Disclaimer: I do not own Familiar of Zero/Zero no Tsukaima.
Chapter IV - Company
She was beginning to despise teenagers.
Louise sat at the back of the classroom trying her best to pretend that she did not notice all the other students sneaking glances in her direction. She could feel her eyebrow twitch every time one of the other students turned and snickered in her direction.
Since waking that morning she had become aware of the latest rumour doing the rounds, this one questioning both her ability, and her integrity. Apparently she was supposed to have somehow convinced her servant to pose as her familiar, so that she would not be embarrassed in front of her entire year. However, what really rubbed salt in the wound was that many of the more imaginative students were entertaining themselves by day-dreaming about just how she had managed to persuade Siesta to do such a thing.
Perverted fantasies aside, the summoning was the first time she had ever performed proper magic, and now they were trying to take that away from her. Well they weren't going to, she wouldn't let them!
It turned out von Zerbst had been right, people were coming up with their own reasons for why Siesta had been dismissed from her job, and why Louise had offered her a new one immediately afterwards.
Other than those simply giggling themselves silly over whatever indecent thoughts their filthy minds had come-up with, there were those who had taken a far nastier tone. Some of the students had taken exception to … to her supposed homosexuality. She had heard the words "disgusting" and "pervert" whispered whenever she walked by, as though she couldn't hear them. With the exception of Zerbst, Tabitha and, to her surprise, Gramont, everyone seemed to edge away or become nervous when she drew near, like she was carrying something contagious. Worse, this appeared to have been going on for some time, probably ever since the incident that had started it all. Now she had to worry over whether these newest additions had reached her mother's ears.
She sighed, all of her life she had dreamt of having her own legend like her mother, now it seemed like she was getting her wish.
Her mother … she had felt a growing anxiety since her mother's missive, it had been four days and there had been no visit or even further word. She understood of course, despite being officially retired from the military her mother still had responsibilities. What would she say when she heard, provided she had not already?
At least she had a properly cleaned and ironed uniform again now. She had to admit she'd never had a servant who could do laundry quite as well as Siesta. The maid had actually started work again the very evening she'd returned from the infirmary, Louise had tried to get her to lie down and rest but she had insisted. She couldn't help but think that whatever man Siesta eventually married, would be very lucky indeed. Still, properly cleaned clothes were a small consolation, even if they did feel very fresh.
To her left and a little behind, stood Siesta; it was strange but she didn't feel as nervous as she thought she would with someone looming over her shoulder. Maybe it was because Siesta was too small to be properly imposing, or because she was simply used to the young maid being nearby, but Louise found her presence to be oddly comforting. Around her waist was fastened a thick, leather belt, from which hung the black, wooden scabbard that housed her sword. Louise was pleased to see that, a couple of the snickering students would occasionally catch sight of that sword and hurriedly look away.
Since class had started Siesta's attention had not drifted away from the lecture, not that Louise could blame her, this could possibly be the first time in history that a commoner was allowed to sit in on a lecture about magic and actually be allowed to learn from it.
Although by her scrunched-up brow it looked like most of the material might very well be going over the girl's head. Which was to be expected, Siesta had no knowledge on the mechanics of magic, whereas most students had a solid grounding in the basics before they even set foot in the academy. That was something Louise would have to see to later, if Siesta was going to be able to perform as her familiar.
Another snicker drew Louise back to the present, and she saw one of the girls at another table make an exaggerated, lewd motion with her tongue. She grit her teeth, really, why couldn't these people just grow up? She returned her attention to the front of the classes and tried her best to block out the annoyances of the world around her.
"Well then, how about you, Miss Valliére?"
Louise jerked in her seat, and looked up to find Professor Chevreuse staring at her. Oh dear.
"Yes, Miss?" she replied sheepishly.
"I was wondering whether you would care to come to the front and give a demonstration on transmutation?" Miss Chevreuse answered, with a frown.
