'Italics' are thoughts.
Bold is for spells.
*around a word* means a scene change to that location.
_ is P.O.V. change
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
P.O.V. Isabella
It was a beautiful day outside, as I sat down at a coffee show, pulling my laptop and headphones out of my backpack. It wasn't all that often when it became this nice mid-winter in Kansas, and I wanted to make the most of. The laptop powered up quickly as I took a sip of the coffee I had ordered. She smiled as one of her favorite games, World of Warcraft, launched, quickly hopping into my guilds vent channel, plugging in the audio and microphone jack into the device, putting the headphones down over my ears, nearly canceling out any outside noise.
"What's up Linth?" a voice was heard through the headset, causing the girl to grin.
"Nothing much, Grim," I responded, earning a squeal for one of the few other girls in the guild.
"Linthice! Are you coming to join us for some mythic dungeons?" The discipline priest asked excitedly. Me, bubbed Linthice by my guildmates, chuckled.
"Sure Syla. My horiscope did say I was going to have a pretty boring day," I respounded, receiving a couris of yeses and excellents through vent.
"Let's get this show on the road, then," Grim said, sending out invites to group members. However, how little did the I know that my horoscope was terribly, terribly, wrong.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
*In Halkegina*
Meanwhile, on a whole other world, a young girl by the name of Louise Francoise Lu Blanc de La Valliere, or simply Louise if you didn't want to remember what had to be one of the longest names of all time, or by her peers, Louise the Zero. The small girl, whose body almost resembled that of a child's, being less than five foot and having a chest about as flat as a board, despite her age of sixteen. In addition to her childlike appearance, she had unnatural (by earth standards) pink hair and eyes. It was the day of the summoning ritual, and she was nervous enough as it was. Even more so, due to that fact that she hated to admit, because she couldn't even to the simplest spell to save her life! Transmutation spell, an explosion. A Fire spell, an explosion. Even the simplest spells would cause an explosion! It pissed her off to no end, and if she couldn't summon a familiar, even the simplest one, she would be kicked-out the Academy for sure. 'A dragon!' the girl thought, 'I'll summon a dragon! That will shut Kirchie up!' Her face turned into a frown. At least she didn't make that promise out loud. Now to see if she actually could.
P.O.V. Louise
Despite the bravado back at my room (and the other day, for that matter), I was that last person to summon a familiar. Of course, it was Kirchie that pointed the matter out. much to the my annoyance. 'I just have to cast one spell. One spell that doesn't end in an explosion. Here goes nothing,' I though, focusing on my spell, "My servant that exists in this vast universe, my divine, beautiful, wise, powerful servant, I wish from the very bottom of my heart! Answer to my guidance and appear!" I practically shouted, wand held high.
BOOM! Just like with every other spell I had cast, the first notable event was the explosion, the shockwaves and force knocking over several students and familiars, along with throwing up a cloud of dirt and soot. I was too far into her own thoughts to notice what everyone around her was saying. 'I really am a zero,' I thought, resisting the urge to cry, 'I'll be expelled for sure!' Despite that, I heard the gasp that begun to go up, pulling my eyes away from my shoes. 'Did I really just summon a commoner for a familiar? I guess I really am a zero.' I could only guess what I summoned was a commoner. I could only see the back of it's head. It wore some type of short black shirt, and strangely some type of green earmuffs (I was guessing they were earmuffs. What else could they be?). My eyebrow began to twitch in a mixture of shock and no small part rage.
"Who are you?" I demanded approaching calmly, as my position as a noble demanded. My 'familiar' gave no response, focusing on the glowing thing in front of it, with the earmuffs plugged into the strange device. "Who are you?!" I snapped this time, temper rising. This time, I got a response, my familiar's left hand moving away from the device to grasp something. It attempted to grab something that obviously wasn't there, only to just notice that fact. It suddenly said something I couldn't understand, and whatever it was, it didn't appear to be aimed at me. 'Great,' I thought, 'Not only have I summoned a commoner as a familiar, it just happens to be insane.' The next thing I knew though, my familiar was a flurry of activity. Things I didn't understand flashed across the lit up portion of the device, as my familiar pulled the thin piece of equipment that connected the earmuffs to it, before taking the earmuffs themselves off and putting them in a pack that I had just noticed was on my familiar's right. It pulled a case out, put another strange item inside, before placing the box back into the pack, before finally returning its attention to the device that had held its attention, which whatever it is was no longer glowing and was simply black. It pulled down on the top part, until it covered a panel that was covered in strange ruins. Like everything else before it, the device went into the pack, which my familiar proceeded to close, (with a strange device no less). Her familiar then proceeded to sling the sack onto it's back, before standing up and turning around, its height making it overlook my height entirely, much to my annoyance. 'It didn't even notice me, and I'm it's master!' venom was lased in each thought. 'I'm going to have to punish it for this later.' I watched as my familiar raised its hands above it's head, before saying something completely incomprehensible. Her familiar looked around at her classmates and her teacher, before falling apart into a laughing fit.
