A/N:I must admit, I am most displeased with the way that Louise treats Saito. In fact, I'm probably going to wind up rewriting a lot of the shit that happens in this universe and make it better and more engaging. It's a great setup, the problem is that Louise gets away with abusing an otherwise human boy-and the creepy drugging of people (Montmorency that is gross and morally wrong) and pedophilia (the creepy af dancer and the tavern crap-with all the recent sexual harassment things, that's just way too creepy-i think i'll be skipping over that crap), as well as the glorification of slavery-means there's quite a bit for me to clean up, plot wise.
In short, yes, Henrietta, Prince of Wales, etc, will be involved (and holy fuck does the Prince look like Jack), but I really believe the anime needed better writing, because my god does it turn Louise into a serial abuser toward Saito. As a result, I'm toning down her tendencies, or else making them manageable. Regular characters will be involved as well, but I'm going to diverge from canon and turn it into a more respectable series (and by contrast, make Louise a better person with no whipping or evilness intended).
(I'm sorry, I'm not really a harem fan, but I'm going to incorporate some of that in here, however with the other PH characters being involved, it's entirely possible some of them might get the fangirls. I could see Vincent attracting quite a few admirers.)
So anyhow, long-ass A/N aside, let's move on to the story. It might be shorter than usual, as I have had my carpal tunnel syndrome come back, so I wanna take it easy on my arms. Oh god, there's a creepy noble in this part, so I'm going to just lightly brush by that part..nothing too explicit, but you know how much of a creep Mott is.
Chapter 4: Siesta's Abduction (And Chains join in on the fun)
Her life had been relatively normal up until that day.
Well, as normal as it can be, being a maid and all in the school of magic in Tristain. She preferred to keep her head under and just do as she was told, and things were a lot less complicated that way. Unfortunately, for Siesta, life had become a lot more complicated since he had appeared into her life.
She stared behind her at the sight of the dark-haired boy, who was eagerly and avidly washing his mistress' clothing, although sometimes he did it a bit too carelessly and wound up making the clothing too wet. Siesta had officially been put in charge of handling the familiar's tutorial on how to wash clothing, because of a few disastrous attempts at him handling the task before, which had resulted in Louise getting quite angry, but Siesta had intervened-before Louise had let slip something that totally surprised her.
Apparently, the rabbit behind her-a mental image of the giant rabbit appeared in her mind, causing her to eep at the thought of how terrifying and scary he had looked-had no memories. She resisted the urge to baby him and instead treated him like she would treat anyone else, and to her surprise, despite his animalistic nature and his tendency to eat more meat than she would believe possible, he was...surprisingly gentle and kind towards her. She didn't know if it was because of how she treated him in return, but he had taken quite a liking to her, enough to follow her around.
Much to the ire of a certain pinkette.
"Mister Oz, I think these are good enough." She said, pointing to a pair of underwear that was dry enough now before folding it up, noticing him watching her before he suddenly poked her shoulder, "Y-Yes, what is it?"
"What are those on you?" He asked, pointing directly at her chest, with the earnest confusion of one who had never encountered such things before.
"They...They are called breasts, and they are organs that girls like me have for the purpose of feeding a human child when it's born." She assured him, in the simplest explanation possible.
"You mean human children don't just spring up from existence?" He asked, in such a vivid tone that it made her laugh.
He was too innocent to have meant those words with any degree of pervertedness behind them.
"No, no! Humans are different. Should we take these up to Ms. Valiere?" She asked, noticing him trying to chew on a plant.
He spat the leaf out before turning to face her. "Yes, I guess we should. Why is she called the Zero?" He asked.
"I would think that Ms. Valiere would not like being asked about such a thing. It probably makes her uncomfortable to be asked that." She replied back, knowing full well what the nobles in the Academy were like when faced with those different from themselves.
"I guess I won't ask," Oz muttered, fussing with his bow tie.
It was then that as they traveled, a new person blocked their path, a tall figure who wore a most handsome outfit.
Siesta froze in place instinctively, while Oz just paused, eying him.
"Hello there, young lady, might you be employed at this place?" He asked, in a sharp tone that gave no room for questioning.