More snickers came from the class at large, and it sounded as though they weren't even trying to hide it anymore. She felt her ire rising and fought to rein it in, even though a small part of her already knew it was a losing battle.
"Miss," a voice spoke from the front of the class, with barely suppressed mirth. It belonged to a fat boy she thought was named Malicorne. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea."
She saw something flash across the teacher's eyes, she couldn't make out what it was, but suddenly Miss Chevreuse looked ever so slightly nervous. She turned away from Louise and looked at the other students in the class.
Louse gritted her teeth.
"Ah, yes. Perhaps someone else would like to volunteer?" Professor Chevreuse asked.
"Yes," someone else piped up. "Perhaps her servant should try instead."
Another round of laughter swept through the room.
That was it!
Louise shot to her feet, banging her fists against the desk as she rose. Okay, that was enough. She felt something inside her give way, and instead of trying to remain calm, it was all she could do to keep her voice level. Slowly she rose from her seat, and gave the teacher her most charming smile.
"That's okay professor, I can do it."
With that she began to walk towards the front of the class, to the teacher's desk, on which lay three unassuming lumps of lead. Chevreuse of the Red Clay's class was on transmutation, or the ability to turn one type of mineral or metal into another.
Louise took a deep breath, she already knew the theory behind it, as she knew the theory behind most of what a student could expect to learn during their second year. She had spent countless nights sitting up studying until she fell asleep with the book still in her hands. She had not really been listening to Professor Chevreuse talk but today's lesson had been on transmutation so she should be fine.
As she got closer she felt her nerves tighten, a part of her asking what the hell she was doing, knowing this was going to be another failure. She mentally shook herself, she would be fine. She had studied the theory behind transmutation thousands of times, as long as she aimed for simple, dot level magic, she would be alright.
She took a deep breath in an attempt to quell the storms brewing in both her mind and stomach. Slowly she brought out her wand, and extended her arm to hold it above the three lumps of metal. She reached for the information she had acquired during all those hours of study, and began to mumble self-assuring words, as she tried to push her magic into the length of wood in her hands. Her eyes were closed, so she didn't notice several of the other students take cover under their desks.
A familiar roar tore through the air, accompanied by several screams, the crashing of debris, and the sound people being flung across the room.
When the ringing in her ears had stopped, Louise dragged herself unsteadily back to her feet, wobbling a bit as she attempted to stand. The back of her head hurt, she must have hit it at some point on the way down.
Once she had regained her bearings, a single look around the room was enough to tell her what she needed to know. Another failure. Damn it.
The maid-turned-familiar stared up at the towering bookshelves, each packed with parchment and books of all different shapes and sizes. The library was a very tall room, at least three times as tall as the average classroom, and all of the bookshelves reached right up to the roof.
There was no ladder for reaching the higher shelves either, she supposed that because all (or almost all) the mages in the school could levitate, the faculty had never seen the point. Still, it could make what she wanted to do more difficult in the future, if she was able to get that far that was. Idly, she found herself wondering how her mistress had coped with it for the last year.
As she stood there staring up at the shelves, she could feel the pressure of several pairs of eyes on her back, but she resolutely ignored them. The voices were much harder to drown out, the harder she tried to ignore them, the clearer they seemed to become.
"Hey, that's that perverted maid, right?"
"You mean the zero's…"
"Zero? More like the deviant."
She fought the desire to flee at the sound of their words.
Back in the classroom, after all of the students had regained their equilibrium, she had received a first-hand demonstration of her master's relationship with her peers. It had started when one of the students (a boy, judging from the sound of the voice) had cracked a joke, referencing her mistress' infamous nickname.
The laughter that followed had been deafening, and really quite shockingly cruel. When she had first begun to work at the academy, it had been her first job and she hadn't exactly proven herself a natural. However, instead of mocking her for her lack of ability, the other servants in the castle had taught and guided her, until she had been able to perform her duties by herself. There had been some ribbing and joking of course, but nothing like the outright mockery she had witnessed that morning.
