The Steep Path Ahead [Familiar of Zero AU]

[shadenight123]

Chapter Eighty

The ship sailed peacefully with the sails billowing, the creaking of the ropes as they swung around the wooden mast echoed by the random cries of birds that took a brief moment of respite upon the wood guards or the deck itself sometimes.

Charlotte remained confined into the 'Royal' room, leaving it up to Josette to impersonate her outside with varying degrees of success. Honestly, whatever form of magic they used to appear so flawlessly like one another, it had to be very tricky, and extremely complicated.

Louise could hazard a guess that it was Square magic, but Square mages were, if not rare, at the very least uncommon. Usually, Triangle mages were the norm among those who had experience, and Line mages among those who didn't.

"I had an idea," Saito said with a smile, making Louise forget all about the blue-haired short-stack who was currently talking animatedly with a few sailors, guarded by Jacques with a glare strong enough to make any 'untoward' expressions noticeably mollified.

"Yes? Does it involve jumping off this ship to ditch her Highness?" Louise replied, looking at the land below stretching far and wide. The plains of Gallia were quite the breathtaking spectacle, as, differently from Tristain who was mainly composed of tall mountains, lakes and forests, it was a grassland that had slowly been turned into farms, with long stretches of grain and vegetable fields as far as the eye could see.

"No," Saito replied. "It consists of us getting the fighter plane from Tarbes and repairing it, and then I'll write something for my parents in a letter or something and jump out at the last moment, letting the plane go back to my world through the portal," he nodded quite wisely as he rattled off his plan. "I'm sure once they've had their peace of mind, everything will be for the better."

Louise blinked. "Uh...Well, if the Dragon Raiment is alive and can guide itself-"

"It's not alive, but all it has to do is just fly past the portal and then-" Saito blinked. "Wait, that would mean it would crash on the other side! If I wrote a letter, it would get destroyed!"

"Perhaps you can write on something different than paper," Louise suggested kindly, "On a rock, or steel? Maybe you could load a safe inside!" Louise clapped her hands together. "The safe should be able to withstand the impact, shouldn't it? So you can write something, put it inside a safe, and then haul it-can the Dragon Raiment carry that much weight?"

Saito nodded, "It shouldn't be a problem," he smiled. "That way it should survive the landing, right? Then I should start thinking about what to write home about."

Louise smiled, and crossed her arms in front of her chest. Her smile faltered just briefly, as she looked away just slightly, hesitating with her next words, but drawing them out all the same, "Could you perhaps begin with an apology in my name? I know your tongue isn't like ours, so it would be meaningless for me to write one, but-"

"Of course," Saito said. "I'll read it to you aloud later, when I've found something to write on, and something to write with-"

Louise chuckled, and then wistfully smiled. "Are you sure about this?" she asked softly. "It's your only chance of-"

Saito shook his head, "I lived a boring, normal life back home. As long as my family knows I'm safe, I have nothing against it."

"We might have to fight in a war, Saito," Louise said awkwardly. "And we might have to fight way more than a single Elf," she whispered. "Can you do it? I-I think I can, but-but I won't force you. I-If you want, we can simply run away after we are done here. I'll write a letter to mother, and we can just..."

"Wouldn't that be unfair?" Saito asked in a soft and concerned tone. "This is important, isn't it? Isn't this what your whole faith is all about? I don't think we could just run away from something like this."

"Maybe it is, but-" Louise stammered, her cheeks quite crimson in color, "It's not as important as us. We can just find some woods filled with nasty things, and hide in there. Nobody would look for us, and we would be safe."

Saito blushed in turn, and coughed awkwardly as he looked around, trying to confirm wherever or not someone was watching. When he realized nobody was paying attention, he drew near to-

"If you are going to kiss her, do it somewhere private," Jeanette said with a huff, somehow appearing from thin air, apparently having been on the upper ropes to look ahead. As she landed, it became clear that her hairstyle now sported two singular curly locks, one per side of her face, and as she spun one lock around of her fingers, she looked shyly at Saito. "Although I wouldn't mind being a part of it. I mean," Jeanette slithered kind-of like a snake, but only with her feet, so fast that even Louise missed it, "Do you not know that sharing is caring?" she fluttered her eyelids at him, her arms around one of his.

Saito was about to open his mouth to say something, but he didn't need to because the young woman that had been glued to his arm was suddenly pried off by something that made him pale internally.

Louise's knee deep in the girl's guts, the young Valliére had a hand firmly grabbing the woman's shoulder, while the knight of Gallia tried to recover her lost breath, panting hard. "In Germania, if you steal someone's property they have this very righteous justice of beating you nearly to death to make the lesson stick," Louise smiled sweetly. "If you haven't learned your lesson, I can show you when we land just how much I took from my mother, the Heavy Wind, concerning violence."

She patted the knight's shoulder as she released it, the one she had squeezed to the point where Saito was wondering whether or not she had also broken a bone, but as Jeanette smiled weakly and stepped away, trying her hardest to steel herself, he turned his gaze towards Louise.

"Wasn't that a bit over the top?"

"She's just faking it," Louise said offhandedly. "Probably to garner your sympathy. I drove my knees a few times in the guts of a couple of rowdy kids back at the orphanage, and she either has a leather corset beneath the dress, or she has a spell to dull blows enchanted on that magical dress of hers," Louise flexed her fingers. "Also, it wasn't over the top, since I hit her below her chest," she huffed, "And she was definitely eavesdropping on us."

"Why would she do that?" Saito asked.

"Why?" Louise spluttered, "You still have to-Oh Founder Brimir, you really are denser than rock. Look, you and I, we're both very, very important, yes? Gandalfr, Void User-Charlotte is one too, and so is Tiffania, I guess-" Louise frowned, "But that would mean-I never asked her! Maybe she's, like, my cousin!"

"What?" Saito blinked.

"The Founder's line can be traced to the main members of royalty. My father, for example, comes from a bastard line of Tristain's royalty. This makes me the Queen's cousin, if with quite the distance. At the same time, this makes pretty much all other royal lines my cousins too-"

"Charlotte-"

"She doesn't count. You can have family you hate, right?" Louise said briskly, glaring at Saito as if daring him to say something different from a 'Yes'. "Well, if that's true, then she doesn't have to be afraid! Come on, Saito. It's time to earn ourselves an ally among this den of snakes. The poor girl must be terrified. She hasn't stepped out of her room since last night."

As Louise began to walk below deck, Saito followed with unease. His eyes moved to the lonely seagull that seemed to have plopped down on the wooden guard of the ship, and was now squawking at him, but the animal's eyes...

There was just that brief instant where Saito felt there was something more to it, but he couldn't place it, and since Louise kept pulling him along, he went together with her.

Squawking indignantly, the seagull flew off.

It was just a seagull after all.

A seagull in the middle of the vast plains of Gallia.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Eighty-One

Louise was pretty sure Tiffania was keeping Charlotte -the real one- company. This was the reason she debated for a brief instant on whether it was proper or not to knock at the door. If it had been only Charlotte, she wouldn't have minded being a bit rude and simply opening the door, to hell with good manners, but since Tiffania looked ready to faint at the slightest loud noise, she opted for politely knocking on the door and entering once the 'come in' was given in a half-trembling voice by Tiffania.

Tiffania was wearing a long robe that would have been better suited for an old abbess, but with the way it was made to appear loose, it hid most -but not all- of her bountiful cleavage away from sight. Louise could swear she had heard a strangled sob of despair coming from Saito's throat, but opted to say nothing and stomp his foot down later. If a girl didn't want to have men stare at her chest rather than her eyes, then the act had to be praised.

Charlotte was standing nearby, and they were apparently playing a game of Founder Cradle, passing the string around in different shapes.

"Is something the matter?" Charlotte asked as the duo stepped inside and closed the door behind them.

"The Void is said to pass down along royal lines, belonging to the descendants of Brimir," Louise said. "If Tiffania has the power of the Void, and we found her in the middle of the woods of Albion...wouldn't that make her royalty?"

Charlotte's lips twitched in a small smile, and she nodded briefly. "Yes, that would be the case."

"Then-Shouldn't the King of Albion be told he has a cousin?" Louise continued.

"Telling him would be counter-productive," Charlotte said smoothly, "There are reasons Tiffania was kept secret, hidden within a forest, in the middle of nowhere." She smiled next. "But you should ask her about this," she said kindly, turning her gaze to the fidgeting girl. "If she wishes to share it, then it is her choice."

Tiffania winced, giving an awkward smile. "I-I'd rather not tell anyone," she whispered. "I wouldn't even know what to say to a King, so even if my cousin knew about me, I'd be too embarrassed to say anything."

Louise placed a hand on her hips, and twitched her nose in clear annoyance. "He was pretty easygoing for a King. I'm sure he'd be delighted to find out he has family left after losing his father to the Reconquista."

Tiffania's eyes looked down at the floor and at the tip of her feet, her expression sorrowful. "I-I'd better not."

"You definitely should, but fine," Louise huffed as she plopped down on a nearby bed. "Well, we're cousins anyway from my father's side, so-well, you don't have to feel so lonely any longer."

"Ah," Tiffania's eyes widened slightly, "I wasn't-well, then Charlotte is your cousin too?"

Louise bristled, "Yes. All royal lines are descendants of Brimir, which makes them all connected through blood."

"Wait," Saito blinked. "Didn't Wales say he was going to marry Henrietta?"

Louise blinked, "And?"

"They're cousins," Saito blurted out.

Charlotte cocked her head to the side, an eyebrow raised. "We know that. Their fathers are brothers."

"No, I mean-cousins can marry each other?" Saito asked.

"And why would they not be able to do that? They are not brother and sister," Louise huffed. "Founder Brimir said that it was fine as long as a man slept not with his sister, or a sister slept not with his brother, but he never mentioned 'Cousins'."

Saito shook his head in disbelief, but quietly decided to let the argument drop and sit down on a nearby chair. Charlotte resumed the form of the cat's cradle, and then moved it towards Louise, who was the one closest to her. Louise seemed torn, if briefly, before taking on the game itself and going through the motions with practiced ease.