"Yes..." She muttered, letting her gaze fall to the ground. She was not to look up while being addressed by a man like this.
"Who're you?" Oz asked.
"You little commoner brat, know your place! I am Count Mott!" He boomed, outraged that a mere noble did not know who he was.
"Should I care?" Oz asked, raising a brow and folding his arms.
"You insubordinate little-" He raised his fist up to strike the insolent commoner, but Siesta took the blow for Oz, diving in front of him, while Oz caught the clothing, knowing full well that Louise would be angry if her clothing was soiled, watching with wide eyes as the girl who'd helped him so much received a sharp blow to the cheek.
"I'm very sorry, sir! Please, forgive him, he is only a child who doesn't know any better!" She cried, getting on her knees. She didn't care what became of herself, as long as Ms. Valiere's familiar was safe.
"Is he your child?" He asked.
She shook her head. "No, sir."
"Then how would you like to come with me and we'll talk it over at my mansion? I've needed a new maid and you'll do just fine." He said graciously, grabbing her, despite her struggles.
"Y-Yes, sir." She said, making no move to resist as he started walking away with her.
"Hey, where is she going?" Oz asked.
"She's going to live with me, commoner brat, now hold your tongue." Count Mott spat, glaring at the child who was glaring back at him, only to shudder upon seeing his eye color. Blood red, like death itself.
"Oh..." Oz stared at them before turning away and collecting the clothing, not knowing that he could do something about it, but accepting it, watching sadly as his friend went with her new friend. She obviously preferred his company to hers, given how she agreed to go with him so easily.
Of course a chain like him wouldn't keep friends.
He glanced at the clothing she'd been carrying, most of it his contractor's, before carrying it up to her room.
"Thank you, familiar-er, Oz. Now, please dress me."
Oz helped her get dressed, for once not attempting to bite her shirt to figure out how to slip it on her arms. Quite a few times, he got puzzled with the shirt sliding on through the arms and had resorted to biting it.
"Thank you." She said, flushing a little. He'd learned so much so quickly, "Where is Siesta?"
"She went to go be with someone else, someone named Count Mott."
Louise's eyes flickered, before she nodded. "Yes, I see, that does happen. If a nobleman needs a new maid, then he has every right to claim her. Still, that is rather sudden."
"It has nothing to do with me." Oz muttered.
"I'm sure he'll treat her fine." Louise said, naive as she was to the ways of noblemen toward their servants. After all, though Father was dismissive towards her servants and whipped them, he did not partake in any vulgar actions with any of them. Surely, all nobles acted that way, right?
Louise couldn't help but feel uncomfortable, though, without the presence of the cheerful maid around, as days passed without a word from her. She started to think something was wrong-but she was there to do her schooling, not care about some reckless commoner who'd gone and gotten herself kidnapped.
"Hey, Louise, seen your familiar around?" Kirche taunted. "I saw him wandering around the yard earlier, guess you weren't paying attention."
"Shut up, Zerbst!" She cried, walking away, in time to hear her rival laughing at her. She swore one day she would get that girl.
She found the black-haired boy sitting by the fountain, looking up at the sky, his eyes distant.
"Is this your idea of a break?" She asked.
"I guess." He said.
"You miss her? She's a mere commoner, I'm sure she's doing all right." Louise assuaged her familiar, the familiar needed to concentrate on helping her.
"Yeah, I'm sure she is. She just reminded me of someone I used to know who was like that." He muttered, before shuddering, recalling a pair of scissors and then the nice, warm person falling to the ground, dead.
"Who was that?"
"She's...She's dead." He said.
"Who? Siesta?" Louise asked.
"No...the one from my memories. When I dream about her, she's always dead." He said, shaking slightly.
"They're just dreams, they don't mean anything, familiar, so please calm down." Louise said gently, with uncharacteristic gentleness that her mother would not have approved of, she helped her familiar to his feet.
"Yes, master, is there something you need?" Siesta asked.
"There is a lot I need. I need for you to be mine and mine only." He said.
"Master?" Siesta asked, looking horrified.
"Just do as you're told, maid." He said softly, stroking her hair.
She flinched.
