child who rejected my kindness. It’s a shame. Under this lovely lady, that scum could’ve made his brother Roy look like even more of a joke.”
Capella stopped only a few inches in front of Ferris, her smug smirk growing wider.
“But enough about missed opportunities. All that matters right now is the thing this lovely lady had waited a good while to acquire,” she said, licking her lips.
Ferris took a step back, only to bump into the wall. He pressed himself against it, trying to keep as much space between him and Capella as possible.
“What do you want?” he asked coldly.
Capella’s eye twitched at his tone but remained calm.
“This lovely lady assumes you are aware of what happened in Vollachia recently?” she asked.
Ferris cocked his head.
“You mean the Great Disaster? That whole thing with that witch from the demi-human civil war?” he asked.
Capella nodded.
“Yes, Sphinx. The chaos she caused was so delectable. This lovely lady wishes she had been there to see it in full. If not to participate myself, then to retrieve that spell she used,” Capella said.
Ferris shifted nervously, having a sudden sinking feeling that he knew where this was going.
“Ferri doesn’t know what you’re talking abou—”
He flinched as Capella’s enlarged, suddenly scale-covered fist struck the wall next to him.
“Don’t play dumb,” she snarled. “A certain little kitty let this lovely lady know that you own a complete variant of the Immortal King’s Sacrament.”
Ferris felt his blood run cold. How the hell could she possibly know that? Not even Crusch—
Before he could ask anything though, Capella retracted her fist and returned her face to a smug grin.
“This lovely lady suggests you cough it up. If you’re quick, she may be generous enough to not tear apart your worthless, meat bag body,” she said.
The threat hung in the air for a moment before Ferris let out a snort. Capella’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Wow, you don’t understand the spell very meowch at all, do you?” he said.
Capella growled, claws beginning to form on the ends of her fingers.
“Who do you think you are—”
Ferris held up his finger.
“I think you misunderstand me. If you thought me giving you the spell would be meownough for you to use it, you’re dead wrong. Not just anyone can cast a spell like the Sacrament,” he said.
Capella paused, before motioning for him to continue.
“The Sacrament is a forbidden art. It requires an extraordinary user of healing magic to perform it. You could probably modify the spell like Sphinx did, but that could take decades or even centuries of work,” he said.
Capella raised an eyebrow.
“So? I’ll just find someone who fits,” she said.
Ferris shook his head.
“As far as Ferri knows, there isn’t anyone besides me who can use this specific variant. They either lack power, proficiency, or both.”
The archbishop pointed at him.
“Couldn’t this lovely lady just copy your gate? It wouldn’t magically give this lovely lady proficiency, but surely it wouldn’t take her too long to match worthless meat like you,” she said.
Ferris once again shook his head.
“Nope. Not only are you underestimating how hard it is to learn healing magic, but you also aren’t accounting for Ferri’s Divine Protection of Water, which further enhances my skill. You could train for a hundred years and still not meowtch my proficiency,” he said.
Capella grimaced, before taking a step back, considering Ferris’ words.
Meanwhile, Ferris let out an internal sigh of relief. If she had said she could copy his divine protection, he would’ve been doomed. He was still in a bad position considering the danger of what she wanted, but at least now, he had a bargaining chip.
The archbishop of lust seemed to debate something to herself back and forth for a few more moments before she turned her eyes back to Ferris.
“Well, that’s unfortunate,” she said, her lips curving back up into a smile. “For you at least. To me, this is the most enjoyable situation.”
Ferris felt horror creep through his body as she began to leer at him.
“This lovely lady really wants to use that sacrament, but if the only person who can use it is you,” she said, narrowing her eyes at him. “Well, this lovely lady will just have to ensure your cooperation.”
Ferris felt a small bit of hope flair up.
“So does that mean you’re willing to negotia—” he started.
Capella moved closer to him than ever before, silencing him by pressing her finger to his lips.
“Shut up, meatbag. This lovely lady will do as she pleases. This lovely lady takes what she wants when she wants it. This lovely lady also prefers to avoid having to give things up, so,” Capella said, grabbing his face by the jaw so he couldn’t look away. “She’ll just have to make you want to cooperate.”
A sickening feeling filled him.
“And how would you do that?”
She pressed herself against him, an uncomfortably lascivious smirk on her face.
“By monopolizing your love, of course,” she said.
In less than a second, she turned into an exact copy of his master.
The duplicate of Crusch smiled wickedly at him.
“What do you think? I still remember very well how you reacted when I last took on this form. Though now, I’m presenting you with an offer different from stabbing me in the chest.”
Capella pressed him against the wall, an expression of sadism covering the face that belonged to his master.
“This lovely lady can show off any aspect of this form to you whenever you want. This magnificent beauty could be something you would be able to view in full. This lovely lady can act how you like to keep up the illusion if you’d like.”
She moved her mouth up to Ferris’ ear, whispering into it.
“And maybe if you do well enough with the sacrament, I’ll even let you do as you wish with this form. Just think of all the things you’d be able to do with this lovely lady that you’ll never get to do with your master,” she crowed.
Ferris shivered.
“So why not just give in?” she asked. “It’s not like your pathetic excuse for a master is anything like the person you fell in love with. The brave, honorable Crusch everyone loves no longer exists and never will again. Staying by her proves how skin-deep your love is, how you only care about appearance, so why not just embrace it?”
