The Wishes of Zero
Hello all my readers. This is my attempt at a more lighter themed Zero no Tsukaima fanfic than most of the ones that I've written. I got a bit of an idea from reading the Children of the Lamp book series, so some credit goes to P. B. Kerr for writing that series.
I hope you enjoy and have lots of laughs.
Disclaimer: Zero no Tsukaima is not my property.
Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière, or Louise the Zero as her classmates called her, much to her ire, was currently in a bit of a pickle. She was participating in the Springtime Summoning Ritual at the Tristan Academy of Magic, and she wasn't having much success. Her situation was bad in two ways actually. For one, she had boasted to her classmates, and more importantly her rival Kirche Augusta Frederica von Anhalt-Zerbst, that she would summon the greatest familiar out of all of them. Considering Kirche summoned a large fire salamander and her quiet, blue-haired, bookworm friend, Tabitha, summoned a blue dragon, she had to summon something big to top that.
Her second worry was due to the fact that summoning a familiar was a mandatory part of a second year student's academic career. If she couldn't summon a familiar today, then she would be sent home. She had tried several times to summon a familiar with no luck, and now was getting a bit worried. Steeling herself, she focused and prepared to try again. Raising her wand, Louise reached deep within her soul and began to cast her spell.
"I, Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière, in the name of the great Five Pentagon Powers, following my fate, summon a familiar!" she called out as she pushed her magic toward the air in front of her.
There was a surge of power that was almost tangible in the air in front of Louise, and for a moment, the air seemed to warp in on itself before the students were thrown off their feet by a powerful explosion that erupted from that warped point. When the smoke began to clear, an elegant crystal decanter topped with a ruby stopper was sitting in the middle of the field.
Louise felt her heart sink. After all that work and effort, all she managed to summon was a bottle. She was about to turn to the professor overseeing the ritual and ask for another chance, when the bottle began to shake and rattle until finally the stopper popped off the bottle and smoke began to pour out. The students watched in shock as the smoke took the form of a teen male wearing a red shirt and black pants with a black cloak.
The teen stretched and looked around before smiling and beginning to speak, "That was the best nap I've had in ages. So, who summoned me?"
As one, the students weakly pointed to Louise, who was standing there with her eyes bugged out at what had happened.
"Ah," said the teen before giving the pinkette an elegant bow, "well then. Xylek the Djinn, at your service, miss."
"Wh-what?" said Louise in surprise.
The teen snapped his fingers and a glowing tome appeared in the air before opening to reveal several lines of runes. Glancing at the words on the page he began to read.
"We observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom, symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning, signifying renewal, as well as change. For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath…wait, wrong document."
The teen snapped again and a scroll that unfurled in front of them replaced the tome floating in the air, "Let's see…ah, here. As dictated by the Grand Djinn Counsel 70 years since the age of Solomon, to alleviate tensions between the men of the ground and the spirits of the flame, when a Djinn is summoned forth by a kin of Solomon, said spirit shall enter the service of the kin until the child of the earth releases them from their custody."
Snapping once more, the teen caused the scroll to vanish in a poof of smoke, "Basically, you summoned me, so I am now in your service, Madame."
After a moment of silence, the professor spoke up, "Well. If you would finish the ritual, Miss Vallière?"
"R-right," said Louise as she walked up to the Djinn and raised her wand, "My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. Pentagram of the five elements, bless this humble being and make him my familiar."
"That is an unusual way to signify your com-mmph?" said Xylek before he was cut off by Louise capturing his lips with her own in a kiss.
When she pulled away, Xylek frowned as his hand began to smoke as several runes began to burn themselves into his skin. Being a being of flame, the burning feeling only gave him a slight irritation. Summoning the contract scroll again, he watched as Louise's name wrote itself on the bottom of the magical document.
"Well," said Xylek as he clapped his hands, causing the scroll to vanish, "that seals the deal. I am your humble servant, milady."
"That will be all for today," said the teacher, "please clear the field so that the next group can proceed."