It was kind of surprising, at least in Saito's modest opinion, how a Queen, an Orphan-Turned-Noble and a descendant of royalty could all play a simple game like cat's cradle with enough expertise to make him wonder just how they had managed to find the time to learn it, but at the same time, he was proud that Louise had let go of her anger long enough to understand this wasn't about the feud between Charlotte and herself, but about making Tiffania feel at ease.

"A familiar," Louise said suddenly, "Do you have one?" she asked, looking at Tiffania.

"Ah-no," Tiffania said softly. "I wouldn't know how-"

"We should fix that when this ship lands," Louise said earnestly. "I'm sure it would be able to help you-"

"A Void's familiar is always a human," Charlotte said softly, the cat cradle in her hands once more. "She can summon one now if she wishes, but it would be best if she simply chose someone instead."

"Chose someone?" Louise asked.

"If she summoned someone now, out of nowhere," Charlotte said softly, "I do not think they would be amenable to helping her. If she already had someone, she would just need to recite the binding oath and finish the ritual, without a need for a summon."

Louise's eyes widened slightly. "It might be another person from Saito's w-homeland," she blurted out. "It-It would be best not to, then."

"The powers of the Void's familiar are many," Charlotte said. "It would be best to have them at the ready for the crusade. It is a unique circumstance for three out of four Void Users to be found. This has never happened before in the history of Halkeginia since the times of the Founder, and that was because the Founder himself held the full power of the Void."

"Can it really do that much though?" Saito asked. He waved his hands hastily in front of him at the shocked expressions of Louise and Charlotte, "I mean! When that Elf attacked, it wasn't that strong. I'm the Gandalfr, but I got a nasty beating out of it-"

"The true strength of the Void lies in all of its pieces," Charlotte murmured. "It wasn't just split across four people, but also across four objects, and four rings. The rings that are proof of royalty, Earth, Fire, Water and Wind, and the items that belonged to the Founder, they are an important part. When all are united, the true power of the Void will reveal itself. It is said that with such power, not even if the Elves mustered their entire people would they be able to stop it."

Saito blinked, "I-I know Louise's capable of making big explosions, but-but is that what the Crusade is going to be about? I mean-it's one thing when they're capable of fighting, but what about the children?"

"There is no innocent Elf," Charlotte said awkwardly. "That is what the Founder said," she added, shaking her head. "I do not think the Crusade will be called on for the following months. The armies need to be prepared, the objects assembled, but when the day will come, I am sure there will be blood."

"Saito-Elves don't think like we humans do, you saw that," Louise added. "The ease with which that Elf-look, maybe the Elves' kids like to eat babies, or perhaps they drink human blood to sustain themselves. Or perhaps they're horrible monsters with sharp, vampire-like teeth and get their nutriment from chewing on the souls of pious virgins, you can't-"

"That's not true," Tiffania said, her hands white and her knuckles trembling. "They're not monsters. They're not different from-from you. Children are children, and even Elves-some Elves aren't bad. Not every human is a monster, but some are, so why don't we consider them all monsters then?!" there were tears in Tiffania's eyes. "I mean! It would make sense wouldn't it? And why are Elves and Humans so different anyway? Because they don't follow the same Gods? Because they're more powerful? Because they were born with the ability to listen to the Spirits? Why must there be blood? Why can't we just talk with them?"

"Sure, because they'd let any of us near them without opening fire first and asking questions later. Just like that kind Elf who slaughtered the Gallian nobility like they were pigs meant for the market, and with the same snob air of a lord trudging on a worker's back," Louise snapped. "And he just appeared out of nowhere, strolling inside as if the place belonged to him, as if our very breaths were bothering him!"

Tiffania took a deep breath, "So-So you think every Elf is like that? You think that they all relish in slaughter and death? That they don't care about human lives? Then-Then tell me, tell me why did my mother die if she could have easily defeated humans as if they meant nothing. Why did my mother have to die, when she could have just killed them all?"

"Your...mother?" Louise frowned. "What does your mother-"

"Tiffania-" Charlotte's warning came, but also went as the girl removed her hat, showing off her slightly elongated ears.

"Yes, my mother was an Elf, and she was the mistress of the Archduke of Albion, the King's uncle. I'm a Half-Elf, which makes me what, a monster who likes to drink the blood of children then?" the tears in her eyes were now visibly rolling down her cheeks. "Is that what I am? Is that what I am supposed to be? My mother was the kindest woman I knew. She loved father, and father loved her. Tell me, if my mother was a monster, why would she love father like that? If she really was so strong, why did she let six men kill her with swords and kick her corpse? Why did she let them? Why did she tell me to hide rather than fight her way out of there?"

"I-I-" Louise stammered for words, staring at the ears.

"You don't know," Tiffania whispered. "You don't know, but you cast your judgment like every other human I've met. That's why whenever I healed someone, I made them lose their memories and sent them on their ways." She shook her head sadly, and put her hat back on.

"S-Saito!" Louise blurted out in the end. "She-We-I-What."

Saito blinked, and raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry you had to go through that," he said in the end, "And I apologize for Louise too, she does have a kind heart, but she just doesn't know how to properly say things," as he finished speaking, he bowed his head.

Louise's arms raised in the air, "B-But she's an Elf!"

"And you are being rude," Saito replied calmly. "It's not the end of the world."

"She. Is. An. Elf!" Louise flailed her arms, standing up and pointing at her. "An Elf! Pointy ears! Eats-"

"She said she doesn't," Saito said.

"The Founder's Book says they do!" Louise shot back.

"Maybe the book is wrong," Saito answered, making Louise choke on her own spit as Charlotte's face held all the appearances of a giggle that was being held back by a hand hiding it.

A few gurgling noises left Louise's throat as she went through the motions of spluttering and looking red-faced at Charlotte, swooping as low as to seek aid in getting some sense brought back to the table, only to find no allies in the Queen of Gallia.

"Louise," Saito said once more, "Look...that Elf back at La Rochelle was bad, I'm not saying he wasn't. But...I haven't read in the book Charlotte gave us of a single monster that can convincingly cry. Even Vampires cry tears of blood-" as he said so, he pulled out from his pocket Charlotte's handkerchief, handing it over to Tiffania so that she could wipe her tears away. "So please-please reconsider."

"It's the breasts, isn't it?" Louise asked, arms crossed in front of her chest, her eyes narrow and glaring.

"No," Saito said. "It's just...it's just not the right thing."

"Not the right thing?" Louise repeated, perplexed.

"If she really was as horrible as you think, then why would she reveal her identity? Wouldn't it have been better to keep it hidden, like Charlotte did?"

"You make it sound like I'm a monster hiding my real identity," Charlotte said softly, only for Saito and Louise to scoff at the same time. "I am not going to apologize for it," Charlotte added, but then shook her head. "But this isn't about me. This is about Tiffania. I would love to vouch for her, but I am afraid I burned all bridges with you both. You will simply have to make your own choice on the matter, Louise."

"Louise," Saito said once more, "Please, why don't we simply sit back down and talk? Just talk, I'm sure-"

Louise took a deep breath. She filled her lungs, and then she exhaled. She pointed her swordwand at Saito with enough speed that by the time she finished, the wand's steel tip was a blur resonating with a crystalline-like sound. The Dispel hit Saito straight in the face, making him blink as the sudden light washed over him.

Charlotte's long raven hair turned small and blue, making the Queen blink and sigh in disbelief.

"Louise?" Saito hazarded.

"Fine," Louise said crisply. "We'll sit, and we'll talk." She firmly planted herself on the side of the bed, and held her swordwand on her lap, but her muscles were tense, like a coiled spring ready to strike.

"If, by mere theory, had Saito been under the effects of a mind-controlling spell," Charlotte said offhandedly, sounding amused, "What would you have done?"

"Beheaded her and vaporized you," Louise answered quite frankly. "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me," she smiled softly. "What? Your Highness thinks she's the only one good with Death Threats? I can make them too, even with the 'Fufufu' sound if that makes them more menacing. Fufufu."

Charlotte smiled, and their eyes met, sparks of lightning sailing across the air.

Saito sat back and uncomfortably looked from one side of the room to the other, before finally coming up with an argument that was sure to placate everyone's sour mood.

"So...puppies! What puppy do you think is the cutest?"

When Charlotte's answer of 'Kitten' met Louise's answer of 'Mastiff', Saito knew he'd find peace and quiet only in Tiffania's hesitant answer. The way the poor girl was clutching on to the handkerchief with trembling fingers told Saito all that he needed to know.

Since he was the Gandalfr, and his 'duty' was to protect the Founder, didn't it simply mean he had to protect all of them?

He wouldn't run away from the challenge in front of him.

He wouldn't run away.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Eighty-Two

Louise couldn't look at Tiffania's face. She averted her gaze, keeping only her ears attentive in case the barest of whispers involved with spirit magic began, just so she could strike first. She had been taught since she was young that the Elf was an enemy, a horrible enemy that prevented the Chosen People of the Founder from reaching the Holy Lands, a place of honey and warmth, where every dream could become true.

Hundreds of years of history couldn't be wrong now, could they? Every time a group of Elves crossed the border, children were kidnapped, killed, people were found gorily murdered-there was always something wrong that could be attributed to Elves. They cherished the blood of humans, and there were many pictures in the Founder's Book which showed them sitting upon thrones made of skulls while lapping from fountains of blood.

The macabre imagery had given her nightmares for days, and when that Elf had appeared out of nowhere, it had simply consolidated her belief. That amount of senseless slaughter couldn't have been the product of a creature afraid of the Gods, but only of an emissary of the Devil itself!

And yet, there Tiffania was. She looked like a giant marshmallow made of marshmallows, and seemed to be the picture of innocence and kindness. It didn't help that Saito had to activate his White Knight-mode every time she seemed about to cry. Why did he have to be so gallant all of a sudden? Couldn't he keep being quiet and just keep on being her knight? Her only personal protector?

She was 'sharing' him with too many people, and while the Founder preached sharing, she didn't really think it applied to her own fiancé -and thus, future husb...future hus...- her cheeks were so red they felt on fire.

"My big sister taught me how to read, and sing," Tiffania said in a soft, hesitant voice. This was an improvement over the first few wrangled words that Saito had managed to gently coax out of her. "She's the one who rescued me from-from everything," she added. "I-I don't know what it means to be a Void user, but-but if I can avoid needless bloodshed, then I'll do my hardest."