She believed she may very well be alone in noticing the dark look that had passed through her mistress' eyes, as she stood there, apparently resigned to their jeers. Siesta thought that her mistress may have been torn between turning her wand on her classmates, and breaking down crying; but after only two weeks the maid already knew that the young mage's pride would allow neither.
After seeing that little demonstration, Siesta had resolved to assist her master in whatever way she could, if only to repay her for the clothes and her lingering nervousness around her, despite knowing the truth.
Unfortunately she didn't know much about the mechanics behind magic, she like most commoners had never put much thought into how it worked, she had been content simply to know that it did. To solve that little problem she had decided to visit the library.
Most commoners could not read very well, but Siesta could, she learnt it from her grandfather who had taught himself when he was younger, around the time he'd met her grandmother. He had even taught her another language he called Kanji, which he claimed was from a far away land. Her father had said it was waste of time, that she'd never need that stuff; but she had enjoyed spending the time with her grandfather and had continued reading long after both her grandparents had passed on.
When she had first entered she had approached the librarian to ask for the location of the more basic books, and the woman had shot her a downright filthy look, no doubt offended that a commoner wanted to use her library. Still, she had pointed Siesta in the right direction without saying a word about it, before leaving with a huff.
The maid guessed she owed this to her new status as a familiar, Miss Louise had told her that familiars were seen as an extension of the mage, and thus action against them was often considered action against the master. To be honest, she had found this news to be something of a relief; the Valliére were the most powerful noble family in Tristain, second only to the royal family itself, there were few who would willingly risk evoking their wrath.
Still Master Gramont had assaulted her less than a day after the ceremony, so the protection wasn't absolute. She already knew that most nobles weren't nice people and you couldn't always trust them to play by the rules. So far, her mistress seemed to be the only exception to this rule.
Growing increasingly sick of the persistent whispering behind her, Siesta grabbed the first book with a likely title, and made to leave the library; opening the book and beginning to read as she went:
Before delving into the mechanics of the gifts granted to us by the founder, we must first examine and understand the philosophy behind His teachings. When the founder was in the land of…
She sighed, it was a good job she did not have any chores to do until after the afternoon classes had finished.
With her attention taken up entirely be the task in front of her, she did not notice that someone was watching her.
Count Mott strode through the hallways of the Tristain Academy of Magic with a smug grin on his face. Today had turned out to be somewhat satisfactory, and to think, when he had awoken this morning he had not been expecting much from it at all.
He had been tasked with warning the academy's headmaster, that the notorious thief Fouquet, was reported to be in the area. A piffling, little errand that could have been performed equally as well by just about anybody; still, when the royal family themselves ask you to do something; it wasn't exactly prudent to say no.
Besides it did his pride some good to know that when the most powerful family in the country wanted something done, they came to him. It had been Princess Henrietta herself who had written the request, a foolish little girl attempting to perform a man's job, but she was very easy on the eyes.
He had finished his task shortly after he had arrived, delivering the message to the headmaster, a senile old fool. Although, for such a fool, the man did have remarkably good taste. The secretary (he couldn't remember the name and didn't really care) had been very attractive, the very image of the teacher fantasies he had entertained in his youth, and that disapproving glare she had shot him on his way out had made his blood race. Oh, how he would love to break that haughty attitude, it was always so satisfying to see the ones with a disagreeable nature break.
After he had finished his business he had decided to take a small walk around the school and visit some of his old haunts, for nostalgia's sake.
As he traveled he began to remember some of the reasons why he had loved school so much. To start with, the girls' uniforms made them look so appetizing, the skirts were so short and showed of quite a bit of their young, supple legs, stopping in just the right place to give a tantalising hint of what might lie beyond. Clearly they had been designed by someone who knew good taste. And the maids, usually overlooked by the students, were everywhere if you paid attention, working away so vigorously, getting all hot and sweaty. In fact, he had bedded a couple of them in his time here, some of them had feigned reluctance, but they all came around in the end.
