Then it clicked for them, she was staring at something that the others couldn't see and the kind professor was just about to call out when she quietly spoke, her voice showing her surprise. "A… door?" she raised her hand to push it open and then she was gone.
"Welcome to the Velvet room." Louise blinked as she found herself in front of a elderly man with a... very long nose. "My name is Igor and I am the master of this room." he made a hand gesture and a chair popped out from nowhere. "So he's a noble then?" she bowed politely to him. "My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière and please excuse my rudeness, but could you tell me where this Velvet room is? I only remember that I was about to summon a familiar in my class and then I was suddenly in here." Igor closed his eyes for a few seconds. "So you yourself do not know of how you got here? Very well miss Valliere, I shall explain this place to you." he gestured for her to sit down.
"This place exist between mind and matter, dreams and reality." Louise almost fainted then and there, was the man a raving lunatic? "As the master of this room my job is to guide and provide service for our esteemed guests. Tell me Louise, are you familiar with Fortune Telling?" he brought out a blue deck of cards and placed it at the small round table in front of him. She nodded, "Yes, but usually when someone say that he's able to see the future it's just a hoax. And I've never seen someone use a deck of cards to view the future before." Igor nodded in understanding.
"Ah yes, I understand. Well then, would you mind if we take a look at your future?" She nodded to him and he placed the cards in a circle and put one card in the middle. It almost looked like a clock. Then he turned a card to the left, showing a picture of a man with a stick balanced on his shoulder, she had never seen a card like this before. "The Fool, it shows that you have a great journey ahead of you." then he turned a card to the upper right, a man holding a ball of fire in his hands where shown. "The magician, it represents great potential but it also shows a great change. Be it from within yourself or brought by another." Now he turned the card pointing at her, it looked like a man and a woman who looked down from the heaven. "The World, it represents the end of a life, but it also means to show that full happiness is to give back to the world, show what we learned and what we have gained." he then turned the one in the middle, a cloaked person holding a scythe seemed to stare back at her, she shuddered, something gave her a foreboding feeling. "Ah, Death in reverse position. It represents and end… but also a new beginning. And it can also mean that a great destiny awaits you." The mysterious, long-nosed man looked at her, giving her a feeling that he was looking into her soul and not her eyes.
"Ah, good evening young lady." Louise tensed up at the new voice coming from behind her. "It seems that you have summoned this world to you instead of the other way around… How curious." Louise turned around and stared at the man, he looked a young man, though she couldn't see his face since he wore a mask that hid it. "Ah, it seems that I have forgotten to introduce myself. My name is Philemon, it is nice to meet you, Louise Valliere." the pinkette drew a shocked gasp. "How do you know my name?" he bowed at her, "I know many things, my lady, and it seems that your power has brought this world to you as it is what you need and want the most. In other words, this world itself is your familiar, and by extension so are Igor and I." Louise didn't know what to say at first, it was just so much information rushing through her brain. "But that's impossible! I've never heard of anyone having a… What should I call it? Existence? as a familiar!"
"And I have never seen someone manage to summon us to oneself before. It seems that your power is quite special, even by your own worlds standards."
"-iss Valliere, wait!" Professor Colbert cried out but it was too late. His young pupil vanished in front of his eyes. He blinked, then stared dumbly at where she had stood only moments before.
"Kyaaaa! She disappeared!" "What just happened?!" Where did she go?!"
Everyone fell into a state of panic, and their teacher alone didn't seem to be enough to calm them down. "Go. Help." a voice spoke up amidst the chaos of the many different animals and other creatures who were running around and their masters who was either too shocked to notice anything around them or were running around trying to catch their panicking familiars. Colbert nodded thankfully at the girl, understanding what she was trying to convey. Her redheaded friend seemed to snap out of her stupor and started to calm down the rest of the class with her teacher. "Calm down everyone! We will find a way to get miss Louise back, but right now you should proceed as you usually would and go back to the school." Just as he had calmed the students down enough for them to go back to their rooms he saw the headmaster, called Old Osmond, walking hastily after Tabitha and Kirche.