Louise scoffed, "Yes, of course you will," she added, her voice dripping sarcasm. She bit down on her lower lip. "If-and this is a big if, you are not lying, then what do you think is going to happen now? With three users, the Pope will call for a crusade. He would be remiss not to," she shook her head.

"I will not tell the Pope," Charlotte said softly. "The Cardinal knows of only two, but not of Tiffania," she added. "If I do not tell him, and you do not, then she will be free to do as she pleases." She inclined her head to the side. "I am of the belief her sister took care of enrolling her into the Tristain Academy of Magic trying to hide her from the Cardinal."

"The Cardinal? You're speaking of Mazarin? Cardinal Mazarin?" Louise hazarded.

"Yes," Charlotte said with a small nod. "He was appointed by the Pope to serve as Tristain's regent until the time when the princess would assume the rule, and now that she has he returned to Romalia. He has probably already alerted the Pope about your situation, and knows of mine. Expect to be summoned by His Holiness at any moment."

Louise sighed, "Well, if it became known that an Elf was one of the Founder's chosen-what a joke," she bitterly added. "Still, preparing an army would take time. Even if the Pope knew, he hasn't yet called for a crusade, or for us. Perhaps we will have some breathing room after this. I sure hope we do," she said.

The silence grew awkward after that, even as Saito broke the quiet once more. "Well, it's no use worrying over something that hasn't happened yet, right? We'll think about it when it happens. And it's not like he can force us to do something against our will-"

"Wrong choice of words," Charlotte said softly, wincing in sympathy as Louise punched Saito's shoulder.

"He's the Pope. He doesn't need to use magic, he can simply excommunicate those who don't follow his will," Louise said hotly. "No, if he calls, we'll answer. If he doesn't though, we'll be free to live our lives."

She huffed. "Enough about this," she pushed her hair back with a flippant attitude, "We'll be leaving after escorting her Highness to Versailles and return to Tristain," as soon as she said that, Tiffania raised a hand as if to ask a question, but then quickly dropped it.

"If you need someone to escort you, we'll help," Saito said.

"Saito!" Louise's exclamation was cut short, however, when Saito coughed.

"A faithful nun of Brimir would help an innocent in need without question." He grinned as he quoted word per word, much to Louise's embarrassment. "Wasn't that what you said?"

Louise blushed, and then grabbed her pillow, throwing it straight at Saito's face. As it impacted against the boy, it also bounced off into Charlotte's hands, who took that as the cue to throw it back at Louise.

Grabbing a pillow himself, Saito threw it at Charlotte, who deflected it towards Tiffania before grabbing her own.

Somehow, the fact it all degenerated into a pillow fight by the end of it was not what anyone had planned, or thought would happen.

Yet it was precisely what happened.

When Josette knocked at the door warning that dinner was ready, she stepped inside to a scene out of reality. Feathers were everywhere, pillows were torn, and somewhat Saito was comfortably nestled into Tiffania's bosom while sleeping soundly, a blow having knocked him out, or perhaps he was faking it just so he could keep staying in that position. Louise was within his arms, having been protected from a fall from the bed, and yet had lost consciousness all the same.

Charlotte stood as the sole winner of the 'tournament', twin pillows in hand and an expression of triumph on her face.

"Ha," she said in the end. She dropped the pillows and calmly sat back down at the side of her bed, coughing in her right hand as she looked at Josette. "Josette."

"Sister," Josette said with a giggle. "I'm happy you're having fun, but dinner's here!" she grinned as she brought inside a fuming plate. "There's more where this comes from, so don't hesitate to ask for seconds!" in her other hand a bottle of wine was firmly held, and as the door closed with a kick, it made Saito groan softly.

Josette easily jumped past the mass of bodies on the floor, and handed the food over.

"We're nearly at Versailles anyway," Josette said as she sat down next to her sister. "And once there, it will all go for the best, right?" she filled the spoon with food and began to hover it near Charlotte, who gave her a stare without heat. "Say ah~"

Charlotte took the bite, and Josette smiled brightly. "Here comes the flying ship~"

"Josette-"

"Please?"

Charlotte sighed, and said nothing more.

She owed her sister some form of family, no matter how screwed up it could be.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Eighty-Three

The palace of Versailles was a beautifully crafted mansion surrounded by gardens filled with roses. However, the gardeners were hard at work removing said bushes, which was taking them quite a while considering the sheer amount of petals that drifted in the air. The scent of roses was thick in the air as the group, standing in formation, marched resolutely past the gates without much of a hitch.

The royal guards tensed to attention at Josette's passage, with Charlotte simply levitating past the gate rather than risk anything. They had to walk through the gardens rather than through the palace due mainly to the fact that the palace's doors had not yet been removed in their entirety.

"All Kings and Queens have a right to be mad," Louise muttered under her breath, "But to remove all doors from a palace? Think about the drafts."

"I do not suffer the cold, Louise," Charlotte said softly, having clearly heard her even when she was further ahead. Josette had already opened the door into what appeared to be the Queen's chambers, and as Charlotte easily levitated past it together with the rest of her knights, Louise simply muttered her Teleport spell, appearing right on the edge of the window.

Saito grabbed hold of Tiffania and jumped past the ledge, landing softly on the carpeted floor.

The room felt as if it had gone through a maelstrom, judging by the amount of sliced walls and ruined paintings. Most of the furniture had been broken and flung in a corner, cut into tiny pieces.

"Forgive the mess," Charlotte said. "The new furniture has yet arrive." There was no door on the other side of the room, and there wasn't even much of a doorway, only a smooth circular hole that went into the hallway.

Charlotte sat down on a lonely plush chair, and as she handed her cloak over to Bleu, who took it with a small bow, she clasped her hands together. "I assume you will be leaving without wasting a second?" Charlotte asked next, looking at Saito and Louise.

"Yes," Louise said with a curt nod. "Your Highness understands why we won't be stopping for the night."

"I see," Charlotte said with a sad wistful smile. "I do understand indeed. Very well then, I will be seeing you soon anyway," she added. "Be safe on your journey home, Lady Valliére, Lord Hiraga...and you too, Tiffania."

Louise unclasped her cloak from her shoulders, and folded it with a quick and practiced motion, "We'll be renouncing your Highness' knighting as well, as I am sure you will understand this too."

"Of course," Charlotte nodded. "I understand that too."

Saito imitated Louise, handing his cloak over together with hers. Derflinger stood atop the cloaks, as Saito had been given the sword during the time he had spent guarding Charlotte's way back, but now had no longer a need for it. Sure, a magic-eating sword was nifty, but he could feel Louise's glaring at the handle of it every single time her eyes fell by his belt. It was to a demure silence that they left the room, Josette being the one to accompany them out -through the no longer existing door- this time.

"We are going to need new cloaks," Louise said once they were out of the palace's gardens, and into the bustling streets of the city near the palace, filled to the brim with Lords and Ladies all going about their daily business with their noses firmly planted a few inches higher than others. "And you'll need a new sword."

"We could have waited one day," Saito hazarded. "Charlotte might have offered to call for a coach."

"I wouldn't trust a coach called by Her Royal Highness not to have a coachman ready to slice our necks in our sleep. If you want to return home with a coach, then we'd be better off paying for one out of our own pocket," Louise said briskly, starting to walk through the cobblestone street.

"Uhm," Tiffania said with a bit of hesitation, fidgeting with her fingers together. "If possible," she said as softly as she could, "Could we visit the nearby church? I want to see if Mister Marteau has arrived with the children safely," she added.

"I don't think they would have arrived already, but fine," Louise said with a scoff, even if she really wasn't bothered by it. "Let's head to the nearest church, and hope they've somehow managed to outrun a flying ship across land. If we make the trip back with more people, we'll be safer from bandits."

The church near Versailles was more of a cathedral than the small orphanage church Louise had lived for most of her life, and one of the priests there directed them to the actual orphanage run by the church that was found in the outskirts of the city, past the walls and just a short trip away into the countryside.

Thus, the first order of business became to acquire cloaks, swords, and refill their supplies. "We could have asked Charlotte-"

"Say that one more time and I'm making broccoli soup tonight," Louise said flatly, pointing a piece of jerky in Saito's direction, which made Tiffania giggle. "What's so funny?" Louise asked next, raising an eyebrow towards the girl.

"Oh-N-nothing," Tiffania said, shaking her head slowly.

"It's not nothing if you're giggling," Louise said once more, she narrowed her eyes, "You want broccoli soup too? Saito here thinks his taste is so much refined than mine-" she grumbled.

"No, no," Tiffania said hastily, "It's just...you both look so happy together, it's like you're newlyweds."

Both Louise and Saito stammered and yelped, turning crimson red on their faces.

"T-Th-That's possible!" Louise exclaimed, grumbling under her breath, but with a smile on her lips and a hand on her hip. "We are, after all, betrothed one to the other. Now, enough with this! We're wasting precious daylight. Let's move," but the skip on her step and the happy expression on her face fooled no one, and especially not Saito or Tiffania.

"I apologize," an old abbess spoke kindly, a small smile on her wrinkled face, "But we have yet to see them. We did receive word to expect a group of young orphans, but we haven't seen them yet," she added.

"See?" Louise said offhandedly, "I told you they'd still be on the road."

"I'm sorry I made you waste time," Tiffania said, apologizing to Louise and Saito. "I'm just worried. I've never left them out of my sight back in Albion-" she began, only for Louise to sigh.

"I know the feeling, I don't know what happened to my friends in the orphanage too, but I'm sure Father Christoff found them somewhere good to stay," Louise said, before bristling. "Well, thank you for your time, Abbess. We're sorry we wasted your time."

"It was no trouble at all, dear," the Abbess said.

Thus, the trio stepped onto the dirt road with the firm intention of heading back to Tristain by taking the long route.

"We could have asked Charlotte for horses," Saito said after the first few dozen of steps.

"Saito, say one more word about what we could have asked that girl, and I will plant my swordwand up your ass and make sure you like it."

"Lewd," Saito said. "Very lewd."

Louise spluttered. "W-What!? Th-There can't be people who like that! C-Can there...no!" she shook her head.

Tiffania simply giggled, the two such nice people she was sure her sister would love to know she had them as friends!

