Enslaved

Chapter Three

The rattling of a ladle against a pot woke him up with a little shock, as he blearily opened his eyes to his new reality. He looked around for a moment, before following the crowd of manservants who flocked out like chickens who found the coop was open.

"Get your breakfast while it's hot!" Marteau yelled handing over cups of warm milk and bread with meat inside. "Leave nothing behind lads! You've got yer work to do after this!"

Saito didn't wait for even a heartbeat before eating.

He was then firmly guided by a manservant to where the nobles' rooms were —apparently, it was his duty to wake up his 'master' in time, and then he was left alone, in front of the door.

Saito swallowed nervously, before knocking with the back of his hand on the door. "Master? It is time to wake up," what had the man —Jeanpierre— told him? Right. He had to enter, walk steadily and with determination towards the window and its silk curtains, and open them with a firm steadfastness. After that was over, he had to open the window to let the air change and…

Then he had to wait.

"Eeraga," Louise groggily muttered. "You can wait outside," she added then.

He nodded, made the small 'bow' he had been told to do, and then left.

Meanwhile, his mind already planned his way out of there.

The 'master' had told him about buying him a sword. He could start from there. The moment he had the sword, and after bringing the 'master' back to school, he would return to the city with an excuse and then sell the sword right back for some starting money. With that amount, he'd have enough of a leeway to find a job somewhere.

He'd then earn money and head off to La Rochelle —wherever that place was. From there, he would find his own freedom working on a ship. His grandfather had worked on ships all his life —he could do it too. Japanese were proud people of the sea and the mountain. He could…well; no actually, he would do it.

Saito patiently waited for his master to finish her breakfast, before following her once more. "Today is Void day," the girl said crisply. "We'll be taking a horse for Tristania, Tristain's capital;" she explained. "It is a large city, so if you feel overwhelmed just stick close to me and don't get lost, understood?"

He nodded, before catching himself and actually answering.

"Yes, master."

"You ever rode a horse?"

Saito shook his head.

"No, master."

The words felt like poison, as fear gripped at his heart. What if he couldn't escape? What if they punished him for trying? Better to die free than live in slavery was a nice way to say it, but he wasn't a hero or a revolutionary. He was a student at the last year of high school. He wasn't a soldier. The blue haired girl made everything sound so easy, but in truth, it wasn't.

He couldn't even read or write, what was he going to do with his life? Plough the fields for a living?

No, he needed something that gave him the possibility to travel.

He'd become a sailor.

"Travelling by horse isn't difficult, and the academy's horses are most peaceful creatures," Louise said. "Just hold on to the reins and give them a pat on the side of the head."

"Yes, master," Saito said.

In silence, they reached the stables. She climbed on her own with practiced ease, while he took a few minutes to settle on the saddle. It wasn't as difficult as he thought it would be, but it wasn't even easy to begin with. He just held on with sheer fear of falling and dying, and the moment they were off on the road he began to breathe in and out quickly.

The sky was clear and there were little to no clouds.

"Servant," Louise said as they kept a nice and slow pace along the road. "Did…" she took a little breath of her own, as if to steady herself, "Did you find someone willing to teach you how to write and read?"

"Ah, yes master," he replied.

"Good, that's good," Louise nodded. "I was thinking," she added then, "Even the lowest of servants is paid for his work. You're a familiar, but still you should have some money to spend for your own entertainment…as long as it isn't something depraved, of course."

"You are most generous, master," Saito replied smoothly, his gaze low. The nobles were always right. He just had to accept it and, if he had even some spending money, it would all be for the better. It would make things easier, even though…there was a light tug at his heartstrings, as he watched the nervously biting-her-lips Louise who held the reins of her horse tightly; to the point that her knuckles were milky white.

She looked lonely. Still, didn't she have friends to talk with at school? The blue haired girl and the red haired one had left the class together with her, hadn't they?