"Headmaster! Thank goodness you got here so quickly." the headmaster gave him a serious look. "I was told that miss Louise disappeared during the Summon Familiar Ritual, could you fill me in?" and Colbert proceeded to tell the elderly man about how it happened.
"And have you found why she could have disappeared yet? Any clues at all?"
"None so far…" Colbert looked down, bowing his head in shame at the thought of how useless he had been after his student's disappearance. "I'm sorry."
"Don't blame yourself, Colbert. This have never happened before so there was no way for you to know how to prevent it. Instead of blaming yourself you should start searching for a way to bring her back while I contact her family." the elderly man put his hands on the balding professor's shoulders. "You can look in the library, there is a small chance that you may find something similar in there. We will bring her back." And then he walked away, leaving Colbert behind.
"Shadows?" Louise questioned Philemon. As no one had known how to get her home they had decided to teach her everything they knew about the strange world she had landed in. So far she had been taught how to read the cards, how they helped their 'guests' and how they watched as the humans grow stronger by the power of Bonds. "Yes, shadows are what we call the creatures who are lurking between this day and the next. Shadows are neglected or denied parts of human hearts and thoughts, they take monstrous forms and lose all sense of self to become creatures that attack any living being that are unlucky enough to come across them." Louise listened intently as the man spoke. "But sometimes a person grows so strong that he can accept the part of him that he earlier denied existed. Then that shadow will instead of turning into a human-hunting monster become a persona. A shadow given a ego that can be used as a weapon against other shadows." The young girl looked thoughtful.
"I wonder if I have a shadow too?" had she said that out loud?
"If you do have one you will find out in due time." Yes, yes she had.
"How do I find my shadow then? I mean, it's in my head isn't it?" This was all so confusing, how could he understand all of that? How could anyone?
"Well, it is not really something that you can find if you look. It tends to show itself if you ignore it." What…? She was not supposed to look for it, but it she would find it if she didn't search for it? Was that what he meant? Or would the shadow look for her? Philemon smiled at her. "Don't worry about it, you will come to understand it eventually." she nodded and the lesson continued. She had grown very interested in the place she had landed in, she had forgotten why she had to go back home. It just didn't seem important anymore.
A week had passed since Louise's disappearance and Colbert could be seen in his study, completely immersed in his books and old journals. He was writing frantically, trying to find a way to reverse the summon that had taken his student away. No one had been allowed to touch the summon circle and no one had seen the kind professor since he started studying the old books except for the headmaster himself and the maids who served him food. He stilled for a second. Then a big smile spread across his face.
"I did it! I finally found a way to bring her back!" He had gone over theory after theory, testing them in his mind until he was sure that it wouldn't fail. He was her teacher and he would not fail his young student. He heard something heavy fall down onto the floor behind him, and turned around in shock. At the floor in front of him laid the young germanian with her friend standing just behind her, both of them staring at the professor. Kirche stood up and wiped of the dust from her clothes. "Is it true? Did you really find a way to bring her back?"
he smiled at his eager-looking pupil. "Yes, but I need to tell headmaster Osmond and prepare a few things before I try it. She hugged her smaller friend who for once didn't seem to mind the contact. Perhaps she too had missed the young Valliere?
"Can help." he nodded gratefully at the bluenette. "I could use a bit of your help with preparing the new summoning circle that I made, but first I will talk to the headmaster."
"No need, I heard everything." the headmaster entered the room. "You should hurry and bring young miss Louise Valliere back before her mother decides to do it herself." the professor nodded and gathered the things he would need before walking away with Tabitha and Kirche in tow.
Word traveled fast within the castle that they called a school. In less than an hour it had reached every maid and almost every student. All of Louise's classmates had gathered where the professor and his two helpers were making a large circle much like the summon circle. Everyone was nervous, but none was more nervous than the little girl standing in the back, hiding her features under the large cape she wore. That girl was Henrietta de Tristain, the princess of Tristain and childhood friend of Louise. She had traveled to the magic academy as soon as she had heard of her only friends disappearance, leaving the castle under disguise after writing a letter to her most trusted subordinates that told them of her whereabouts and the reason. She just hoped that the nobles wouldn't notice too soon and cause an uproar.