If only they weren't so hateful with Charlotte. The girl was such a nice and kind person, she had even provided her with a spare wand, since her own wasn't in the best of shapes.

Maybe she'd manage to put a good word in for the girl?

And if she did that, then she'd have her friends all happy with one another.

Happiness was important.

It kept the demons away, or so her mother had told her.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Eighty-Four

Tiffania was wheezing. Her robes were fluttering by the strain of her chest contracting and expanding, her face flush with fatigue and red. In a certain, definitely non-endearing way, she reminded Louise of Saito. In another, far less nostalgic thought, she also was an elf with impossible breasts, so she could sweat a bit.

"Maybe we could stop for a little while," Saito suggested, making Louise bite her lips and sigh.

"We won't reach Lutece by nightfall if we keep wasting time," Louise said. She drummed her fingers on the handle of her swordwand, gazing ahead at the vast plain. "I could try to shorten our trip though," she added. "But I don't know how you'd take it. It would be the first time I bring someone along."

Saito blinked. "You mean, that Teleport of yours?"

"Yes," Louise nodded. "The more of the spell I chant the further I go, but I have no idea if I can take someone with me or not, and the Willpower cost associated with more than one person."

Tiffania wheezed a long, drawn-out breath, and then fell down on her knees with her chest wobbling about -even if hidden for the most part by her large robes. "I'm sorry," she whined pitifully, looking downcast. "I'm slowing you down-"

"It's not your fault," Saito said with a small smile, kneeling down. "We could have bought a horse near Versailles, or taken a coach from there, but-"

Saito felt something sharp poke one of his ass cheeks. "Say it," Louise said offhandedly. "See if I don't keep my promises."

Saito began to sweat, and then smiled brightly, changing line of thought, "But a nice walk in the countryside is good too! Very nice for the lungs, the heart, and it slims people down!"

As he 'enthusiastically' spoke about that, the sharp tip left his buttocks and was quickly holstered once more, as Louise snorted in approval. "Very well," Louise said with a sigh. "Five minutes of rest won't kill anyone, but then we have to hurry ahead."

Moving to the side of the road, where a loose rock wall had been erected to separate the fields from the road itself, the trio caught their breath with various degrees of effort. Saito stretched his arms, the clinking sound of the gauntlets every now and then striking a hearty tune against the breastplate. Louise hummed as she began to polish her breastplate with a piece of cloth, as if mud was an inexcusable sin that needed to be washed clean.

Tiffania simply caught her breath her chest heaving up and down, in a sort of hypnotic pattern that would have made Saito really interested, if it weren't for something sharp by his side poking him every now and then to remind him that yes, Louise was keeping an eye on him too.

"Can't you use Elf spirit magic to fly or something?" Louise asked suddenly.

"Ah-no," Tiffania whispered. "The spirits-they don't like me. My mother told me it was because I was half-human, but-" she fidgeted, "It's not that they don't like me, it's more like they hate me."

"What are these spirits anyway?" Saito asked, furrowing his brows. "I mean, I fought a couple of mages-"

"One," Louise said.

"Definitely felt like more than one," Saito answered in turn. "Your mother is a mage too, isn't it?"

"If your definition of 'fighting' means being thrown through a wall and nearly dying, then yes, you 'fought' my mother," Louise said dryly.

"Well-There was that time with the assassin that killed me," Saito pointed out, only for Tiffania to gasp with both hands in front of her mouth, "Don't worry, I got better," he added to the girl with a smile.

"That was a one-sided slaughter," Louise said offhandedly, before her eyes widened suddenly. "Saito," she mouthed, "The assassin-"

"Yes? He was under Charlotte's orders, wasn't he?"

"It was Wardes," Louise said. "He-He used the same technique to kill you as he did with the Elf-"

"But the assassin had blond hair, Louise, not grey," Saito pointed out.

The girl spluttered. "Then it could have been Bleu, I guess. He said he was a Wind and Water mage, didn't he? Perhaps-argh, I don't know. How do you think lightning is made? Wind and...Fire? I don't think Earth has anything to do with it, but Ice is definitely Wind and Water so..."

"We could ask Wardes?" Saito hazarded. "It's something he can do, so he might know who else is capable of doing that."

"And if it's him and he lies?" Louise drawled back. "What then? Could you kindly blame yourself of being an assassin for the Crown? Do you really think he'd go that far?" she snorted. "Well, I'm sure I can ask a more experienced mage once we return to Tristain."

Saito blinked. "I just realized something," he said. "Since I'm not going back home after all, do you think your father will be pissed?"

Louise blinked in return, and then she began to giggle. "Don't worry, dad's a real softy. It's mother you'll have to worry about, Saito."

It turned out that a coach trip back to Tristain, and to be more precise the city of Valier, would cost a pretty ecu. Well, not really a 'pretty' ecu as much as a 'lot' of ecus.

"We could-" Saito began, only to yelp as he grabbed his punctured buttock with an affronted gaze at Louise, who simply flicked her index finger against the tip of her blade, letting it ring harmoniously.

Tiffania winced and shyly fidgeted, "I don't have much-"

"Don't worry," Louise said offhandedly. "We're adventurers first and foremost, and nobles in our spare time. Let's go Saito. I'm sure there's an Adventurers' guild somewhere in this city, or I'll eat my cloak with salt and pepper."

Saito sighed and passed a hand through his hair. "Well," he said. "Let's find an inn and go from there?"

The inn they found was relatively clean and kept in order, if a bit closer to the walls of the capital than what the 'merchant' tastes would normally accept. Near it, the slums were pretty much visible from the second floor, a mass of mud and barely serviceable houses of wood held together by sheer miracle. Still, even the workers needed someplace to sleep.

The inn was a notorious mercenary cove, and as Saito soon realized upon stepping inside, it wasn't a place for the faint of hearts.

The acrid smell of smoke hung heavy, the stench of sweat and blood profusely left to ripe was like a fist to the stomach, and more than one set of eyes turned to look at them as they entered.

"I don't think this is a good idea," Saito murmured as Tiffania hid behind Saito, her two voluptuous qualities squishing against his back, and thus annoying Louise to no end. "But we don't have to leave immediately."

"We're adventurers," Louise said gruffly, her mask firmly set in her place. "Looking for work," she added as she sat by the counter. "You heard about anything worthy of our time?"

The barman scoffed, but refrained from saying anything rude as a couple of golden Ecus found their way upon his counter, and then quickly disappeared to be replaced with frothing beer.

"Adventurers are all about monster slaying, not human hunting," the barman replied. "Still, oi, Ulfric!" the man gestured to a burly looking and menacing giant of a man, who stood up to his full height at being called. "You said your favorite purse had trouble with a Hydra?"

"Yes," Ulfric nodded once. "Lord Belmont has a hydra in his garden. He's grown annoyed with it and wants it gone," he added.

"How many heads does it have?" Louise asked.

"Twelve," Ulfric answered plainly. "He already tried to get it to leave, more than once, but lost people to it."

Saito whistled. The more heads a Hydra had, the more dangerous they became. "Didn't he try hiring a knight or two?" Louise asked.

The mercenary simply laughed at that. "Smuggling a Hydra is already a grievous crime by itself, letting it grow so close to the city? His garden starts barely outside of the city walls," Ulfric shook his head. "He fancies himself a collector of rare beasts, the man. Manticores, Gryphons, Dragons, Basilisks...more than a garden, he has a zoo of deadly species," here the man smiled, showing a large gash on his shoulder. "This one, I got this one wrestling a Satyr into its pen."

"He must have quite the influence," Louise began, "Which means he's going to pay a lot, won't he?"

"That he will," Ulfric nodded. "But the Hydra's pretty tough to anything magical, so your fancy spells might do little good, sir knight," he furrowed his brows. "What's your name, again?"

"It's Louis," Louise said, perplexed at being asked.

"Ah, I see," Ulfric said. "Well," he continued, "I can put a good word in with the Count, and you can leave rich in a few hours," Ulfric moved a hand, rubbing his fingers with each other in the universal gesture of 'money', "But I would like remuneration for putting a good word."

"What's your usual fare?" Louise asked, sighing with a bit of defeatism in her voice, before her eyes blared to light with the fire of a proven haggler.

Ulfric however was no mere young upstart mercenary, and thus the haggling battle went on for a few minutes, both sides throwing numbers at each other and words like 'risk-revenue' and 'potential future jobs' hitting and clashing against 'adventurer specialization on monster slaying' and 'mercenaries aren't really cut for this'.

In the end, a price was agreed for.

Somehow, the words 'Ulfric has joined your party' and 'Quest: Slay the Hydra' entered the back of Saito's mind.

Being an adventurer really felt, sometimes, as if Saito was playing a game.

One of those games where you had only one chance, and had to restart from the beginning if you died.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Eighty-Five

Lord Belmont was a pudgy and short man who appeared quite joyous at the prospect of having someone clean his mess for him. He was even happier when he realized Ulfric would vouch for them, and there was a quiet and timid beauty among their numbers.

"We should have left Tiffania back at the inn," Saito said.

"She's safer with us than with them, and Ulfric's job is just to keep her safe from random stuff while we deal with the Hydra itself," Louise replied hotly. "He's getting a cut of killing the Hydra without having to kill it, so really, he's the one who ends up rich without breaking a sweat."

The gardens extended for quite a fair distance, the mansion itself having been left largely unscathed from whatever rampage the monster would aim for. "They've been trained since birth never to step close to the house," Lord Belmont had told the duo before waving them all goodbye and wishing them good luck.

The first thing that reached their nostrils once they set upon a dirt path that headed deeper into the 'gardens' was the rich stench of iron, the blood dripping down from the nearby tree branches as carcasses had apparently been messily devoured and bits and pieces had flown everywhere.

"Well, he's a messy eater," Saito said, trying to lift Louise's mood, and ease Tiffania's fear.

"Perhaps his mother didn't teach him well," Ulfric joined in. "Hydras-man, I fought orcs and trolls, even a few ogres back in the good old days-but Hydras? I hope you know what you're doing. Poisonous breath, virulent and toxic blood-sheesh, we could have waited by the mansion."

