Another story idea. Will be a side project to New Friends and Second Chances. To those that dislike OCs or yuri, please stop now. If you can look past that enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Zero no Tsukaima, nor anything from any other references i may make.
Modern City(Year 2024)
I sit upon a skyscraper overlooking the city below. Even in the dead of night it is as loud and fast moving place. Gone is the peaceful serenity of nature in this place. Since the age of sword and magic left the land, beings like me have been long regulated to myth and fairy tale. Stories told to children to make them go to bed at night. Not that I truly mind as it has afforded me freedom, the likes of which my brethren would not live to see.
The lights below mesmerize me. Yet the same sight brings fear. The night, previously the domain of monsters and demons, is now ruled by the very same that rule the day. Humans have lit the dark and so they do not fear it. With their personal death machines, those guns, they rule over all.
The gun…the weapon of man. Capable of felling any beast from quite a ways off. The myths and tales may portray us as immortal and invulnerable, but we can still die…still feel pain. These weapons marked the end of humanity's fear of the dark, yet it spawned fear of their own kind.
"I'm tired of this." I say, still staring down at the city. "This world has long since left me behind, yet I cannot die. My existence refuses to end."
Call it survival instinct, I suppose. I could not end my own life, nor allow some else to end it for me. If there is a God, he must really hate me.
Tristain Academy of Magic
The familiar summoning ritual is today. I wonder what I'll summon…I would love something like a dragon or manticore, if only to prove them all wrong. We all gathered in the courtyard for the ritual. Due to my name I'll probably be called last.
I recognized a few of my fellow classmates, not that I'm all that familiar with them. The quiet blue haired girl, Tabitha, got herself a wind dragon. Looks like I won't be beating her. Not that I really want to. She is one of the few students who doesn't pick on my magical skills, preferring to read her books in silence only moving to change pages or adjust her glasses.
The blonde haired wonder boy, Guiche, got himself a huge mole. Given it's gender, it is of no surprise to me that he instantly fell in love with it. The feeling, it seems, is mutual.
The blonde girl near Guiche, Montmorency, got herself a frog. I really hope I don't get out done by that.
To my eternal chagrin Kirche managed to summon a good Familiar in the form of a fire salamander. I will never hear the end of it if I fail here.
With all the others done, the fear sets in. Will I succeed, or will I fail like every other time?
"And the next and final person is, Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière." Said the balding man with our class roster.
"Yes, Mr. Colbert." I respond whilst moving from the relative safety of the crowd to the center. All the while ill mannered gossip is thrown about among friends. Not that it isn't true but their lack of any confidence in me still hurts.
"Please begin." Mr. Colbert says, earning a nod from me.
I raise my wand, "My name is Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière. Pentagon of the five elemental power, Heed my summoning..."
Modern City(2024)
"My name is Loui…Fran…Vali." A voice in my head says.
"Great. Now I'm hearing voices." I state, trying to tune out the strange intrusion into my mind.
"My servant that exists somewhere in this vast universe." It says once more. This time it is clear in my head.
"Servant?" I said. Thoughts flew into my head. Who could this be? And to what purpose do they wish me a servant?
"My divine, beautiful, wise, powerful servant, heed my call." The voice calls for me again.
"Divine? Has this person lost their mind? Beautiful, wise, and powerful I may be, when compared to most, but definitely not divine." I said loud.
"I wish from very bottom of my heart and add to my guidance and appear!" The voice called once more and from the words and tone, probably the last.
As if answering, the voices call a green portal opens before me. It appears exists seemingly to taunt me as I make my choice.
"Should I go?" I asked aloud, even though no one could answer.
I thought on it. While I have no purpose here, this place is a known. To risk on the new for most would be unthinkable, but what's the worst that could happen? I die…well that wouldn't exactly be bad.
"Well, voice in my head, if you think I am the one you want, then fine." I said, thinking no longer. I jumped into the portal and never looked back.
Tristain Academy of Magic
I did the spell correctly, I think. It didn't explode on the rest of them though. Said explosion left a cloud of smoke and dirt obscuring where my familiar would be. As it is I can only hope that there exists a familiar in that smoke…and that it is still alive.
The smoke began to clear ever so slowly, as if taunting me. After what felt like an hour, but was really only a few seconds, I got the first sighting of my familiar. It was a human girl, not much older than me. Skin as white as paper with deep red eyes to which her short silver hair accented. She wore a white shirt, with a purple and blue cloak which was held together by an emerald pin. She also wore a light blue skirt that fell about mid way down her thighs only for purple toped white stockings to cover the skin between her thighs and her blue shoes. Her appearance screamed noble, but was she truly? I had never seen clothes like her's.
Coughing a little, she looked around a bit.
("Where am I?") She said, but I could not understand her foreign language.
"Did Louise really summon a foreign noble?" A voice in the crowd asked.
"It can't be. I've never seen that style before." Another said.
"Maybe she's a merchant's daughter." And the rumor mill continued.
As this was happening it dawned on me what I had to do.
"Mr. Colbert! Please let me try again!" I asked, hoping to spare my first kiss.