"The preparations are done, I will know create a gate to where miss Valliere is so we can bring her home."
Henrietta walked around the group to get closer to the circle, she wanted to be ready to help if her friend needed her. No one had seemed to really care about the suspicious figure.
Colbert raised his wand as he started the incantation, making sure his willpower flowed steadily into the circle. Everyone leaned in closer to get a better look, but the kind teacher ignored them. Suddenly he felt his willpower leaving him quicker than he wanted it to, then it felt as if something was sucking him in.
Tabitha noticed the change and quickly grabbed onto him and Kirche, but was a bit startled when the 'mysterious figure' that had stood in the back launched herself at the small group just before everything blurred and distorted and she lost consciousness.
When they all came to, they were sitting in a large purple couch. The room they were in was large, but not too large. The walls were a darker shade of purple, actually, almost everything was purple. Even the curtains and the floor. They continued looking around, one of the walls looked like it was just one big window with an intricate steel design covering most of the surface. They could not see outside of the window though, it was completely black outside. Had they been unconscious for hours? Colbert wondered to himself.
Where were they? Was Louise here? Or had he failed the incantation? And who was that third girl who had tagged along? His questions were interrupted when two more figures suddenly appeared in the previously empty armchairs. "Huh? Where are we?" Montmorency blinked as she looked around the room. "I don't know, Mon Mon… But I will protect you if anything dangerous appears, so don't you worry!" they heard the obnoxious Gramont say to her. "Oh! Guiche!" the rest of the rooms occupants ignored the lovers. "How do we find Louise?" the figure wearing a cape asked Colbert. He froze up as if he just noticed her presence. "Umm, excuse me, my lady. But what are you doing here? And who are you if I may ask?" the cloaked figure removed her hood, shocking most of the students. "Your highness?!" she chuckled at their response. "As you know I'm Henrietta de Tristain, and as for why I'm here I simply came along to help bring back Louise." Kirche was just about to question her more but her friend interrupted her by covering her mouth. "Sssh".
They heard the sound of a door opening and turned around to see Louise walk in, wearing a strange, blue and purple dress that seemed to match the style of the room they all were in. She walked up to the table in front of them and put a deck of cards on top of it before taking a seat. The rest of the occupants were left speechless at her new style, and that was not the only thing different about her. Her once strawberry blonde hair was now a snow white and her eyes looked more purple than pink. Was she even the same person?
"Welcome to the Velvet room." she started, showing no signs of recognizing them. "Louise? Is that you?" Henrietta stood up, staring uncertainly at her friend. "Yes." Louise began and they all stood up, ready to take her home but they stopped in their tracks as she held up her hand, signaling for them to wait. "Please take a seat." she smiled at them, and they all sat down again. "I've never seen Louise smile like this before… Frown, yes. That fake, arrogant smile, yes. I've even gotten a glimpse of her real smile when she read that letter once… But this is just… weird." Kirche thought to herself.
"I know what you are here for. But, unfortunately, I cannot come with you."
"What! Why?" Kirche almost yelled. Henrietta sat still, shock written all over her face. "B-but… Louise! Your home is in Tristain!" Louise just kept smiling, but it seemed more sad at the princess's words. "This place exists between mind and matter, dreams and reality. Time does not flow here like it does in your world. This place change form as the rest of the worlds change, but a minute in here can be an hour outside, or a millenia may pass. But it also works the other way, one minute in the real world can be a thousand years here." They all stared at her as if she had a screw loose. But she ignored it and continued. "I have already become a part of this world. I cannot return."
"Then I will drag you home! You're coming with us whether this world likes it or not!" Kirche exclaimed as she started towards the smaller girl. But not even halfway there she was stopped by what looked like rainbow quartz growing from the floor the moment she got to close, forming a wall between them. She growled and whipped out her wand, yelling out one of her stronger fire spells but was surprised when nothing happened and she just felt a bit drained instead. She put her wand down but did not give up, if magic didn't work then how about raw strength? So she gathered all her power and roared as she put her entire body weight behind her punch.