"Tiffania knows a sleep spell," Louise said offhandedly. "I know one too. If we both cast it, we have a higher chance of affecting the creature. If it succeeds, then I can just finish the chant of my Vaporize spell and destroy the creature completely- And if that fails, then she can just-"

There was a low hiss, a snapping sound and then a sudden sinking feeling of pressure echoing through the forest as a light fog began to form from the ground up.

"The Hydra's breath-" Ulfric's hands had already tied around his face a wet napkin, and quite quickly he had done the same for Tiffania, true to his word about protecting his charge. He was getting paid for it, after all.

"Breathing it through the mouth or not won't change a thing," Louise said hotly, spinning her swordwand forward. "It's poisonous upon mere contact with the skin-"

Saito knelt slightly, clenching his sheathed sword with his right hand. "I always wanted to try this," he said as the tendrils of fog began to drift towards them. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them suddenly as he shouted a 'Hiai!' scream that reverberated through the air, followed his quick unsheathing of the blade.

A blade of wind parted from his sword, slicing through the fog and parting it, creating a path for them to follow.

"That-Well," Louise said with a surprised look, "I don't even know what to say. Did you see that in a game?"

"Yes," Saito said, his left hand shining softly, the glow on his runes glittering quietly in the forest's dimming light. "The fog's going to come back anyway, so-"

"So we better hurry anyway," Louise said as she began to rush ahead, Saito slightly behind her as he sliced open a path every now and then, gritting his teeth from the strain in his right arm. The fog did not diminish, but instead increased as the vegetation around them began to turn dark, the corrosive effects of the fog having turned most of the once verdant trees into matchsticks bubbling with acidic sap.

And then there it stood, most of its head asleep, the jaws open and putrid fog seeping out from it. Out of twelve heads, only two were currently awake, and seemingly resting atop the others, the creature's bloodshot eyes open wide and fiercely, the breathing deep and erratic at the same time. Scars covered most of its body, sharp fangs and blood-encrusted snouts seemed a constant through all of its heads, and if such fierceness wasn't enough, the tail was long and swishing back and forth, the end similar to a morningstar, if with spikes as big and thick as a human being's arm.

A shattered thick chain of steel stood around its legs, the old chain that bound it to a spot having been broken either by the acid in its breath, or by the virulence of its blood.

The beast was big. Even Ulfric took a step back at the sight of it, his eyes wide in fear.

"It looks afraid," Tiffania whispered.

"Well-it's mostly asleep," Louise said with a snap, her swordwand in front of her. "Chant with me, and let's get this over with quickly."

Tiffania hesitated only briefly, before pulling out her own wand.

The moment the two girls began their chant, the heads that were awake swiveled first with curiosity towards the source of the noise, and then with attention, swiftly followed by narrow eyes as the other heads awoke from their slumber. They snapped their teeth as the fog seemed to increase in thickness and strength, washing over the group were it not for Saito's blade of wind, which merely cut the fog in half, but could not stop its source.

Well, not at first that was.

Moving from his sword to his bow, Saito pulled back an arrow that was in actuality a spear, and as the heads began to draw closer, he unleashed the sharp, piercing implement of death and destruction.

One of the Hydra's heads snapped shut as the spear pierced through its lower mandible all the way to the top of it, shattering her brain and making the limb fall over.

The remaining eleven heads screamed as they charged ahead, the thick fog too much for Saito to stop this time as it came in full force, tingling upon their skin like scalding water.

Only it wasn't water, but toxic acid.

Rushing forth towards the fallen head, Saito nimbly jumped atop one of the hydra's heads that had come down to snap at him, the pest that had harmed its body. He rushed across the length of the neck, more and more heads swiveling down to face him as he emerged from the fog -since it was directed forward, and he was now behind the massive creature having run its entire length quickly.

Landing behind it, Saito rolled away from the murderous tail that cracked the ground it rested upon, before slamming his sword through the side of the tail, piercing it and screaming as he pushed the sword down on the ground through the toxic flesh, the blade itself disappearing into molten slag.

He quickly moved to a dagger, the slowing down barely noticeable as he rushed away, but still the heads turned to face him, and they carried their deadly fog together with their murderous expression. The deceased head blinked its fearsome eyes open, and stood back up together with the others. Opening its maws, the fog soon was replaced by something else.

It was replaced by fire.

It was replaced by a lot of fire.

"GAH!" Saito screamed as he pushed both arms in front of him, expecting the searing heat to scorch through his flesh already sizzling due to the acidic fog.

The fire twisted around him however, and left him unscathed in the middle of burnt ground. The heat was palpable, but with the fire, the fog had departed immediately to be replaced with flaming maws.

"That's-That's not a Hydra!" Ulfric screamed from behind him, attracting the creature's attention. "That's a Chimaera!"

The creature's heads burst asunder as if the flesh it inhabited meant absolutely nothing to it, and the forms of creatures it had eaten soon took their place upon the flailing necks. A head was like a gryphon, one was like a manticore, and many were dragon-like in appearance and form. What terrified Saito however were the human forms that flailed their many misshapen limbs about, their screams of pain and agony something that chilled him to the very bones.

"L-Louise! The spell! Now!" Saito yelped as the manticore-head rushed forward, the scorpion like tail stabbing and being redirected by the dagger, whose whole form bent and cracked beneath the impact of the blow. "NOW!"

Yet the chant was still going on. "Louise!" Saito screamed as he rolled away from a gryphon's paws, the shield on his back unclasped and put on within seconds, the seconds long enough to parry a gout of flames that came at him, but also made his arm burn from the heat propagating across the shield. "I'm cooking in here!"

The chant was not yet finished.

"Seriously cooking!" Saito continued, but the creature's other heads spun around the boy who had to hold his shield up, less he be cooked to a crisp. "Oh crap-Louise!" a snake-like head slammed into his side, the fangs biting down on his breastplate and shattering against it, yet also denting the armor. His right foot crushed against the beak of the Gryphon, shattering it as his left foot instead stomped down on the Manticore's face.

The humanoid-like heads didn't seem all that dangerous, at least, until they began to flail their limbs and chant.

"It can also use magic?" Saito wheezed out, his chest being constricted by the powerful maws of the serpent head, thus making oxygen an important commodity. "This is so unfair-"

Finally, the blinding light of Louise's spell showed itself, and Saito sighed in relief as it encompassed all of the creature's massive frame, the pressure against his breastplate coming less and freeing him from the serpent's maw, stumbling away from the corpse as the toxic breath of the creature rushed its course through the quickly beating heart of the boy.

His skin was coarse and red, looking even a bit raw to the sight. It wasn't like the others had emerged unscathed, the fog having done its course on their skin too. Yet they looked as if they had gone through a very aggressive peeling, which would probably leave their skins smooth like those of a baby.

"Should we ask for increased hazard pay?" Saito asked belatedly, as Louise snorted and began to chant once more, this time for an Explosion spell. The spell was noticeably longer than the Sleep spell, and as Saito was held up by Ulfric's right arm passing beneath the boy's left arm and circling around his back, the mercenary whistled in appreciation at the sight of the sleeping creature.

"You adventurers never fail to surprise me. Those things you did-I know of older men that would have wept in fear and pissed their pants rather than do something like that," Ulfric added. Saito wheezed out a dry chuckle, and then gasped for air as a sudden sharp spike of pain struck him in the sides. At first, he thought it had simply been the armor of Ulfric, a bit of it might have hit his raw flesh and made it feel like a dagger in his flesh.

Unfortunately, as it turned out, it was a dagger in the sides.

"This is for breaking the oath of surrender," Ulfric whispered harshly as he twisted the dagger. "This is for breaking it twice," he pulled the dagger out, and slammed it back inside once more, "And this is for breaking it thrice."

The last stab of the dagger would have aimed at Saito's face, had the boy not been saved by a sharp pointy tip of a swordwand coming from Tiffania's delicate hands, which caught the mercenary by surprise long enough to make him push Saito's bleeding body against the girl, who let go of the blade she was holding on to improperly, only to grasp hold of the dying boy.

The mercenary spat to the side, "Stay out of it, girl-" Ulfric pulled out his sword and began to walk forward calmly. "It doesn't concern you. These two are scum, and must pay the price."

"P-Please don't!" Tiffania stammered out. "W-Why would you do this?! This-This is not right!"

"Not right?" Ulfric chuckled. "They were offered terms of surrender. They accepted them. Then they broke them. Once, it would have been a slap. Twice, it would have meant a flogging. Thrice? Thrice means death. We mercenaries don't have many rules. 'Obey the one who pays' is usually such a deep and vague thing we don't even bother much with loyalty for loyalty's sake, but the first rule is simple to everyone involved. 'Surrender is surrender'. You never know if you'll be fighting against or together with the mercenary you have in front of you in the future, so if someone surrenders, you treat him well because it might just be you the next time, or you might need him to guard your back in a future war! Surrender terms are to be respected-always! It's just fucking common sense!"

He pointed his sword at the still chanting Louise and at the bleeding Saito. "And they've trampled on them! They're not the only ones who do this shit, and they always end up the same way. The news' already spread throughout the whole of Halkeginia by now. 'If you have the chance, against a masked and a dark haired boy working together, stab them, because they broke the terms'. Look, you're not involved with them, so just step away. I'll add something to it too: I get the pay for the Hydra's death, and I use that to buy you a coach anywhere you want to go. You don't have to waste your life away for these guys, girl."

He furrowed his brows, "But if you're not going to, then I'll really have to get mean. I'd rather have my women laughing in my arms rather than screaming at the end of my sword, but-well, I did my fair share of razing villages to the ground."

He had meanwhile kept walking forward, "So I'm used to it," the pommel of his sword came cruising down for Tiffania's face, but Saito's hand grabbed on to the pommel with his right hand, his legs bending as he slammed his dagger straight through the man's chainmail, cutting through steel and pushing the giant mercenary backwards.

"Keep her out of this!" Saito gurgled, his vision blurry from the blood loss and the poisonous fog.

"Why you brat!" the pommel struck down mercilessly on Saito's helmet, making it ring deeply, and denting it quite a bit from the strength of the blow. The blow came again, and again, Saito's brain wobbling about in the boy's poor skull.