Ferris slowly put his hand on top of Capella’s head, causing her to smile just slightly.
Weirdly though, he didn’t respond to her provocations. Instead, he mumbled out one thing.
“What the hell did you do to it?” he said.
What was he talking about?
Before she could ask though, Ferris simply pushed her away.
Capella looked up in surprise, confused to see an expression of pure disgust on Ferris’ face.
“I can’t believe any part of me could’ve ever mistaken you for Crusch-sama,” he said.
“Huh?” she responded, dumbfounded.
Ferris pointed right at her.
“Everything about you is wrong! Not a single aspect matches Crusch-sama! Your mannerisms are off, your smile is too wide, and the way you speak is too undignified for me to accept,” he screamed at his captor, his voice as cold as ice.
“That alone is mockery I can’t forgive, but to imply that I would soil my master’s image like this just, just,” Ferris yelled, failing to find adequate words. “It fills me full of so much rage I can’t even begin to phrase it!”
Ferris was aware that he was digging his own grave, but at this point, he didn’t care.
“And to top it all off, you accuse my love of being surface level?! That I’d stay by her just because I think she’s attractive?! Don’t make me laugh!”
Ferris’ amber eyes filled with more and more passion as he continued to cry out with all he could.
“The Crusch I serve is no imitation. Her determination, her strength of character, her kindness, and all the other things I love about her are still there. Are you really stupid enough to believe you can match that by just taking on her form?”
Unable to keep himself in check, he threw out one last biting remark. “I wouldn’t expect anything less from an unlovable bitch who’s nothing compared to my great Crusch-sama.”
Without warning, Ferris found himself smashed into the floor. As he tried to stand, he felt Capella’s foot dig into his back, driving a spiked heel directly into his spine.
“This lovely lady has had enough of your prattling, meat. I was willing to give you a bit of leeway for my own reasons, but now…”
Capella reached forward and grabbed Ferris’ arms, the latter powerless to stop her as she latched onto his wrists.
“You’re going to be this lovely lady’s slave for the rest of your life, meatbag. Let this lovely lady teach you personally what happens to anyone who gets too full of themselves in my presence.”
Without another word, Capella began to pull on his arms while pressing her spiked heel even further into his back.
Ferris screamed in agony as he felt his arms get stretched to their absolute limits, and then further past that. The sounds of bones cracking rang out through the air as his ligaments and sinews started tearing in half. Capella was slow and deliberate in her torture, drawing out the agony for as long as she could before finally tearing Ferris’ arms off fully.
A sickening pop rang out through the air as Ferris had his limbs amputated, blood spurting out from where they used to be. Ferris violently convulsed, shivering from a gradually growing cold feeling as he rolled around in agony.
Where were his arms? Where were his arms? Where were his arms?
Capella laughed and removed her heel from Ferris’ spine, flipping him over. Mockingly, she waved both of his arms in the air. Shattered pieces of bone and stringy, brown nerves that almost looked like pasta stuck out of the ends.
“Looking for these?”
Ferris started to thrash even harder, panicking and unable to think properly at the sheer wrongness of the sight in front of him.
This went on for a few more seconds, Capella relishing in his pain before she finally pressed her boot to his chest. She bent over and grabbed him by the face.
Bones shot out of the stumps where his arms had been.
Ferris screamed at the feeling of something being forced out of his body. The nerves that developed on top of the exposed bones seconds later didn’t make it any better.
Over the next minute, Ferris felt the agonizing details of his arm’s reconstruction. The feeling of muscles forming over his bones, ligaments connecting the two, nerves growing throughout, and finally skin forming on top was indescribably wrong. Even though it wasn’t as painful as her torture, it still shook Ferris to his core. Within moments, his arms were as good as new but a part of Ferris almost wished they had remained stumps.
Capella removed her hand from Ferris’ face, snickering with glee as he curled up into a ball on the floor and dry heaved, nothing being left in his digestive system to expel.
“This lovely lady hopes that wasn’t too bad meat bag, because she has a hell of a lot more in store for you~. She has to be very thorough in making sure that you are reduced to a wreck who will do anything for her, after all. It’s what I always planned for you to be~, after all.”
With a cruel laugh, Capella exited the room, taking his arms with her and leaving Ferris curled up in a ball on the floor.
Ferris remained there for several minutes, before finally working up the strength to sit up. He took several deep breaths and grabbed his head, using his magic to forcefully calm himself. Soon enough, he had suppressed enough of his trauma to think rationally.
That woman was a monster. The longer he stayed here, the more likely it was that she would make him crack to the point that he would not be able to calm himself with magic. He needed to get out of here.
He glanced around the room, hoping to see something to help, but found nothing other than stone, metal, and viscera.
So, he couldn’t rely on breaking out by finding a weakness in the structure of his room or breaking anything down. There was also no way he was going to talk that utter psychopath down. That only left him one option.
Ferris grimaced, dread filling him.
The only problem was that with that woman’s odd powers, he had no idea how long it would take before he got the chance to enact it.
With a sigh, Ferris let himself fall to the floor, already feeling the effects of his calming magic start to wear off.
His plan was terrible, but it was the only hope he had. He had to hold onto it no matter what.
This was the last thing that went through Ferris’ head before memories of the experience he had just gone through flooded him once more, leaving him shivering and incoherent.
It was only in the morning, when Capella stepped through the door once more, that he realized that hope alone wasn’t going to be enough.