As he drew near to the library one of the doors swung open and someone stepped out, it was a woman, and a pretty, young thing, at that. She had her head buried in a book, and was scowling at the pages as though confused. He paused to take in her appearance, her hair was black and shiny, her skin pale and smooth, her eyes large and so innocent, so naïve. Oh the things he could teach her.
Her garments however gave him pause, they were simple, but too fine for her to be a regular commoner. Yet at the same time not fine enough for her to be nobility, nor were they part of the uniform of the school's serving staff. So then, perhaps she was the private servant of one of the students? Though rare, it was not entirely unheard of for students to bring a servant with them to attend them; but they did have to clear it with the headmaster first, and it was considered a slight against the school's ability to provide adequate service.
Most unusual, he would have to ask around and enquire as to whom this lovely creature belonged.
The girl in question suddenly froze as the large, oak door slammed shut behind her, slowly she raised her head and her eyes locked with his. Now he could see the emotions in her eyes, nervousness and even a little fear, like a doe that had just spotted the hunter.
That was to be expected, he knew, in the presence of a man of his stature. He gave her what he thought of as a charming grin, but what anyone watching would have more likely described as predatory. Her eyes widened, and she began to tremble ever so slightly, as he took a step towards her. Even if he couldn't have her yet, it was always worth making a good first impression.
Outside, in the academy's main courtyard, a second carriage pulled up alongside the one that had delivered Count Mott earlier that day. Though just as richly decorated this second carriage appeared less ostentatious and imposing, the inlaid gold blending better with the deep mahogany.
As soon as it came to a stop the driver leapt from his seat, and rushed to open the door for his passenger, bowing low as he did.
Out of the carriage stepped a woman with long, strawberry-blonde hair pulled back into a severe-looking bun. She stood straight-backed and proud, her face a picture of stoicism as gazed upon the building where she had spent her own years as a student. After a moment or two she began her walk towards the main doors with a military grace.
Louise had managed to suppress most but not all of her anger, by the time she returned to her dormitory that evening. After all, it was not like being angry would change anything. It was just, she was so tired, tired of being mocked, tired of tired of being a loser, and so very tired of being a failure.
When she opened the door to her room a high-pitched, screech pierced the air, and caused her to jump, as she case her gaze frantically about the room looking for the source.
Her maid and familiar was standing near the table, cleaning cloth in one hand, and looking like a startled rabbit, ready to run at a moment's notice. Her eyes were wide and her hand was on her chest, her was breathing obviously heavy, much like Louise's own was right then.
After taking a moment to compose herself, Louise entered the room and closed the door behind her. She could feel worry begin to creep into her heart, Siesta may have surprised her by making that noise, but the maid should know to expect her back around this time, something obviously had her shaken.
"Siesta?" she asked, "Are you alright?"
"Of course I am Miss, why wouldn't I be?" the maid replied, just a little too fast. She then turned around and returned to her work, scrubbing the tabletop with more vigour than was necessary.
Louise stepped forward carefully, she recognised the look in her servant's eyes, she had since it once before, on the night of the love-potion incident. She could feel her stomach begin to turn on itself; she had thought that things were getting better between them, certainly Siesta had seemed warmer towards her as of late, and far less jumpy.
Better? Spoke a small, mocking voice at the back of her mind. You attempted to violate the poor girl. And you think that a single week's worth of being nice, will make things better?
What? No. That had not been her fault, she'd been under the effects of the potion, she had literally been unable to control her own actions, she could not be held responsible.
And? Do you think that makes any difference to her? If she had not been able to shake you off and flee, do you think it would have changed what would have followed?
'But-but … that was … girls can not do that to each other! It is impossible!
You keep believing that. After all, it's not like you were planning to take her right then and there on your bed. Or that you stalked her through the corridors trying to catch her alone, so you could pounce.
No! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!
That's why you took her in, isn't it? Because of the guilt.
