Author's Note: This is a little side project going on right here. I guess you can all this -practice- for my other fanfic, Familiars from Erinn. I don't really have much to say about this.. So, let's begin.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Familiar of Zero.

My name is Asher Evans, a normal 18-year-old teenager from New York City. I suppose that I'm normal, considering that I've been living a life that millions of others are living as well. However, the only difference for me is my A-average student grades. and how I've apparently become a valedictorian (or at least a candidate) in my class in my high school. I doubt millions of others get to experience the praise and the pressure of that, but I digress. I also had taken martial arts (this city can be very dangerous if it wanted to). I also, for fun, used some spare money and time to get myself weapons training. The result was my knowledge of using a staff and singleand dual-wield eskrima sticks. I'm slightly muscular from all the working out that I've been doing as a result from my training, but I don't have such a large build. I guess I am sort of handsome, not that I pay attention to it. And, yes ladies, I am also single. Not that you may find me now. Hah hah hah.

So, you'd think I would have a life of success the moment I graduate and get out of college, right? Well, I would've... that is, if certain events didn't happen, such as a green portal appearing out of thin air with a voice that only I was able to hear. At the time, I thought I was hallucinating from dehydration since I was walking home from a class, but just to humor my own imagination, I actually walked towards what I thought was an imaginary oval. I was then sucked into it without any warning whatsoever, and thus I find myself in one of the most ridiculous situations ever.

I wonder if I can actually make an original story using this as the introduction… I thought as I stared at the scene before me. A rather large group of children with creatures of all kinds and an older man with glasses stood before me, all of them except one student and a teacher snickering at the one student. Said student had long pink hair and had a head only level to me because of how I stopped myself on one knee in the process of getting up. Yes, she was that short, in fact shorter than anyone in this area. And that brings me to the issue I have right about now: Where the blood-soaked Protestant Hell am I?

I'm nowhere near the City, that's for sure, because I see no traces of modern technology. All that I see are grass, teenagers in capes, shirts, slacks and skirts (depending on the gender), and various animals, including those that should not exist at all. I also see a castle, so perhaps I'm in Britain or somewhere in Europe? Maybe those imaginary creatures are just robots within artificial skin to look like dragons and… an eye. But how did I even get across the Atlantic Ocean to begin with without even waking up? Hell, I'm still in my clothes from when I was last conscious- a black jacket over a black Ecko Unlimited T-shirt, with a pair of blue jeans and gray sneakers- and yet I had no scent of a plane's interior or the stench of a ship on me… Maybe a little bit of burnt material, but nothing to indicate that I was actually transported in a sort of vehicle that would be able to get me to another continent.

Looking at the students, I can tell by how the small girl in front of me was pretty much enraged as everyone else, save the teacher, laughed. A frown spread across my face as I witnessed the scene of a person being ridiculed by virtually everyone else, but faltered slightly as the adult spoke something that silenced. The reason, though, was a mix of confusion as to what they were saying and the fact that at least somebody got them to stop, however mostly the former. While it does sound somewhat like French, there were a lot of terms that were unfamiliar to me. Ah, if only I had taken a more commonly used language over Latin of all things, but my interests got the better of me, I suppose.

Huh? The laughter seemed to die down as the snickering students and the teacher watched the girl turn to me. What does she want now? Well, she's leaning quite close... I furrow my eyebrows as a small wooden stick (Don't get any ideas, mate.) was lightly tapped onto my forehead as she was mumbling something quietly. Again, she spoke in some sort of other language. Hm... I've never actually taken French class, but hearing the accents and times and the syllables from the little of what I've heard from the classes as I passed by, the language does sound similar to what everyone here has been speaki-

I blinked and looked at the pink haired girl. She just kissed me on the lips. While anyone would find the sight amusing (I'm sure the kids behind her dying of laughter are), I just find it confusing. First off, that's my first kiss. Second... Why would she even kiss me...?

I suddenly grasped my hand and squeezed it. "Goddamn, what the hell?!" I yelled at the people in front of me as I felt a painful burning sensation in my left hand. I squeezed my eyes shut as the pain continued for what seemed like hours. "Argh!" I grit my teeth, falling to the floor. For an odd reason, the burning ran up my arm, entering into my brain. I cried out again, my head splitting from another wave of pain. My mind soon went blank and I could feel myself losing consciousness...

...

Eventually, while he was surrounded, the man stabbed the ground, causing ice suddenly spread out from the sword and freezing his enemies. Almost immediately, the scenery was lost in an ice mist produced by the move. Even the sky became a black void.

I opened my eyes on a grassland that stretched as far as the eye can see. I held a sword in my right hand and a harness on the other. I look behind me, seeing an army that follow my every order. Looking forward was an opposing army, just waiting for its commander to yell out the starting word. Simultaneously, the enemy commander and I yelled "Charge!", causing both armies to run forward and clash.