The stone stayed where it was, not a dent as her fist connected with it. But she heard a crack coming from her hand and felt pain travel up her arm. "Guh! No!" she hit it again, with her other hand but it was more of a defeated swing this time. She slid down onto her knees and cried. Tabitha moved to console her friend. "This was not supposed to happen! We're rivals, aren't we? I wanted to become your friend…" her cries grew quieter. Guiche and Montmorency stared at the scene in shock, not sure what they should do. Colbert went over to Kirche and healed her.
"If you can't leave, then I'm staying too!" the princess said with absolute conviction in her voice. Louise turned to her, tears in her eyes. She was just so happy, even if her memories from before she came to this place were hazy she still remembered the strong bond and feelings of admiration she held for her childhood friend. But she knew that she couldn't stay, the real world had other plans for them. "You can't. I wish we could stay together but you still have things you must do. Your country needs you." Henrietta cried out. "Let your mother take care of it, the councilmen won't listen to me anyway! Don't make me leave the only family I have left…" the others gasped at her words, they were related? That would mean that Louise was technically a princess too, what was going on?!
"Not... Blood." Tabitha explained to them. And the lovers looked at her with confusion. Colbert decided to help clarify for them. "Miss Louise is the third daughter of Karin Duchesse de la Vallière. If the current royal family were to be wiped out she would become our queen." it was quiet for a few seconds. "But that still means that Louise is technically a princess, right?" Guiche asked their teacher. Everyone else sweatdropped at his stupidity but chose to ignore him instead of explaining it further. They had more important thing to take care of right now.
"No, Henrietta." Louise told her friend gently, "You can't stay here, but that doesn't mean that we will never meet again. Take this, keep it safely with you at all times. When the time comes and you need to see me the most it will open the door for you." Louise handed the princess a purple card with the picture of a wheel on it. It also had a string connected through a hole in the corner. Henrietta took it and hung it around her her neck like a necklace. "I'll miss you…" They shared a brief hug before Louise turned to the others.
"It's almost time for you to go back, but I'm glad that I got to see you again." she looked towards Kirche. "Remember the first day we met? You asked me if I wanted to be your friend." Kirche smiled sadly at her fond memory, "Yes, you got really mad since our families have been on bad terms for generations and took it as an insult." she chuckled. "If the offer still stand, I would like to be your friend, Kirche." the germanian girl nodded and dried her tears. "Of course! So you better find a way to return to us soon so that we can go shopping together!"
Louise handed her a card like Henrietta's but the this one had a picture of the sun.
"Tabitha, I hope you will keep everyone safe as you have the most experience out in the field" the blue haired girl's eyes widened for a second, the only thing that betrayed her shock as she took the card handed to her. It had a moon on it.
"Montmorency, Guiche, these are for you." she handed them their cards. Montmorency was given one with a picture of a woman and a lion while Guiche got one with a picture of two hands holding a flame.
Louise returned to the table. "Fortune" Henrietta's card started glowing. "It symbolizes change"
"The Sun" Kirche's card lit up. "Freedom, happiness and vitality".
"The Moon" Now it was Tabitha's card that started glowing. "It symbolizes fear and insecurity, but also to overcome that fear and advance even when you're walking down a thorny path."
"Strength, it symbolizes to put mind over matter, patience and control." Montmorency held her glowing card to her chest.
"The Magician, a latent talent or ability, and it also symbolizes the power to take action" Guiche stared in awe at his card.
Suddenly everything seemed to blur and distort again, they cried out as they were forced away from Louise. Henrietta screamed something to Louise, but no one could hear what before they woke up strewn across the grass outside the school building. There was many whispers floating around the air, or maybe it was screams, Henrietta couldn't really tell. She just felt so drained.
"I'll see you again, Louise" she whispered to no one before she lost consciousness again. She was sure that they would meet again, and she would make sure to bring Louise back then. She swore it upon her name, and her soul.
Autors note:
That was it for Lady of the Velvet Room. I hope you liked it, please leave a review.