"Shut up you stupid familiar!" I shouted. Surprisingly enough, my familiar actually stopped laughing, opening it's eyes and staring straight at me. The look was a mixture of shock, and, I blinked in an attempt to read it, but pity, or was it anger I saw in my familiar's green eyes. It's faced turned stern, before saying nothing but gibberish, holding up a single finger, before it's right hand shoot into a slip on the side of it's pants, before pulling out another strange device. After pushing a few buttons, each of which caused a beeping noise to come out the device, it put one end of the device near it's ear and the other near it's mouth, saying something into it, and almost seeming to wait for a response, before responding with even more of it's gibberish. Professor Colbert almost let out a sigh. In between my anger and my strange human familiar, things were getting out of hand. Waiting for a pause in the seemingly one sided conversation, he tapped his staff to the ground. A simple translation spell should suffice. He was about to interrupt, but the girl started talking again.
"So, Mom, do you want to hear the good news first or the bad news?"
P.O.V. Isabella
I huffed as more and more volume began leaking through my headphones. It was almost like someone was shouting right behind me! Talk about rude! 'Well if you want to be inconsiderate, I have a little surprise for you,' I smirked, reaching towards the cup of coffee I had ordered. But when I went to grasp it, I only found open air. I grasped again, attempting to find my glass. And what was that tickling sensation on the underside of my right wrist. My eyes unfocus from the screen I had been paying attention to, noticing my previous surroundings were gone. No table. No people. No shop. No chair. And no tea. Scratch that, there were still people around, based on the muffled talking that made it through my headphones. Of course, it took me this long to figure out I wasn't in a chair anymore, and was rather sitting in a field. With a grey stone wall in front of my own face.
"Grim, I'm sorry but I'm going to have to call it quits for the time being," I sighed. 'So much for that horoscope. Never using you again.'
"Why?" the male asked through vent, voice slightly concerned.
"My horoscope lied to me, that's why," I said, "Hopefully this wouldn't take too long, but start without me if I take more than five minutes." I didn't even wait for a response, exiting out vent and sadly, out of WoW. I unplugged my headset, put my mouse into a container, and folded up my laptop, placing them all into my backpack, which was thankfully still with her. 'It could bring my backpack, but it couldn't bring my glass of tea. Oh well, I shouldn't look a gift horse in mouth anyway. At least I haven't been attacked yet. That's about as good a sign as any.' I thought, slinging my backpack onto my shoulder, before pulling myself up to her nearly six feet in height, turning around, raising my hands.
"Take me to your leader!" I declare, taking a look around her. Most of the people she could see where children, two, maybe three years younger than myself. Not really children, but to me it was close enough. That, plus an older man in his late thirties, maybe early forties, but had a bald shot larger than her father's (who was losing hair by the year). Even he looked somewhat bewildered, and combined with my own joke, even one that only she seemed to understand, caused her to start laughing hysterically. 'I've somehow gone from a shop merely a mile or two from my own home, and somehow I ended in a place that doesn't understand a lick of english,' she thought, only adding more laughter into her fit. I could have gone for a minute or more, but I was interrupted by someone I had overlooked. It sounded like something similar to french (I had taken a latin class a few years back and could usually tell the languages that it gave birth too appart). I opened her eyes, meeting the almost teary pink eyes of Louise. 'Holy shit, she has pink hair and eyes' was the first thought, and likely the first thing that would have came out of my mouth if I hadn't bit down on my tongue. They say that the eyes were windows into the soul, and this case was on expectation. The eyes looking at me spoke of anger, sadness, and pain, with little happiness. I blink. Hard. It was like she was looking a smaller version of me with long pink hair and pink eyes. 'Well that just made things harder. She almost looks like she's at the end of her rope. Maybe I'm here for a reason. Maybe I'm here to help her. I can't just simply leave (could I even leave in the first place). Either way, I should probably call my parents before they call the police and I end up as another girl that goes missing that they simply can't find. Like hell I'm ending up as another statistic! Wait, can I even use my phone here? My laptop works, so I can't see why not.'