Despite how valiantly my allies fought, they began to fall by the enemy's blade or arrow, or maybe even a stray spell. The enemy was as endless as the grass that slowly became stained with blood, and my army slowly dwindled until I was the only one left.

I was surrounded, my horse was long lost in the chaos of this massive battle. My enemies all teamed up against me- one man facing off against an entire army of endless men. I still fought, not even taking a possibility of being able to surrender peacefully. My sword found its way through many, my free hand launching projectiles of ice and flame. I dodged most of the attacks that came after me, but it was soon apparent that even I had my limits...

Cursing my luck, I grabbed my sword and stabbed it into the ground. I felt my body being drained of its energy as it fed into my ultimate attack. Almost immediately my grassy surroundings became a frigid wasteland, the grass blue with frost and ice pillars rising from the ground, eternally trapping the members of the enemy army.

I groaned, falling to one knee. I placed a hand on the ground to support my pose as I panted to catch my breath. Eventually, I looked up and, with my blurring vision, I saw a near-dead man reflected by the ice pillar in front of him. A set of torn clothes, originally a green hooded cloak, brown pants, and a dark green shirt designed to help camouflage myself in the forest, were now red with a mix of my and my enemies' blood. My left eye was closed, maybe from the pain that I've been somehow numbed to. My other eye was barely opened, showing an icy blue pupil. My hair, instead of having normal black hair, had a silver color to it as well as a messy do, as if unmaintained because of a lack of consideration for it.

Suddenly, the ice shattered as someone charged at me, a sword brandishing as it prepared to pierce into my flesh...

...

I woke up with a gasp. "Where... Where am I...?"

"You passed out after we sealed the pact." Someone stated. I turned my head, only to see the pink-haired girl from earlier. "As for why we can now talk, you can thank Professor Colbert for casting a translation spell while you were unconscious." She stared at me with that sort of disgusted look in her eyes. Was it something I did?

"Come on. I'll get you to my room, since you seem fine now." The girl said coldly. Furrowing my eyebrows at her, I decided to humor her and go along with her. It seems that, everywhere I turn, it was like Medieval Times as an amusement park, and this is part of a line for one of the rides that begin in a castle. Eventually, I was brought to one of many locked wooden doors as she got out a set of keys. Putting them into the lock, the girl walked inside and I, out of curiosity of what came next, followed her.

The next thing I knew, however, my vision was all black. "Hey!" I said and found my voice muffled. I reached up and pulled down the clothes that covered my face, only to see the pink-haired girl being stripped down into her panties. She didn't even have a bra. I immediately turn my head, growling at her. "What the hell is this?"

"Do the laundry, and wake me up in the morning." The girl responded coldly as she put on a nightgown.

"And who are you to tell me to do that? You can't do it yourself, or at least ask?" I glared at the arrogant girl in front of me, who turned and glared back.

"I'm Louise Francoise De La Valliere. I am a noble and you are a commoner, and I am also your master because I'm the one who summoned you here I have every right to command you what to do." Louise answered. "Is that clear, Familiar?"

"I have a name, you know. It's Asher." I growled angrily. "I don't care about your nobility or the fact that you are my self-proclaimed 'master'. If you want this done, then you can at least ask me kindly."

"You are a familiar. My. Familiar. You're no different than a dog or a cat or a bird. You're just an animal." Louise told me with a tone of finality. "Now wake me up in the morning and get that laundry done!"

"... No." I said and glared at her, putting the clothes on a nearby table. "I'm not an animal that you order around. If you think I'm simply just that, then find an animal that would act as your familiar." I turned around and walked out of the room, slamming the door along the way. Honestly, it's our first conversation and she had the audacity to just tell me to go and do laundry without even asking my name. No, she was even arrogant enough to flat out say that I was no more than just an animal. That alone warrants more than me just walking out the bloody door. I sighed, trying to calm myself down as I walked through the labyrinth of hallways in what would most likely be the castle I saw when I first arrived in this place.

It was after a few minutes of aimless walking that I stumbled across a scene that reminded me of that one friend of a skirt chaser. In one of the intersections of the many hallways of this castle was what I assumed to be a rest area, with a fountain in the center that had places for people to sit on. There sat two people, a brunette and a blonde-haired boy. The boy himself reminded me of that friend... Maybe it was his hairstyle and his open shirt that slightly revealed his chest, no doubt to aid him in his efforts to swoon the girl. Yes, that's it… Hopefully he won't be as annoying as that kid.

"Of course, Katie. I would love to have your souffle." The blonde said, gently smiling at the now-beaming girl.

"Alright, then, Guiche. I'll bring them to you tomorrow at your table." 'Katie' grinned. "Is that alright?"

"Of course."' Guiche' still made that smile. However, because of how they were positioned, I was in the blonde's sight. The smile faded as he looked at me. "Aren't you the Zero's familiar?" He asked, now staring at me. I stared back, indifference written all over my face.

"I don't know who you mean." I said, honestly. However, it might have been the tone of my voice, my facial expression, or my words, but Guiche scowled at how I responded.