Strength waned from the boy's arms, and as it finally dropped to nothing, the mercenary kicked him in the side, sending him to bleed on the ground his last. "You're tenacious, I'll give you that," Ulfric snarled, and lifted his sword upwards, ready to bring the blade down on his unprotected neck. "But this ends now-"

In that moment, a manticore emerged from the bushes and roared, slamming into the mercenary's back and quickly proceeding to claw at its chainmail and rip the metallic rings away, while the scorpion tail slammed fast and hard wherever it could find flesh to puncture. There was a movement of jaws, a quick snap, and then it was over.

Ulfric's fingers twitched one last time, and as the manticore began to feed over the body, a broken chain was visible by the creature's right hind paw. The beast had probably been one of the many creatures in the 'zoo', and it had then broken free just at the right moment.

It turned its feral eyes and blood-dripping fangs towards Saito and Tiffania, but then bared its teeth as a warning and began to drag the corpse away, its desire for prey fully satisfied.

"Argh-" Saito mumbled. "Louise's going to hold this over me," he clutched at the wound that was copiously bleeding. "Just-argh-need some bandages-"

"Wait," Tiffania whispered, her hands bounding together in a sort of prayer as her ring began to gingerly shine. "Here-" she lowered the shining ring to his wound, which began to close rapidly. "It-It was my mother's," she added in a quiet whisper. "I use it to heal the orphans from scraps and bruises, but it works just as well with this sort of wounds-"

Saito blinked. Tiffania was wearing white robes, and was capable of healing people.

"You're a White Mage," Saito blurted out. "Tank, DPS and White Mage," he said to himself. "Now we just need the Roguish Bard and then we'll be set for a full party."

Tiffania brought a hand to Saito's forehead in worry. Perhaps he was feverish from the poison? If that was the case, then she'd have to suck the poison out. The breastplate had been punctured-maybe the snake's fangs had bit him?

When the blinding white explosion tore asunder to thin shreds the Chimaera, leaving nothing behind it could regenerate from, Louise turned with a tired, but satisfied expression.

She blinked at the sight of a chest naked Saito with Tiffania's roving hands on his -Louise's propriety- chest.

She didn't consider the lack of Ulfric at the present time as something worthy of notice, or at the blood trail on the ground.

No.

She had righteous fury to smite upon the Elf.

How dare that vile devil try to tempt her man like that?

Inquisition!

She would never expect Louise's Inquisition!

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Eighty-Six

Getting paid and hiring a coach for Tristain was the first thing they did, and it was only once they were safely inside the carriage and on their way did the silence finally break. Mostly, it broke as Tiffania massaged her red ears, which Louise had pulled with quite the strength in an effort to get her off Saito.

"So," Louise said dryly, looking at her fingers as a red welt was both on Saito and Tiffania's cheeks. "Let me understand this. While I was busy chanting the Vaporize spell, the mercenary whom we previously had never met, never spoken to, never even known of, somehow decided to go against his orders, spout some meaningless drivel, and then try to kill you," she said, pointing at Saito. "When he was getting the upper hand however, a manticore popped out of the bushes and killed him, dragging his corpse away."

Louise's eyes narrowed. "And that somehow ended with you chest-naked and this-this Elf having her hands all over your chest," she said calmly, as if it didn't bother her one bit. "You do understand how contrived and utterly stupid this is, don't you? Even a moron would come up with a better excuse. If you had told me you had somehow slipped in the mud, and her hands had ended up beneath your armor, it might even had worked as an excuse-not."

There was fury in Louise's eyes. "However, let's say I believe you. Let's say this mercenary was somehow a really dear friend -by mere coincidence- with those stooges we hit more than once and defended against, while saving Siesta. Why would he do that? He knew where we slept, didn't he? He could have called up his friends and hit us in the middle of the night, while we all were sleeping. He couldn't know I had to concentrate on my spell and thus couldn't keep track of my surroundings-"

"You do?" Saito blinked.

"It depends on how big I want the 'Vaporize' spell to be, Saito," Louise clicked her tongue against her teeth. "For something as big as a Chimaera, of course I would have to concentrate fully. Still, he might have been thinking that after a Square spell -or what looked like it to his eyes- I might be drained of willpower. It would make sense for him to attack then, since Tiffania here does appear to be utterly defenseless," she bared her teeth, "This conniving thief of fiances that she is."

Tiffania looked away, her cheeks burning with sheer embarrassment. "But this isn't about the technical details of how I use my spells," Louise said hotly. "This is about a mercenary we never met somehow deciding he had to kill us all because we did...what, exactly? Not let a bunch of mercenaries kidnap a girl for a noble's rapist tendencies? Is that it? Seriously? We're in Gallia. How do news even travel this fast?"

Louise grumbled, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Unless Count Mott somehow decided to get his revenge even after the Cardinal tried to appease him? Something like, 'go around and spread the news, they can't be trusted and I'll pay good for their heads' but even that-seriously, they sold masks like mine at Valier, and you're not the first dark-haired boy to exist in this world."

Louise stood up from her spot on the coach and moved, sharply putting herself on Saito's lap. "The last thing though is the manticore. I mean, I doubt my mother is shadowing us since the day we left, and for it to come just at the crucial time-it doesn't make much sense."

Louise tapped her cheek. "Unless-" she shook her head. "No. That's impossible."

"What's impossible?" Saito asked, squirming uncomfortably since Louise was squeezing his feet with her own, a form of sadistic punishment, perhaps.

"You said you stabbed him, but you didn't see him bleed, did you?" Louise remarked. "And he kept fighting ever after that, right?"

"I wasn't trying to kill him-so maybe I didn't stab all that deep? I mean-I'm sure I did stab him straight, but maybe he had more armor beneath the chainmail? Are you implying he could have been one of The Undead?" Saito asked. "He was alive, pretty much his skin was as red as yours or mine-like, I'm sure of it!"

"I just can't understand if we're lucky, unlucky, or something in between!" Louise said with a huff, scratching the sides of her hair furiously. "It doesn't make sense! None of it makes sense! Either the Founder's smiling down on us, or he's taken a sadistic sense of pleasure in watching us suffer!"

Saito sighed, and his arms moved around Louise's trembling frame quietly. "It's going to be all right."

"That's easy for you to say, since you don't worry about anything," Louise shot back hotly, "People who do have a brain between their ears need to use it!" she shook her head, but simply clutched on to Saito's arms around her waist with her fingers holding on tightly.

"You're going to grow wrinkles if you keep worrying so much," Saito said.

"Oh?" Louise's voice came out kind-of cold, "And what if I do?" she asked, nonchalantly even as her fingers prepared themselves to pinch Saito's own in a rendition of a 'I will snap them if you say one more word'.

"I'll keep loving you all the same, wrinkles or not," Saito answered quite smoothly, so smoothly in fact that even Louise had to blink at how the line was delivered. Her face then turned brightly red, and she fidgeted with her hands on her knees.

The short gasp on the other side of the carriage -Tiffania's courtesy- broke the spell. Louise's embarrassment was replaced with cold and quite loathsome anger. "As for you," she said, "Just-just what made you think checking him for a wound in that way was going to be proper? Saito's not one of those kids you check to see how well along they are on their way of growing fat and juicy for you to-"

"I don't eat children!" Tiffania exclaimed. "I told you I don't-"

"Then explain those!" Louise snapped, pointing at the girl's breasts. "Humans don't grow them that big!"

"B-But my mother had bigger!" Tiffania snapped back, tears in the corners of her eyes. She brought both arms to cover them, "A-Are they really so horrible?"

"No!" Saito said, shaking his head vehemently. "There are men who would die for those-"

And he suddenly found himself with a very sharp elbow pointed between his legs. "Oh?" Louise said, staring at the nails of her other hand, "Do continue, Saito."

"There are men, of course not me since I have my dear Louise," Saito said earnestly, "who do love big...qualities like those. But not me. No, I like my Louise just as she is. Yes, but I know a lot of people, my old friend Otias for example, who would have loved to burrow his face in those-"

"Enough with your old friend's perversion," Louise said dryly, her eyes driving drills through Saito's spine by sheer 'chills' alone.

Apparently satisfied, Louise sat back down properly on Saito's lap, and crossed her legs as would a Queen about to pass judgment upon a sinner. "I still don't trust you," Louise said hotly, "Even if you did help Saito, believing him, and that's hard since he always has the best to say about people-still! Believing him, you deserve some form of official recognition for your efforts. Maybe being half-Elf means that rather than being half-heretic, you are merely only half-worthy of Founder Brimir's grace. I can live with a Half-Human hanging around," Louise nodded. "So-"

"Louise...if you keep saying things like 'Half-Human' or calling Tiffania names, I won't talk to you until you apologize."

Louise's head turned rapidly towards Saito, whose eyes however remained pretty firmly set in a determined gaze. "It doesn't matter how cute you are, or how much I love you-some things shouldn't be said because they are wrong. Tiffania's Tiffania, not a baby-eating Elf, and just because you misunderstood doesn't mean it's her fault and she has to apologize for it. Things like 'heretic' or not-if someone's kind and nice, does it matter what they believe in? If someone's simply concerned about your health, does it matter if they're an Elf or a Human? I wouldn't mind meeting a kind Orc, or pet a good gryphon."

Louise huffed, and crossed her arms. "I will not apologize. It's not like you talking to me or not will make a difference anyway!" she briskly added, hotly looking away from him and 'huffing' in displeasure.

Thus, Saito remained silent.

By the end of the third day of the trip back home, Louise's eyes had deep rings around them and the girl looked more like a banshee stalking a cemetery at night than a normal human girl.

Still, Saito did not relent.

It drove Louise mad.

Especially because they still had a week left to travel.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Eighty-Seven

Louise whimpered softly, and then bit down on her knuckles. "Saito-" she received, of course, no reply. Saito simply looked at her, and then at Tiffania, his expression unfaltering.

In the boy's mind, he was acting like a true Nippon, a Samurai that does not bend, no matter how cute the person in front of him is. His spine was made of true katana steel, folded over a thousand times. He would not bend! No matter how much Louise seemed to be lacking sleep, or how pale she was turning out to be, he had no intention of letting her continue like this.

"Mister Saito," Tiffania said softly, "I-I don't think you should keep doing this. Miss Louise is clearly hurt by your silence," the girl fidgeted with her fingers, "I don't want to be the cause of any grief between two lovers-I understand and-"

"Tiffania," Saito said, locking eyes with her. "You're a good girl. And I can't stand people saying mean thing to good girls, no matter who they are," he smiled then, "I'm sure Louise will come around."