"Look, I know you're mad, but can you please hold for one second. This is really important," I held up one finger, hopefully to help get the message across. Like hell I was play charades either. I fished my purple (ick) cell phone out of my jean's pocket, before dialing the number to my (former) home phone. A phone ringed a few times before my mother answered.
"Hello, who is this?" a voice came from the other end, bringing a smile to my face.
"Hey mom. What's up?" I asked, my voice wavering slightly. 'This might be the last time I ever hear from my mom ever again.' She thought, almost bringing a tear to her eye.
"Isabella, is there something wrong?" my mom's concerned voice came from the other end.
"So, Mom, do you want to hear the good news first or the bad news?" I asked, thinking of how to break this without my mother freaking out.
"The bad news. It makes the good news sound better," my mom responded.
"The bad news is I have no idea where I am. The good news is I'm not in any danger," I said, before adding an 'I think' in my thoughts.
"What do you mean you have no idea where you are? Didn't you go out for some coffee?" my mother demanded.
"Yeah, I did. And now I'm pretty sure I'm not in Kansas anymore. I'm talking about like Dorothy, not simply crossing a state line," I almost sighed. Did I really just drop a Wizard of Oz reference?
"Are you sure you just simply didn't notice? You can get pretty sucked into your games," my mother said worryingly. She was somewhat right. From what I would later understand, I had been so far into my games I didn't notice Louise calling for my. A matter a fact, I didn't even notice the portal that hovered in front of my face for a solid minute before it got tired of waiting and just simply brought me through.
"Mom you know exactly as well as I do if someone tried that," I almost shudder at the thought. At the first (and last) party I ever went too, I had been approached by someone who had gotten drunk and wanted some easy play. What he got as one of my knives in his crotch. That was not fun to explain to my parents, (but the case was thankfully written off as self defense).
"I do recall," my mom said before she was interrupted by someone else.
"I never would have guess you'd summoned an insane plebian," The girl taunted, loud enough for everyone to here. The girl, in question had a massive bust size (impossibly so), which was so going to cause her back pain in a few years (if not already), one of the strangest shades of red as her hair color, and what looked like some type of spray on tan.
"Hold on mom," I pull the phone away from my face, covering the receiver. "Can it! Adult's are trying to have a conversation over here!"
P.O.V. Kirchie
This had gone from a just another moment of teasing Louise to the girl's commoner familiar trying to embarrass me infront of everyone! That commoner dared talk to me that way! And a familiar no less!
"Louise tell your familiar to shut up now!" I shouted at her.
P.O.V. Louise
I blinked in surprise. First, either my familiar was pulling off the most elaborate ruse ever, trying to appeal to some people's emotions (at this point it was obvious that it knew that it could be understood). And now it was even calling out my archrival! Either I already had passive control over it, or my familiar was a perfect match for me. I was about to respond in kind, but the vigorous head shake, the apparently the universal symbol for no, cut me off. My unbound familiar lowered its voice voice so only I could hear it.
"Her kind lives off of getting a response. Don't grace her with one. Besides," the smirk in her tone was more than evident. "I have a much better one than you could ever give." And with that my familiar did one thing that surprised everyone. It was flipping Kirchie off.
P.O.V. Isabella
I shoot a look at the insolent redhead with a look of what could be equated to pure rage. From the looks of it, she had found the girl's chief tormenter. I had great disdain for people like her. Picking on people who she deemed lesser, which created another cycle of abuse that the first person abused would inflict on someone else to try and gain back what was lost. I was going to end that cycle. Not today, hopefully, but hopefully soon I would be able to put the girl in her place.
"Mom, I'll call you back or sent pictures when I find out more, ok. I love you," I smiled, bringing the phone back to my ear.