"Sorry, but the Familiar Summoning ritual is a sacred rite and cannot be redone. Finish the ritual." He said in a stern voice.
"(French…) Can you understand me now?" The woman asked.
"Y-yes." I answered, "So you can speak our language."
"Yes, I can speak many languages." She replied adding further evidence to the merchant's daughter theory.
"Are you a noble?" I asked both in curiosity, and to stall to build up some courage.
"…No, not that I know of." She responded, "You are the one who summoned me, correct?"
"Yes…Now or never I suppose." I said walking up to her. She gave me an odd look as I motioned for her to bring her face down. "My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. Pentagon of the five elemental powers; bless this humble being, and make her my familiar." After saying the incantation I kissed her on the lips. I can only imagine the look of surprise on her face given my eyes are glued shut.
Afterwards we pull apart slowly, looking at each other.
"What wa…" The pale woman began to say, but stopped as the rune carving began. She did not so much as wince, but merely stood there staring at the runes. Once they were done she began again, "I see, so it was a binding ritual."
"Y-yes." She said. The others began to clear as the show was over. Many flew, some walked. "Come familiar."
"I have a name you know." The woman said with a glare. "It's Sierra, and you would do well to remember it, master." The tone of the word master made me cringe a bit. Perhaps I should at least call her by her name.
"F…Sierra, come with me." I said and began to walk back to the dorms.
"As you wish." The now named Sierra, said following close behind me. Finally up close I can see the full difference in our height. She is a good head taller than me, though her breast development isn't that much ahead of mine at least. "Why do we not fly like your classmates?"
"Because I cannot fly." I said with some of my anger showing.
"I see." She said, and the rest of the trip was met with silence.
When we arrived at my room and entered, we stood looking at each other.
"Perhaps a full introduction is in order master?" She half stated half asked. Once more her use of the word master greatly disturbs me for some reason.
"Hmm, You are right. I am Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière, youngest daughter of the Vallière family." I told her.
"I see…I am Sierra Mikain, a simple traveler." She said with a straight face.
"Lair. Even I can tell there is more to it than that." I said looking at her intently.
"And you would be correct, but we all have skeletons in our closets." She said.
"I have no such thing." I stated indignantly. "To say such falsity so willingly."
"It is a saying. It means we all have something we would rather not talk about." She explained the phrase in question.
"Oh…" I said, not really knowing where to go from here.
"Might I ask a few questions of you, master?" She asked me.
"S-sure." I answer.
"What makes a noble in these lands?" She asked as if it wasn't common knowledge.
I stared at her with the most incredulous face I could muster, "You really don't know?" To which she shook her head, "Where have you been, under a rock ?" A glare once again. Deciding to just answer it, "Magic. The ability to use magic."
"That is all?" She asked.
"Yes."
"I see…And where shall I be sleeping?" She asked.
I hesitated to answer this, but eventually pointed towards the hay pile I had arranged earlier.
"Master, this had better be a very bad joke. I am not some mutt nor am low enough to sleep on a pile of hay when a bed is available." She said, "And there will be one available soon correct?"
"I-I can try. I was not expecting a human familiar." I said.
"Good…I think that tonight I will sleep under the stars." She said as she left me alone in my room
Silence permeated my room. At least till my brain caught up with my thoughts.
"Hey!" I yelled.
I was bossed around by my own familiar. How could I let her do that? Maybe it has to do with this irrational fear I have. It feels like she can, and will, rip my heart out if I cross her.
Tristain Academy of Magic - Hall
On the way to the roof, I spot a blonde man who was present during my summoning along with a long haired brunette in a brown cloak. He appeared to be flirting with her. I zoned it out on my path to the roof.
The night is crisp atop this castle of a school. The view shows a world I had not seen in ages. One without human modernizations. It is instead, one where humanity and nature still exist together.
Looking up, I see just how far I've come from home, for what sits in the heavens are 2 moons. An odd sight for myself, but not totally unwelcome. The power of the night floods me here on the roof. It is a euphoric feeling, like the drugs popular among humans. It's been so long since the feeling has been this strong.
"The power of the night is indeed strong here." I say to myself.
I am broken out of my musings by a sound not too far from myself. The sound of moving paper. Looking over I see a blue haired girl wearing glasses reading a book by the light of her staff. A curious sight to be sure. I walk over to her, but she doesn't acknowledge my presence.
"Um…Hello?" I said. She looks up and then back down at her book, "Not much of a talker, huh? My name's Sierra, might I have yours?"
The girl is silent for a while, and just as I am ready to give up, "Tabitha."
"Tabitha, might I also know why you are here tonight?" I asked.
"Quiet." Once more a girl of few words.
"Yes, the night is indeed." I said closing my eyes.
"You?" She asked without looking up from her book.
"I would rather sleep among the stars, than on the bedroom floor." I stated.
Deciding to leave her alone, I sat with my back against some stone and shut my eyes once more allowing sleep to invade my mind. I know not what the young Tabitha did that night, however when I awoke there was a blanket around my body.
Sierra is based on Sierra Mikain from Suikoden. This however is not a crossover. I just like the character design. As such:
Disclaimer: I do not own Suikoden.