The students all began to levitate with their familiars and float back to the school. Louise glared at the ground as some of the students mocked her for not being able to even cast a simple levitation spell.
"Master," said Xylek, catching her attention, "do you wish to fly like them too?"
"Yes," spat Louise, "but I can't, alright?"
"Says who?" said Xylek with a coy smile, "if you would pick up my bottle, we shall head back as well."
Louise didn't know what her familiar wanted, but she did as he said and grabbed his bottle from where it sat on the ground, making sure to seal it with the stopper as so not to lose the cap. Xylek then snapped his fingers, causing a lightness to fill her body as she lifted off the ground and began to float toward the school.
"Your wish is my command," said Xylek with a smile as he floated alongside her.
"We're flying," said Louise in shock.
"That we are, mistress," said Xylek, "so which way is your room?"
Louise pointed to her window and it opened up as Xylek floated through with his master. Once the two of them had touched down inside, Xylek gave the room a quick once over.
"Hmmm," he said, "this won't do. I won't have my master sleeping like this."
"What do you mean?" asked Louise, "these are quarters for nobility!"
Instead of answering Xylek waved his hands in grand sweeping gestures, causing Louise's room to undergo a change. Dust and cobwebs vanished, leaving freshly polished surfaces, wood was coated in a fresh varnish, her sheets arranged themselves on her bed and their colors regained their vibrancy, her makeup mirror turned into a polished surface with the frame becoming gilded with several gems set into it, her curtains were replaced with ones made of expensive cloth with red-gold designs, the walls were covered in a fresh coat of paint with colors that brought a cheery feel, and finally the pile of hay in the corner of the room where she had intended for her familiar to sleep was replaced by a bed of crimson pillows with embroidered gold tassels.
"That's much better," said Xylek.
"Wh-what just happened?" exclaimed Louise.
"Is it not to your liking, mistress?" asked Xylek with a concerned tone.
"No, it's amazing," said Louise, "but how did you do all this?"
Xylek smiled, "I'm a Djinn. We are spirits born of fire with supreme magical powers. We can do pretty much anything we want. And since you summoned me, by the terms of the contract, I am now your servant and shall fulfill your wishes."
"So you can do anything?" said Louise as the implications of what she had summoned hit her, "anything at all?"
"Almost anything," admitted Xylek, "my magic does have limits, as there are powers out there that transcend what I am capable of manipulating. Death for example, I can't bring someone back from the kingdom of the dead."
"So if I knew someone with an illness that can't be cured by any mundane or magical means, then you could cure it with your magic?" asked Louise hopefully.
"I should be able to," said Xylek, "though I have trouble casting across long distances, so I'd need to be at least in the same room as the person if I was going to heal them. Why do you ask?"
"My older sister, Cattleya," said Louise, "she's very ill. The doctors and mages aren't able to determine what is afflicting her, so she's been suffering for years. Would you be able to cure her?"
"Perhaps," said Xylek as he crossed his arm and tapped his chin in thought, "I'd have to make sure that the affliction isn't a result of some ancient and powerful magic that exceeds what I can cure with my powers."
Louise felt happiness bubble forth inside her upon hearing that her sister could be healthy for the first time in her life. She would have run over to embrace Xylek and thank him, but her noble upbringing and decorum lessons kept her from doing so.
"But anyway," said Xylek, "we've been talking for so long. I'll bet you're starving, mistress."
"I guess I could use a bite to eat," admitted Louise, "let's head down to the dining hall."
"Nonsense," said Xylek as he waved his hand with a flourish, "I can take care of that."
The air shimmered in front of Louise and an elegant Victorian tea table with a lace tablecloth appeared along with a throne-like plush armchair and a teacart with several silver serving trays covered with lids.
"Have a seat, Madame," said Xylek, "for your appetizer, we have a lovely wild mushroom soup simmered to perfection. Our main course tonight, is a lightly roasted quail stuffed with an herb and cheese mixture."
As Louise watched the Djinn serve her a meal that looked better than the food served back at her mansion, she could only think that perhaps her prayers were answered and she had gotten everything she had asked for in a familiar.