"Love you too, sweetheart," my mom finished, before hanging up the phone.
P.O.V. Kirchie
I was beyond seething! This, this commoner not only just flipped me off, she did it with the most sarcastic apology face ever! She acted like it was an accident, and all the while Louise did nothing! Did she not have any shame? I raised my wand, fire beginning to form around the tip of her wand.
"You!" I snarled.
P.O.V. Isabella
"You!" the redhead snarled, having drawn some type of short stick, with flames already licking around the tip.
"Get behind me, now!" I snap, positioning myself between the pinkette and the girl seething in rage.
"Kirchie, enough!" the teacher (I assumed he was a teacher), shouted.
"So that's your name," I snarl angrily, rage beginning to roil off me in waves, "Listen up Kirchie, because you are about to do something I guarantee you'll regret. Here's the thing. Right now I'm pissed off as hell, and if you think I'm scared of a girl with an ego the size of your chest and a flaming stick, you have another thing coming." My hand drops lower, pulling out one of my two throwing knives from it's pocket. If there was one thing I love about guy clothing, it's the fact that it actually had pockets!
"Enough, both of you!" The teacher shouted, "Please stand down miss, and Kirchie, you should know better." I drop my knife right back into my pocket as requested. While it takes her nearly a minute to for her to cancel whatever spell she was cooking up. "Louise, can you please continue the ritual." 'Wait, it still isn't done? Might as well see where this leads.'
"And I will also request that you do not harm any of our student's" the man said, turning to her. 'So he is a teacher. Good to know.' I thought to myself. "Are we clear?"
"I, Isabella Lin Whelan, swear to not harm student nor faculty of this institution unless I am attacked in a manner that could cause bodily harm or death to myself, and if so I will defend myself in a non lethal fashion," I say left hand raised above my head in a flat palm, while my right was placed over my heart.
"We are going to have to get that in writing, then," the professor said, clearly relieved that I wasn't going to go invisible slasher on the student body.
"I'll make sure to read the fine print," I joked, causing him to crack a slight grin.
"Professor Colbert," he said, extending his hand.
"Isabella," I shook his hand, "But Isabell or Izzy work just as well. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
P.O.V. Louise
I almost yell back at my familiar for ordering me to get behind her, until I noticed Kirchie's ignited wand. 'Oh no. My familiar has already angered a noble! Kirchie wouldn't be able to take something like this out on me, but to a commoner should could as she please!' I thought in panic. I have to do something! However, my familiar didn't seem to care at all, as it spoke, very word laced in venom.
"So that's your name," it spat, rage coming off it, almost like it was possessed, "Listen up Kirchie, because you are about to do something I guarantee you'll regret. Here's the thing. Right now I'm pissed off as hell, and if you think I'm scared of a girl with an ego the size of your chest and a flaming stick, you have another thing coming." I wanted to immediately curl up behind it and stay out of sight. It didn't help that her familiar pulled a knife out of it's pocket (I was going to have to stop calling it an it as well, or she might end up hurting me). 'What was her familiar trying to do? Get herself killed? Doesn't she understand that Kirchie is a noble?' If it wasn't for the fact I was hidden behind my familiar, my fellow students would see the panic and fear on my face! Slowly my brain slow began piecing things together. The strange cloths. The strange devices. The fact it took a translation spell for anyone to understand her. The fact that she was talking back to a noble. That I asked for a familiar that existed somewhere in the universe. 'By the Founder. Is it possible that humans existed outside of Halkeginia?' I shook of the thought. That's impossible. Right?
Thankfully, Professor Colbert quickly regained control of the situation, getting both my familiar, which happened to be Isabellalinwhelan, (weird name), who also said Isabella, Isebell, or Izzy would be appropriate (with a name like Isabellalinwhelan, I don't blame her for shortening it). And this brought forth something else that confused me completely. How did she go from practically threatening to kill someone (a noble at that), to being perfectly civil? She goes from threatening Kirchie to calmly chatting, exchanging names, and even joking with Professor Colbert in less than a minute! If I had any doubts to the mental stability of my familiar, this did nothing but confirm it. It could be worse, right? However, it was time to finish the binding ritual. I slowly approached her from behind, taping on her shoulder, getting my familiar's attention. She turned around with a slight smile on her face.