"The short girl with the pink hair?" Katie suggested.

"Oh... " I shrugged. "There was… a sort of conversation we had about that."

"What do you mean by that?" Katie's eyes widened in curiosity. I opened my mouth to say something, but I was rudely interrupted by the blonde boy.

"That would be enough, Katie." Guiche said, glaring at me. "I'm sure the Zero's familiar has to do something for the Zero, even if he can't do anything."

"Yes, such as talking to people less egotistical than you..." I grumbled as I turned and walked away from the fountain to let the two have their time alone.

... I do hope that Katie is into sadism and Guiche has low pain tolerance and is completely terrified of S&M, because I swear...

After a few minutes of aimless walking I looked out the window after stopping for a break. My God… I thought as I stared at the sight I regretted seeing. There were two moons in the sky, and surrounding this castle was an expanse of green that would be impossible due to the resource consumption of my world, as well as the amount of space that human civilization had taken. But still though, two moons? "Where… the hell… am I…?" I muttered, leaning against the wall and slumping down into a sitting position. I think I miss the trash-smelling, crowded streets and sidewalks of New York already….

"KYA!" I feel something hit my legs, and almost immediately I reached out in an instinct and grabbed someone's arm, redirecting their fall so that they would fall onto me instead of the stone floor. I looked at the person I had accidentally tripped and managed to save from impacting the hard surface of the floor. It was a girl with the first normally-colored hair (seriously, it's like someone took a rainbow and randomly put pieces of it on everyone's head here), though she seemed to be in an apron of sorts. A maid. "O-oh!" She stuttered and blushed uncontrollably and stood up. She offered a hand to help me stand up, which I took. "I-I'm sorry for troubling you like that!" The maid bowed frantically, and honestly I was somewhat amused by how silly it looked.

"Don't worry about it." I shrugged. "I was sitting down and letting my legs stick out, so it's my fault."

"Ah. I see." The maid sighed in relief. When she looked up, she had that look of recognition on her face. "Oh, are you that human familiar Ms. Valliere had summoned that everyone's been talking about?"

I sighed, placing a hand on my hip. "What is a familiar that I keep hearing, though? The little girl that I've been arguing with kept calling me her familiar and herself my master."

"A familiar is supposed to be a servant…" The maid answered, sighing. "If anything, since she had summoned you and made a contract with you, she has every right to order you around."

"A contact? That's supposed to be, in a basic form, an agreement between two people. If anything, I was pulled into all of this place and forced into this 'contract'." I placed a hand on my forehead, sighing myself. Already I can tell how screwed up this place is…

"Well... I can't help you with that.. If it makes you feel better though, you aren't alone when it comes to things like this.." The stranger looked at me and let a small smile of reassurance appeared. I guess it worked, since I began to smile back.

"Thanks." I held out my hand to the dark-haired girl, offering a handshake. "What's your name? Mine is Asher"

The girl took it, smiling. "My name is Siesta."

"Hm... Well, Siesta..." I began, looking around. Honestly, it just occurred to me how utterly lost I am. "Do you mind if you can show me the layout of this place?" I looked at her for an answer.

"Of course. Just follow me." Siesta smiled at me and walked in front of me. I smiled back and followed behind the maid, looking around as I take in my new surroundings. Pretty soon, she led me back to the girls' dorms where she dropped me off. I thanked her and left her with a goodnight, though it wouldn't be for me. Apparently, my 'master' had been very forgetful and locked the door to her room. Great, as if I needed another reason to strongly dislike her.

Sighing, I sat down on the floor and leaned against the wall near the door to her room. I've slept in more uncomfortable places before, like in the airport. It didn't feel too good when I woke up, but I think my body had gotten used to things like this already. I closed my eyes and let my head rest against the wall, letting my tired brain sleep from a day of putting up with large amounts of stress.

...

I saw blackness. Every direction, nothing. What was this place? Where am I? Why am I here?

These questions seemed to come from inside me, yet I hear those words echo around me. I look around, hoping that it might change somewhat. Nothing.

Suddenly, a small blue orb entered my view. I furrowed my eyes as it began to circle me, as if it was inspecting me. I couldn't help but stare as it continued to circle me...

Finally, it stopped in front of me. It made no movements for a small while. I honestly didn't know what it was really doing. Toying with me, maybe...? But when I reached out for it, it slowly floated to my hand. I brought it closer to inspect it more closely, however I noticed it floating closer and closer to my body. Soon, it just... Sunk into my chest. I almost immediately shivered, as if I was outside in the winter.

However, that feeling soon faded as I saw what was in the end of my last dream: the result of one of the silver-haired boy's ice attacks. This time, the ice in front of me wasn't shattered, and I could see my reflection. Instead of the silver-haired boy, I saw... Me.

This story won't be my first priority when it comes to choosing between the two fanfics that I'm writing. So this'll most likely update more slowly than Familiars from Erinn. If anything, I'm just writing this because I have nothing that I actually want to do. XD Welp, see you later.