"Don't speak as if I'm not here," Louise said bitterly, clutching her knees right by Saito's side. Saito, in turn, simply remained quiet. "I said-"

She turned towards Tiffania, "You! If you really don't want to bring grief between us, then tell him I'm not going to apologize for what I know is the word of the Gods and the Founder!"

Tiffania hesitated, and then looked towards Saito. "Miss Louise says she has...she has nothing to apologize for."

"Tiffania," Saito said softly, "Who is this 'Miss Louise' you are speaking of? My Louise's a kind girl who would help anyone in need and certainly wouldn't say something as silly as believing in a book over what she sees with her own eyes."

"The Holy Founder's Book is the basis of our religion! Of my religion! Of your religion-" she stammered, her eyes wide. "Wait-Wait a moment, if you're not from this world-then...oh no," she mumbled to herself for a brief instant, "You're a non-believer, aren't you?"

Saito didn't answer, but simply scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I fell in love with a heretic," Louise continued in disbelief, shaking her head. "Really-the devil's temptations-Father Christoff would be so ashamed of me. Damn it, Saito-stop ignoring me!" she snapped angrily next. "Come on!" she grabbed his arm, "You can't really think this isn't a big deal! Enough with the silent treatment!"

Saito still didn't answer, crossing his arms in front of his chest and looking out of the carriage's window. He wasn't afraid of Louise's swordwand, or of the strength of her fingers pinching at his arm.

"Why you!" Louise snapped, her shoulders trembling as she began to sniffle.

"Ah-please-please don't cry-" Tiffania said, "I'm sorry-"

"N-No," Louise sniffled, "I'm sorry-I'm sorry-" as the girl finally apologized, Tiffania extended her arms like she did with the orphans she took care of, and Louise actually jumped in those arms sniffling and crying.

Saito couldn't help but feel his face flush, and brought a hand to his nose as the spectacle in front of him was quite 'interesting' to say the least. He wiped the blood away with Charlotte's handkerchief, putting it back in his pocket shortly after.

Once the tears were spent, and the apologies ran dry, Louise turned to look at Saito with an angry glare. "Now-Now you'll talk to me, right?"

"Yes," Saito nodded. "See? Isn't forgiveness a part of Brimir's faith anyway?"

Saito winced and then paled as he didn't even see the foot that flickered from where Louise stood on the carriage right an inch before his family jewels, leaving behind the steam formed due to just how fast it had moved.

"Now let's move to something more important," she snapped curtly.

"We already had the discussion about me not following your religion!" Saito exclaimed.

"I know," Louise nodded. "I just realized you haven't converted yet. We can't have that be known, so-"

"Wait. What?" Saito furrowed his brows. "I'm not converting."

"B-But you have to!" Louise snapped. "How do you plan on marrying me otherwise?!"

"Well-We can still go to the church-"

"But if you haven't even been baptized, then the marriage's worthless!" her hands gripped tightly at Saito's by the scruff of the neck, "You will not marry me with sin still clutching your soul, Saito! That is not how our marriage is going to work! Like King Jean said: Lutece is well worth a bath!"

"Not a chance!" Saito exclaimed, shaking his head.

"Then I won't talk to you until you apologize to the Founder and the Gods and baptize yourself! Let's see how this ends!" and with those words said, it was Louise's turn to cross her arms in front of her chest and look away, huffing.

"Louise!" Saito yelled hotly, "You can't be this hardheaded! Come on-I was ignoring you first!"

The smile of victory on Louise's lips did not leave the young woman all the way through the remaining days of the trip back into Tristain, even as the field of battle had shifted, and so too had the contestants.

Tiffania was the first one to descend, hesitant at first, but then resolute as they reached the Tristain Magic Academy's courtyard. As the trio descended from the coach, and the coachman took a sigh of relief and then moved the coach to the side standing in wait, Tiffania bowed primly to the two of them.

"Thank you for escorting me here safely," she said with a small warm smile. "I hope you will make peace with one another," she added softly.

"If she stopped being such a hardheaded woman," Saito sighed, passing a hand through his hair in disbelief.

"If he stopped being such a heretic," Louise answered in turn, huffing and pushing her hair behind her shoulder. They locked eyes next and narrowed them at one another.

"Tiffania? Tiffania!" from the top of the academy's tallest tower, a green-haired woman descended with the clear use of magic, landing softly on the ground and then rushing towards her. "Oh! I was so worried!" she brought both hands to the girl's cheeks as Tiffania fidgeted under the embarrassing 'spotlight' her older sister was putting her through.

"B-Big sister Ma-" her big sister hugged her tightly, taking her breath away.

"There's a lot we need to speak of, but not here-" she added, "And I must thank these kind people for carrying you all the way here," she turned towards the two of them, a smile plastered on her face. She bowed with grace, "I thank you for carrying my sister all the way here-"

"It wasn't a problem at all," Saito said with a wave of the hand, while Louise simply nodded with a small smile.

Tiffania's big sister turned to walk back inside the academy with her sister in tow, the half-elf carrying her small backpack tightly from sheer nervousness.

The moment she was out of their sight, Saito sighed. "She's such a good girl. I hope she gets all the luck from now on-"

"Yeah," Louise nodded. "She's not that bad, for-wait a moment, I'm ignoring you! Ignoring y-"

Still, the moment of anger was broken, and on the way back, the two reconciled.

Anger was replaced by sheer terror upon the realization that Louise's father would personally test Saito's worth since he had all the intentions of 'staying' together with his daughter.

Louise had thought her mother to be the scary one, but her father wearing an armor and standing atop a manticore himself?

He was quite scary too.

"Now then, for my youngest's hand," he brought up his rapier. "I will fight you!"

Saito nervously looked at the man with a puzzled expression. A supersonic whip of water that broke the sound barrier and cut off a few inches of Saito's hair however soon changed his opinion on the man.

The man's eyes narrowed. "The name I went by while in the Knights was Centurion! I was a captain of the Knights loyal to His Majesty, and if you think me old and fat, then think again, boy!"

"S-Saito! Don't die!" Louise yelled from the nearby balcony, her mother standing by the girl's side with a hand against her face, shaking her head. Even she, no matter how 'powerful' she was, could not stop a father's righteous desire to 'test' the boy his daughter fancied. Perhaps it was a mercy, and Pierre was doing the boy a favor.

After all, if he hadn't done this, she would have.

Something told her that Louise wouldn't forgive her that easily though, so...

It was Pierre's turn to appear as the 'tyrant' in the couple. His sacrifice would be remembered, especially because her daughter was holding on to her arm tightly, which, to her motherly heart, was pretty much a heaven-sent.

Her daughter couldn't be this cute, but she was.

And she was all hers -theirs, she quickly corrected her mind, of Pierre too, of course- so...

"Pierre! Do your best dear!" she shouted from the balcony overlooking the garden.

"OH!" Pierre's frame suddenly ignited with invisible flames, making Saito wince at the pressure. "If my lovely wife says so, then there's no way I can lose now!"

Saito clenched the handle of his sword -it had been taken as a loan from the armory, but wasn't a cheap or fake imitation. It was a solid piece of steel, and was also quite sharp in its own right.

Thus there they stood.

Two men facing one another with their beloved ones watching them fight.

Just like knights out of a fairy tale.

Only, one of the two knights had magic and wasn't afraid of using it.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Eighty-Eight

Louise's father had to be old. Well, he didn't look old, but if he had served under the previous King, and was now retired, he had his years on his back to account for, didn't he?

As it turned out, it didn't matter one bit to Louise's dad. The Manticore moved with grace and speed, and as whips of water began to form from the man's chant, they departed like blossoming petals of a rose from the top of his wand. Only, they were deadly whips of supersonic water that seemed keen on shattering the ground around Saito's feet rather than actually strike at him.

It was pretty obvious that the man had no intention of actually killing him, no matter what hard front he put on. On one side, this eased Saito's mind. On the other, he really didn't want to be considered as someone who needed a token victory.

He clenched the sword tightly, and narrowed his eyes. The whips all formed and disappeared swiftly, blurring forth with great speed and immobilizing him on the spot for the Manticore to pin him down. That was the plan from what Saito could understand. Preventing him from moving, and then pushing him down to have a victory.

Well, he couldn't have that.

He didn't have a scabbard for the Iaido technique, but considering how bulky the sword was -even if it felt lighter than air in his hands- he could do something else.

He slammed his sword down on the ground with enough strength to shatter the compact dirt and send tiny ripples out, at the same time pulling up from the floor itself a few hard rocks with a single fluid movement. He spun the blade and slammed the flat side home against the rock's sides, sending them to strike at Louise's father. The Manticore aptly dodged out of the way, and in those scant few seconds before they would reach him, Saito charged forward, the change of position having changed the whips' target too.

When he reappeared by Pierre's side, the Manticore's legs made a quick turn, eyes narrow as it tried to prevent the outflanking of its master. Pierre's wand, clad within a sword, moved at the same time to parry the blow.

"The flat of the blade?" he mused dryly, "You are not taking this very seriously, are you?" he added hotly, his eyes alight with passion. "That won't do-That won't do at all!"

A blast of water exploded outwardly from the top of the man's sword, sending Saito backwards as the runes in his hand briefly burst to life, most of the strength behind the magical attack denied as the boy landed backwards, the blade surrounded by circling water. Saito didn't waste the chance to swing his blade, unleashing the blast straight at the manticore's face, which closed its eyes on instinct.

Saito took that as the cue to charge right ahead and slam his right foot on the creature's nose, going for a frontal charge. As he slammed the side of the sword against Pierre's rapier, the form blurred and disappeared together with the man, leaving behind only a puddle of water.

"The proprieties of a Water Mage are as follow, depending upon their level of expertise," the man said calmly, his voice coming from behind Saito as he deftly avoided a thrust of the rapier. "Dot level Water Mages conjure forth water in pressurized blasts, are renowned alchemists and can deal with minor scrapes. Line level Water Mages can lift river courses to use as streams of attack, summon forth whips and control them, and generally start doing nifty tricks that made Water Mages renowned as tenacious bastards like healing themselves while still fighting," the man smiled as he thrust with his rapier again and again.