He was going to leave and find out a way to return home. He wasn't going to remain next to…but if he stayed and if he was paid for staying, wasn't it better than looking for a job in the capital? He'd remain just enough to earn the money for a ticket from La Rochelle's port or just enough to be on the safe side while travelling…

He didn't have to remain 'forever'.

The runes on the back of his left hand glowed softly as they reached the stables of Tristain after three hours and a half of quiet silence. His master had not touched the argument again —so he supposed she'd be giving him money depending on how well he worked.

"Now," Louise muttered, "since you can't read…you see the signs? Memorize them because I might ask you to come here and fetch me some reagents one day or another, and you'd better need to know the shops," she raised her hand, pointing ahead. "You could get lost going around for hours, so you see those guys with the lance and the armour? They're guards. They aren't supposed to do anything but loiter around and take care of troublemakers, but if you tell them you're on a commission for a noble they'll be pretty helpful."

She brought her hands to her sides, actually boasting. "Tell them you're doing a commission for De La Vallière and they'll even escort you there," she smiled brightly. "That's just the type of nobility you are lucky to work for, commoner Eeraga."

"Y-yes, master," he nodded promptly.

"Good," she then headed off, pointing this or that shop and their names. He found himself blinking hard a couple of times. The signs, which at first were unintelligible, slowly but surely morphed beneath his eyes to assume familiar characters, as if he could always read them fluently.

"And that is…"

"The guard outpost," Saito exclaimed, blinking as he did. "I can…read."

"Oh?" Louise blinked back in actual surprise. "Uhm…" she frowned for a moment, before looking him up and down appreciatively. "Maybe it's the familiar's runes...like with Cat familiars, who learn how to talk after becoming familiars. It makes all familiars far more intelligent than their normal 'beast' counterparts."

"Familiar runes, master?" Saito's eyes then widened, as he brought up his left hand. "These?"

"Indeed," Louise nodded. "It must clearly be that my magic is quite powerful, if it can make a backwash peasant learn how to read by simply pointing at words."

Saito ground his teeth, before displaying a small smile.

"I…see. I thank you for this gift then, master."

"Yes, yes exactly as you should," Louise nodded again. She then actually beamed him a bright smile, before clapping her hands, "And since you know your place and have been properly thankful, we'll get you a proper sword and maybe something more. The blacksmith doesn't just sell swords to begin with."

"Thank you, master."

He followed the girl as she sped up. Either she wasn't used to being thanked and praised —judging by how her ears perked up when he thanked her— or she was genuinely happy that he appeared so meek and understanding.

He wasn't going to commit murder, but he was going to leave as soon as possible. He did have to admit that it wasn't really a rotten deal though. Sure, he had to call the girl 'master', but didn't butlers do that all the time? He could stay for just a week or two before leaving…

Saito was frowning by the time he and Louise reached the blacksmith's shop. He opened the door for Louise, letting her enter first before closing it behind them. The shopkeeper was an old man in his fifties with a pipe in his mouth and a half-sleazy smile. The smile disappeared the moment he saw the pentagram etched on Louise's mantelpiece, and his face turned ashen white when he saw Saito's De La Vallière symbol on his chest.

"M…Mademoiselle! My fair lady," the man hurried up and bowed deeply, "What can this humble shop provide for your tastes?"

"My servant needs a weapon, a sword," she said calmly, taking up the part of the noblewoman. "And also something easy to use for him, like a dagger. Two weapons are better than one, right?"

"Of course milady, of course," the man hurried towards one of the weapon racks, before returning with an exquisite sword —which was on the thin side, as a sort of hybrid between a rapier and a scimitar. It glinted with jewels, but Louise gave it a scoff.

"No, better to give him something bigger and wider at first…you don't need techniques to swing a warhammer or a broadsword."

"Of course milady, you are right. This is just the fashion of the time, to have servants carry this type of swords…"

"I said a larger broadsword," Louise replied impatiently. "Don't waste my time, commoner."

For once, Saito was actually glad he wasn't a shopkeeper. Was that how he acted with Louise? Head low and telling her she was always right? No wonder…

"Ohi," a voice whispered. It was deep and male, and seemed to come from somewhere further ahead in the midst of the weapon racks. "Get me out of here, partner."