"Yes?" she asked, looking down at her. For first time, I noticed how tall my familiar was compared to me, easily towering over me. That was going to make things more difficult.
"We need to finish the summoning ritual," I said, before almost pausing. 'Did I say that to rudely? What if I matter her mad and she simply ups and leaves?' My thoughts began to fly like wildfire in panic. She almost threatened Kirchie to death because the redhead had angered her. What would happen to me if I did the same? That fear was quickly dispelled with a grin.
"Sure. I think we've procrastinated for long enough," her familiar ask cheerfully, "What do you need me to do?"
"I end you to be still, close your eyes, and lower yourself down a bit," I said, a hint of nervousness I'm sure she managed to pick up. I'm a noble! I shouldn't show nervousness in front of a commoner! But here I was, both nervous and embarrassed with what was about to happen. My familiar nodded, lowering herself down to one knee, almost like she was about to happen.
"My name is Louise Francoise Lu Blanc de La Valliere. Pentagon of the five elemental powers, grant your blessings upon this creature and bind it as my familiar," I chanted, before nervously pecking the girl on the lips.
P.O.V. Isabella
So that's why she told me to close my eyes. Louise was quite nervous (not surprisingly, this was likely the girls first kiss, something I felt slightly guilty about taking). It didn't help matters much that few male students made whistling noises, with even one going as far as to say that was hot. I opened my eyes a few seconds after I felt her lips leave mine, preparing myself to shut the boys up myself, as a felt a tingling sensation on my left hand. I quickly took a look at it, noticing strange writing seeming to appear along the top of my hand. The tingling quickly turned into pain, though, clapping my jaw tight to prevent myself from sounding off every single swear word I knew. The pain became even more intense, causing me to double over in pain, my right hand gripping my left wrist in an attempt to keep me from lashing out uncontrollably in pain.
"Son of a monkey's uncle," I snarl, fighting to remain conscious. The pain faded as suddenly as it came, as I flop to the ground, gasping for breath. The discomfort of lying on my backpack was nothing compared to the pain I just went through.
"Are you ok?" Louise asked, concern filling her voice, offering me her hand.
"I'll live," I said, my natural snarkiness returning, taking her hand as Louise helped me back onto my feet, which happened to unsteady from the pain. That hurt more than the time I was stung by a bee or when I got my tattoo! Combined!
"May I see your familiar rune?" Professor Colbert asked as he approached.
"Sure," I said, holding out my left hand, "You mean this thing, right?" Colbert nodded, taking a look at the strange rune's that now decorated the top of my hand. Something flashed in his eyes. Recognition? Worry? Fear? It was interesting, anyway. I wonder what makes these things so important? Oh well, more things for me to do. Especially since I have nothing to do anyway beside keeping in shape. I mean, how am I expected to attend college classes from another dimension!
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
*Louise's room*
P.O.V. Louise
It took a lot longer than it should have to return to my room. It didn't help that my familiar was looking around at everything constantly, almost like she was on a mission to explore every single nock and cranny of the Academy. 'She acted seriously, and now she is acting like a curious child! Does she have some type of split personality?' After finally getting to room, she pulls out the strange device again! At least she held the door open for me, but I wanted answers!
"What are you doing?" I snap, despite all the evidence of getting angry with her being the last thing I should do.
"I'm dropping my college classes," Isabella said calmly, not looking up from her device.
"What?" I question in shock. Just what was she talking about?
"Where I'm from, most people go to school after high school to further their education, myself included. But it's pretty hard to take classes when you aren't even on the same plain of existence," She paused, almost lost in thought, before grinning slightly. "Well, looks like mom and dad got that squared away already." Isabella quickly closed the device, still smiling.
"I'm willing to bet you have a hundred questions," she grinned, "fire away." I raise my wand slightly. Did she really want that? Based on the look on her face, that was a no.
"It's a figure to speech," the brunette said, waving her hands frantically. I didn't think Isabellalinwhelan wanted me to 'fire away' as she put it. Further proof she was either insane or really from another world.
"So, Isabellalinwhelan, are you really from another world?" I ask, staring straight at her.
"Yep. I'm from Earth. A place where magic doesn't exist," the brunette quipped with a smile, "And you don't need to call by my full name." I was about to ask another question, before the last part dawned on me.