No! She did not take Siesta in out of a sense of guilt. She did not! Although it was true that Siesta did not know she had not been in charge of herself that night, so she was technically this way because of her, even if it was not really her fault. Besides, it had not been Siesta's fault either, and everyone had been prepared to just cast her aside.
She was pulled from her inner conflict by a firm rapping at her chamber door. Immediately Siesta's head snapped up to gaze in fear at the doorway, and Louise felt the knot in her stomach loosen before tightening up again immediately. It looked like the maid's problem wasn't with her, unfortunately that meant that whatever it was may very well be waiting for her on the other side of that door right now. With some trepidation she moved to answer it, and when it opened she could hear Siesta's sharp intake of breath behind her.
The person who had come calling was a man Louise recognised instantly, even if she had never before spoken to him personally; and someone she had never wanted to personally meet ever. It just felt to her like he was coated in a thin layer of slime and he smelt like he was wearing some sort of cologne that was just obnoxious. She did not care for the arrogant way he held himself either, nor the shark-like grin that she guessed she was supposed to find charming.
What she disliked most of all however, was the way his gaze had immediately locked onto Siesta behind her, and taken on a look like a snake, that had just happened across some particularly succulent mouse. As he opened his mouth to speak, Louise beat him to the punch.
"Good evening Lord Mott," she said, making a deliberate effort to be polite. "What may I do for you?"
"Good evening, Miss Valliére," he replied, in voice not unlike that of a snake-oil salesman. "I came to have a small chat about the young lady you have in your service."
Louise heard an almost inaudible squeak from the girl in question, and from the look in his eyes, so did Mott.
For just a moment she thought that Siesta had managed to offend another noble, then dismissed the thought as unlikely. Her familiar was not one to act above her station, the situation from a few days ago had been the result of a misunderstanding, and the Count's face looked more amused than annoyed.
She forced herself to suppress a shudder when she considered the other reason Count Mott might be interested in her, she had heard rumours of the man's … appetites. She noticed that his gaze was still locked on Siesta, and from the way he was looking at her, she thought that the rumours may not be entirely unfounded. This in mind, she decided on her next course of action, and turned to face her maid.
"Siesta," she said, as gently as possible. "Please continue with your duties, I'll be back in a moment." Then she turned back towards the count and trying for the same firm tone her mother used when talking to disagreeable people, she said:
"Lord Mott, I'm afraid we will have to continue this discussion in the hallway," she waited for him to back away from the doorway, before stepping through herself, and making sure to close the door firmly behind her.
"Now sir, what is it about my maid that you would like to discuss?"
"Straight to the point, I like that. Actually I was quite surprised to learn that we seem to have the same tastes," he replied, and coming from him it didn't feel like a compliment. Louise didn't much like the idea of him approving of anything she did. "Simply put, I wish to purchase her contract."
Louise's had to fight to keep the expression of surprise from her face, for some reason she felt an incredible desire to slap the smirk off of his face.
"I'm sorry to say that you have wasted your time," she said, with as little emotion as possible, "My familiar is not for sale."
"Oh please, come now Miss Valliére," he responded, chuckling. "That familiar story failed to pull the wool over the eyes of most of the brats in this academy, it is hardly likely to fool one such as myself. You and I both know the truth."
Louise felt her anger dissipate, to be replaced by an icy chill in the pit of her stomach.
"Truth?" she asked, only just managing to keep her voice from breaking, "What truth?"
"I have been reliably informed Miss Valliére, that you paid your maid to pretend to be your familiar, in order to avoid embarrassment in front of the entire school."
Immediately anger ignited once more within her, and she clenched her jaw. Those damn rumourmongers! Quickly, and as she discretely as possible, she took a couple of deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself down.
"I can assure you Count, that those rumours are completely false."
"Come now, there is no need to lie."
"I am not lying, sir. And my answer is final," she grated out, barely keeping herself from growling at the man's continued ignorance, and the insufferable smirk that was still on his face.