"Uh?" Saito blinked, "Is there someone else here?"

"Servant?" Louise asked, "Who are you talking to?"

"Ah, milady! There's no one else in here, clearly, I will now go and find an adequate broadsword for your servant!" the shopkeeper hurried towards the back, but the voice came again.

"I'm here partner! In the barrel next to the broadsword rack, look!"

Saito slowly walked forward, his runes glowing softly as his eyes finally settled on a rusty and dingy longsword. It looked familiar. Its length was similar to that of a broadsword, but the blade was thinner.

"Ohi, partner," the sword talked.

Saito blinked.

"The sword…talks," he stated plainly, eying the longsword.

"Uh? Servant, really, there's no way a sword could…"

"Ehi miss! I'm a done deal if you buy me!" the sword exclaimed then. "Guaranteed to work! And I'm also easy to use and light! Trust me, I'll be an excellent trainer to the kiddo here!"

Saito carefully lifted the sword out of the barrel.

He swung it, using his right hand to spin the blade with an ease he did not think he could ever possess, before slicing the air in front of him and then stabbing it repeatedly —as if fighting an invisible enemy.

"Yep!" the blade exclaimed. "Easy to use and everything!"

"You never wielded a sword before, right?" Louise asked, eying Saito carefully.

"N-No," Saito croaked back, clenching the handle of the blade tightly.

The sword…felt his.

It was like claiming that the bed, in which he slept back at home in Tokyo, was 'his'. It called to him with the same sense of longing, the same powerful sensation, the same nostalgic feeling of ownership. The blade was his. If he had to kill the shopkeeper and bury his corpse to keep the sword, then he would…because the blade was his.

"Ah, milady I just foun—" the shopkeeper had returned with a bright golden sword, but froze at the sight of the rusty longsword in Saito's hands. "Derflinger! If you scared the customers again I…"

"We're taking it," Louise said calmly, "We're taking it and another sword." She then looked at Saito, "You'll train with that one…I doubt you'll even manage to chop a sheet of paper with all that rust anyway, which makes it perfect for training. And it talks…so I'm sure it will help you learn how to wield it properly," she then rounded on the shopkeeper. "Since we'll be taking a longsword… show me the smaller swords, commoner."

Grounding his teeth but holding his smile up, the shopkeeper smiled. "But, milady, that sword is rusted and…"

"Then it will come in cheap, probably fifty ecus or less, if it scares customers away, then you should be the one paying us for saving you from it," Louise rolled her eyes, before gazing long and hard at the blacksmith. "Let's see another sword now, and make it quick."

A small dagger soon shone from Saito's belt, followed by a small rapier and a steel gauntlet for his right hand. He had to politely refuse a chain mail —because really, why was the girl thinking he had to go headfirst in a battle?

Still, this 'shower' of gifts seemed stale to him. It was as if she was trying hard to…well, to do something. She wasn't even very subtle about it. She wanted his loyalty. She wanted to buy his fealty. It wasn't difficult to see everything for what it was: an attempt to appease him…he couldn't understand why, though.

Wasn't he the familiar? Wasn't he the slave?

Louise paid for his stuff with less than five hundred ecus in all.

"Really, to do this much…you must count yourself very lucky," Louise grumbled. "I'm sure any other servant wouldn't receive this much in such a short time," she added.

"I thank you from the bottom of my heart, master," he replied once more. Was the girl really that dense, not to hear the stressed undertone of his words? Or maybe…maybe she was just that desperate. It sobered his mood, thinking that…well, what if she really was that desperate?

He knew nothing of her condition, of how she lived day by day and…well, he could wait and see how a week went by?

Was there even the need to leave so soon, after barely a day?

What waited for him outside of the school anyway? The unknown…at least at the Academy he had three meals a day and he had nice people to talk with. He didn't need to leave.

He really didn't.

The runes glowed softly, before dying out to their normal lacklustre appearance.