"What?" I said, dumbfounded. 'Only noble's have first and last names! Have I summoned a Noble by mistake?' The last part quickly left my mind. She didn't have any magic, so how could she be a noble? But then how did she have a last name? Oh, right. She's from another world.
"Yep," my familiar said, paying no heed to the fact I was lost in thought, "Isabella is my first name, Lin is my middle, and Whelan is my last. Everyone on Earth has one." I almost blinked in surprise. 'Everyone! Do they even have noble's there?'
"So do you have any noble's where you're from?" I ask hesitantly. If she was really from a different world, with no magic and no nobles, it would go far to explain her behavior with Kirche after her summoning.
"In America, no, and I'm pretty sure a handful monarchical governments that still exist are small countries in Europe, so a little bit of both," Isabella shrugged, before continuing, "And in America, all people are supposed to be treated equally. Equal voice in the government, both on the local and federal level." My mouth drops to the floor. No nobles! No King or Queen! How did anything get done!?
"Simple really," Isabella grinned, either reading my mind or reading the shock on my face, "Congress, which has two houses, writes the laws, and when it reaches a majority, it's sent the President. The President can either sign it into law or send it back. If he sends it back, it can be can be overturned by by a two-thirds majority vote. Sometimes laws are challenged, in which they might make it to the Supreme Court, which can overturn any law if it declares unconstitutional. Justices are appointed by the President and confirmed by Congress, while the President and congressmen are elected by the people." She rubbed the back of her head, eyes closed. "Let's not talk about political systems though. One of our brain's might fry out." She opened her eyes to see the look of shock and utter disbelief written on my face (a look a noble like myself shouldn't have, but hear about such a place, it was the only reaction that made sense). She giggled slightly (at me or simply because she found the situation humorous, I couldn't tell), before getting up and walking to the window, before letting out a small gasp. My familiar took the strange purple device from before, pointing it at the window, before one end emitted a flash of light. She pushed a few buttons, before slipping the device back into her pocket.
"What is that thing, anyway?" I ask, curiosity taking hold me once again. "For a world that apparently doesn't have magic, you sure to have some interesting stuff."
"This?" she asked, flipping the purple thing back out of her pocket, twirling it around in her hand. "It's a cellphone. It allows me to talk, send pictures and messages to anyone in the world. Or outside this world. And don't ask me what it means, because I have no idea. Because it shouldn't work. Neither should my laptop. I literally have no idea how I'm still getting internet and cell reception." The device lit up for a second, and she looked down at something on it, before her mouth dropped.
"Full charge!" my familiar practically shouted in shock, "I left home with a half charge! This doesn't make any sense!" She let out a groan, followed by a yawn. She was clearly tired, and so was I. It had been a long and surprising day for me, and as much as I didn't want to admit it, hers was merely an intensified version of mine. She was my familiar now, but at the same time, she was still human. The odds of her listening to me all the time were slim to none, and while part of me wanted to be angered by that, it was also apart of who she was, and I was going to have to deal with it (even though I'm not going to show it to the others).
"Sorry, but I don't have a second bed," I said nervously. Part of me knew that she wasn't going to try and kick me out of mine, but the summoning ritual seemed to flash through my head. Me, a noble with the only talent I had was casting explosions, had a familiar that did not care about nobility, and didn't know anything about magic. Hopefully there wouldn't be a repeat of what happened earlier today. I didn't want my familiar getting hurt. Isabella responded with what had to be her signature smile (if such a thing even existed).
"It's fine. It's not like you were expecting a human or anything. But I do expect a bed at some point or another," she joked, placing her pack down next to the pile of hay in the corner, before pulling out an oversized shirt and a red and blue blanket out of it. Isabella then proceeded to let gravity to the rest of the work, flopping down into the hay pile. She suddenly threw the massive blanket over herself, covering a frenzy of activity, that quickly spat out her pants and her original shirt. It did give me enough time to change out of my school uniform and into my nightgown, before flopping unceremoniously onto my bed.
"Goodnight Louise," my familiar's head popped out from underneath the blanket, grinning before letting out another yawn.
"Goodnight Isabell," I yawn, falling onto my pillow before slipping into unconsciousness.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x