The ground beneath Saito's feet suddenly stopped being dirt, and as he dropped down to his knees, he began to parry the blows that came raining down on him. "Triangle is where it becomes even worse, boy! Be smart enough, and you can make illusions, turn invisible, develop truly devastating combinations of destruction-and the chanting on Dot spells drops down considerably," the man smiled even as the quicksand turned back to earth once more, trapping Saito's feet. "Against any soldier, trapping their mobility is a sure way of defeating them."

Saito's eyes narrowed ever so slightly as the man pushed back his rapier. In that instant, he broke free from the dirt by slamming his sword's flat side on the ground, using it as an impromptu lever as he spun in mid-air, bearing the full crushing weight of the sword upon the man's rapier, which however gingerly deflected the blow away.

"There's no grace in your movements, boy!" Pierre snapped. "There's no grace at all! You should fight with a mace then, or perhaps a greatsword. Definitely not with a weapon that requires such careful handling!"

"You talk too much," Saito said.

"Maybe because you talk too little," Pierre replied with a warm chuckle. He really wasn't taking him seriously, was he?

Swinging the blade towards Pierre's frame, the man simply began to chant as he stepped away from the crescent arc the tip of the sword made, before stumbling slightly back as the blade of wind impacted against his rapier, nearly losing his grip on it. He blinked as he suddenly found himself staring straight into the eyes of Saito, who had swung his sword right under the man's guard and impacted it against his armor.

There was a resounding 'dong' as the flat side of the blade struck the armor, and as Pierre sighed and sheathed his rapier, the man shook his head. "This doesn't even feel like a proper fight at all. Seriously boy," the man shook his head as he watched his wife from the balcony purse her lips in thought, while Louise was simply smiling at the boy's victory. "That was a pretty pathetic display of spirit."

"I-Well," Saito blinked. "It's just-how can I take you seriously?"

"Fair point," Pierre said with a sigh, his shoulders slumping down. "Beneath this armor there's enough flub to make me look like a jellyfish. Once, I was the most desirable male of all Tristain," he added as he twirled his mustache with his fingers, "Now if I were to don an armor, I'd look like a fool, or perhaps the court jester," he shook his head. "I even prepared this choreography in my mind where any suitor of my daughters would have to face me with everything he had, and then we'd end up clashing fist against fist."

There were stars in the man's eyes, "Just like the good old times." There was a wistful smile on his face. "Oh well, these are just the ramblings of an old fool. It isn't as if I would have stopped you from marrying my daughter no matter the results. She had nothing but praise for you for the whole week you were asleep," here his voice turned dark, "Seriously, daughters should all be daddy's little girls at least until they are thirty, or maybe forty. This is such an unfair thing." The Duke of La Valliere grabbed his rapier a bit more tightly, his eyes narrow and clouded.

Saito took a step back, the sudden pressure of 'death' exuding from the man's frame utterly different than the relaxed one he had on before.

His eyes lit up with promises of wanton murder.

Unfortunately, Louise arrived in a hurry to jump in Saito's arms with a bright smile, which all but deflated the Duke's rekindled instinct of murdering the man in front of him.

On the other hand, if the boy wouldn't take him seriously, then perhaps it was time for Amethyst and Daphne to take a stab at him. Maybe not really a 'stab' as much as a 'bite'.

The two had said they wouldn't have minded taking another 'sip' out of him, so he was sure they'd be delighted at the opportunity of having a snack.

Truly, he was doing this out of concern for Louise.

She would need a strong person by her side.

The assassin that killed Cattleya, after all, had been someone so strong he had knocked Karin out in a single blow.

 

[shadenight123]

Chapter Eighty-Nine

Saito couldn't sleep. Perhaps it was because he was used to having Louise nearby, but without her in the same room, he felt restless. He stood up from his bed and made his way to the window, gazing out at the moons hanging up in the sky. He wondered if his parents would ever forgive their wayward son for not returning home, but he was an adult, and it was time he made his own decisions, and lived by his own rules.

He squashed down the lingering longing for home and turned his attention to the reflection in the window of his face. "Mom would be so proud of me doing something good with my life other than simply breathing and living on," he chuckled as the door behind him creaked open, a light cloud of fog seeping in.

Frowning, the boy turned with a hand already on the hilt of his dagger, the blade being -for safety reasons- always in its sheathe by his waist. Perhaps this was another test of the Duke? It could pretty much-

The door slammed open with thundering strength, shattering it off its hinges as a figure with dark hair rushed the distance between the doorway and him in a split-second, a hand the size of a child's reaching his chest and then pushing him outside, through the window itself.

Saito had barely the time to blink as his back crashed against the glass, past it, and off into the air. His back burned with pain as blood dripped across his sight, the shards of glass embedded deep within his shoulders. The child-like figure was upon him in a second, eyes narrow and crimson as vivid imagery of black leathery wings spread from her back, fangs gleaming in the night.

Within seconds, Saito's left hand gripped at the thrusting claws of the vampire, and his body spun in mid-air, dagger and runes both shining brightly like the sunlight as they proceeded to swipe away at the creature's shadowy wings. The boy jumped in mid-air, using the vampire's falling body as a stepping stone to reach the lake's center, where he slammed in with a spin, slicing the water surface and forcing a column of water to erupt upon his landing spot.

Gasping for air as he emerged, he saw no signs of the vampire.

"Gah!" he coughed, "L-Louise," he muttered, eyes narrow as he began to rush back to the shore. The moment his right hand touched the ground, a foot slammed upon it, and he lifted his gaze to stare at the lolita -couldn't be anything but a lolita- that was looking down on him with a bloodied shard of glass in her right hand.

Slowly, the vampire licked the glass once with her tongue, the smile on her face positively feral. "I will enjoy you for dinner," the creature of the night said darkly, "And then I might move on to more appetizing things."

Saito screamed as he tried to push the foot off his hand, but once it became clear that it wouldn't be possible from that position, he pushed it down and cracked the very ground. The vampire had to jump back with a whistle of approval, but she then stopped whistling as she was forced to dodge the swings coming her way.

"You're fast," the vampire murmured, "But not fast enough-"

Her left arm fell neatly on the ground, making the vampire actually blink. "Uh-I didn't feel that-" The next hit went straight for her eye, slamming her body on the ground as Saito gasped for air, the foe vanquished in front of him.

His eyes widened and he felt his stomach knot itself at the gory sight, and thus missed the twitching severed limb that stood back up, and then flexed its fingers to jump right for Saito's throat, squeezing at his neck.

"Really? Not even finishing the job?" the vampire sat back up, removing the dagger with her remaining hand as the eye reformed, the wounds sizzling to a close. "Don't you know that as long as a vampire isn't burned to ashes, we can regenerate at will?" she stood up as Saito clutched the limb still squeezing at him. "We are the cursed-the born of death," the vampire grinned as she showed her fangs, her remaining hand gingerly caressing with the tip of its index Saito's nose ridge as the boy's face turned blue from lack of oxygen. "Just because I'm cute doesn't mean you get to underestimate me."

She straddled him and brought her fangs to bare, "Time to dig in then~"

The second dagger slammed home in her heart, making her wince as her chest fractured under the strength of the blow and sent her flying backwards. Saito's eyes were closed as one of his hands moved to grip the limb that menaced to snap his neck and squeezed it off him, the wrist shattering.

"Yoh lady," Saito's mouth spoke. "Tis I, Derflinger." His right hand massaged his neck, "You sure did a number on the user," he added. "Still alive though-should have been faster."

"So it was you back then?" the vampire muttered as her body reformed itself, tendrils of blood lurching from the severed hand to reconnect with the limb. "No, your stance is different-"

"Let's just say We Are Legion," Derflinger replied, the runes shining. "But time's short. I'd love to speak with such a nice girl like you a bit more, but if you're trying to kill the User, then I'll just have to kill you first."

Then, Saito's body bent his knees down and began to rush forward, cracking the ground beneath his feet as he drove the dagger down. As the vampire brought her arms up to block the blow, Saito's body twisted at an unnatural angle to slam his foot against the girl's stomach making her bend in two as the blade of the dagger came cruising down for the neck.

Whips of earth grabbed the boy's arm, paralyzing it in place as a second girl appeared with a startled expression.

"Amethyst, are you all right?"

"Sister-aim for the blade," Amethyst spoke as she rushed away, "I think I've seen enough."

The rocks shattered around the imprisoned limb, and as they did Saito's body was free to rush forth once more.

"Pierre," Karin said with a desperate sigh, looking from the window at the battle down below. "Would you kindly go down there and stop them before they ruin the gardens and wake up everyone in the house? Everyone who isn't already awake, that is."

Pierre nervously laughed, "Why! Amethyst and Daphne are no rookies, they put everyone except us to sleep with a Sleep spell-"

And that was when Saito's body flopped down, the runes running out abruptly of power. "And it is now over," Pierre added with a thoughtful look. "The boy fought very well."

"Perhaps," Karin acquiesced. "Perhaps he did, but his movements are all over the place."

"I can arrange for someone to train him," Pierre said. "I know of a few who would be willing, but Osmond might not be amenable."

Karin rolled her eyes. "I'll talk with the man myself. If he agreed to one bodyguard, he can agree to two."

Pierre winced. "Could you let me do the talking, dear wife? Please?"

Karin huffed, not at all convinced.

"If you do not have to talk with the headmaster, you'll have more time with Louise," Pierre pointed out smoothly. His wife quickly conceded the well-thought point, and headed back to bed.

When Saito woke up the next morning, he felt as if somebody had beaten the living crap out of him.

He also felt faint, as if somebody had sucked him dry of blood.

Yet, somehow, the vivid dream of having slept with two pretty girls was also there, and the main reason why he didn't think the day would be so bad.

Louise stepping inside his room and then balking suddenly changed his mood.

There actually were two sleeping girls in his bed, together with him.

And they were sleeping like rocks, each using one of his arms as a pillow.

Louise, very calmly, brought her wand out.

"L-Louise, I-I do-don't know how this happened-I can't explain this-" Saito whimpered.

"Of course you can explain," Louise replied sweetly, with a wise nod as crackling electricity made her hair rise up. "After I've vaporized you, you can explain in the afterlife to the Founder and the Gods how much of a horny dog you are!"

Then, all was explosions.