Louise beamed him a smile at his praise of her, which was actually endearing to see —it even warmed his heart— and then she headed over to a stall with him nearby.

"This, here, is a Tristain's delicacy," Louise stated, thrusting in his hands what looked like a crepes of sorts. "You probably never had one before, so here you go, eat it!"

"T-Thank you, master," he chewed hesitantly on it. It was sweet, filled with butter and melted cheese. There was even lard in it —how the hell could anyone digest it was a wonder, but it did taste good in its own strange way.

Then they began to walk around the city. He felt as if the girl was parading him around, what with her way of casually stopping to talk with other nobles —who all appeared to lose their air of nobility and arrogance the moment they settled their eyes on the crest on his chest. His feet began to hurt, just like his right hand —really, who 'always' wore those gauntlet-things? Not only was it heavy, but it also screwed with his sense of touch.

He understood it probably 'looked cool' for other nobles to have their servants 'armoured' up. He'd throw the gauntlet away in a ditch as soon as he could. He couldn't even scratch the back of his hand with that thing on!

"Ehi partner," the sword spoke then, just as he stood slightly away from the girl. "You know, it's been a while since I was last wielded. It's…surprising."

"What is?" Saito asked, looking ahead. He couldn't look at the blade's scabbard without twisting his neck, so he hoped the sword didn't find it offensive.

"How things changed. I'm six thousand years old, kiddo," the sword remarked. "There wasn't even the cobblestone on the road back when I was last wielded…there was only green grass and a few wooden huts."

Saito blinked. "You…you're six thousand years old?"

"Course I am, I'm the all-mighty Derflinger," the sword spoke. "I am a Soul-Sword. I'm glad this form lasted long enough for me to find my partner back once more."

"Soul…sword? I don't understand…"

"Well, thankfully there's Derflinger here to explain then," the sword chuckled, if such a thing was possible. "But you have to keep your cool, partner. Understood? No freaking out!"

"Freaking out for what?" Saito asked, actually looking around perplexed. He hoped nobody was looking at him strangely —he was talking to a sword to begin with.

"I am a soul, bound to a sword. Although, actually, I'm more of a soul bound to the runes on your left hand. Even if this sword were to shatter, I would return by occupying another."

"So…you're a living being?" Saito swallowed. "You're…a human?"

"No, no, I never was a human," Derflinger remarked. "I was a soul. My owner, he birthed me as a soul for a sword. I'm…a spirit, shall we say? Elven magic at its finest, of course, nothing less would work."

"So you're an artificial soul created for the purpose of inhabiting a sword?"

"You're taking this with stride partner, I like that."

"I'm not. I'm just way beyond shocked to properly convey my feelings," Saito deadpanned back. "Your name is Derflinger, right?"

"Yep, the All-Mighty Derflinger!"

"Mine is Hiraga," Saito said. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Oh, the pleasure's all mine boy! Still, what I wanted to tell you is something else, but it will have to wait until tonight," the sword said with a clank. "Your master is done talking, don't let her wait too much."

Saito tensed, and then broke in a small run to reach his master's side.

"I was done talking with that man one minute ago, servant," Louise stated simply. "Were you daydreaming?"

"N-No master, I was talking with the sword."

"Uhm, just make sure it doesn't happen again. Really, no master ever has to wait for his servants. It's always the opposite."

"Yes master, you're right master," Saito nodded quickly. "It won't happen again."

"Very well then," Louise said. "We can return to the Academy now," and with that, she strolled off with him slightly behind.

On his back, Derflinger quietly observed the scene.

It reminded him of another similar one…but that one had ended in blood and agony.

It was better for his awesome self to work a way out of it then. He owed it to his last partner.

He owed it to his mother.

Author's notes

Derflinger is a 'soul-sword' believing the wiki. As always, 'everyone has a brain'.

Had 300 words of rant ready for an Anonymous. Erased them because, yep, anonymous who flames aren't worthy being answered to.

Short story is: Action. Reaction. Murder Louise…and what happens next?