Before Mott could reply a new voice entered the conversation.
"Valliére? Is everything alright?"
This time she did growl, this was just the person she did not want to see at the moment.
"Everything is in hand Gramont. What do you want?" she replied, as the boy in question approached.
"Ah. It is simply that I heard raised voices and wondered what was going on." He answered, "However, I think I can hazard a guess," he added, eyeing Mott with obvious distaste.
"Ah, the young Master Gramont, it is a pleasure," Mott said, in a voice thick with false humility. "I have heard tales of your exploits and I must say, I am impressed."
"Excuse me, what exploits?" Gramont asked.
"Your talent with the women, of course," Mott replied smoothly. "Why, the stories remind me of myself at you age."
Louise watched as Gramont's face rapidly turned pale, to the point where she thought he might very well faint. Then suddenly he shook his head, and said in a somewhat shaky voice:
"Be that as it may, I would like to know why you are here."
"Ah, I am simply negotiating for the contract for Miss Valliére's servant," the older man replied smoothly. Louise could feel her last tenuous hold on her temper begin to slip, why could this fool not just accept her answer, no meant no damn it!
"Um, I'm not sure you're completely aware of all the facts my lord," Gramont replied uncertainly. "But Valliére's servant is also her familiar."
Mott looked at Guiche quizzically for a moment as though not quite understanding what he was hearing. Louise dared to hope for a moment that the man had finally got it through his thick skull and would leave, before he said:
"Ah! I understand, the two of you are in on this together of course. Do you take turns with maid, or go at the same time?"
Gramont somehow managed to turn an even paler shade of white. Louise felt a deep sickness in her stomach, that was quickly replaced with a righteous indignation, and she finally exploded.
"And just what are you implying!" she screamed, her face a furious red.
Mott opened his mouth to respond, but what that response was none would know, for he was interrupted by another new voice, a woman's voice, one that was stern and well-spoken.
"Indeed, I would quite like to hear the answer to that myself."
Louise leaned sideways so she could see past Mott and get a look at the newcomer. However, even without looking, she would recognise that voice anywhere.
"M-mother…" she breathed, her righteous fury dissipating in her mother's presence. All of a sudden she felt very small.
"We will speak in a moment Louise," he mother replied firmly. "First I would like to know the reason for Lord Mott's presence, it is obviously my daughter you are calling on, you are holding this conversation outside of her doorway, after all." Her voice cooled as she spoke, and there was a dangerous glint in her eyes.
"I was merely trying to negotiate for the contract for your daughter's servant."
Louise noticed that he was no longer attempting his false familiarity, there was less honey in his voice now, and he was no longer smiling. Instead his tone was more measured, and business-like.
"I see, Louise?" Lady Valliére replied, turning her gaze towards her youngest child.
"I - I have already refused," she managed to get out.
"Very well, then this business is concluded," she said, and when Mott opened his mouth to argue she interrupted him.
"Even if the situation were not as it is Lord Mott, if my daughter does not wish to sell her servant's contract to you then she is under no obligation to do so."
Mott's mouthed curled into what Louise was sure was meant as a courteous smile, and he gave a very shallow bow.
"Very well, then if you'll excuse me." he said, doing a poor job of hiding his frustration. With that he turned and marched back down the hall. He had barely gone more than a dozen steps when her mother called after him:
"Oh and Lord Mott, from now on if you wish to meet with any of my daughters, you will need to seek approval from me first."
She watched him until she was out of sight before turning to face her daughter and Gramont, her gaze penetrating.
"Ah, yes well," the blond boy began. "If the situation is dealt with, I will just be returning to my quarters." With that he hurried in what was obviously a barely restrained walk, back in the direction of his room.
With all others gone, Lady Valliére finally turned her full attention on her daughter. Louise was barely able to keep herself from trembling.
"Now then Louise," her mother said. "Shall we step inside?"
Hurriedly Louise made to open her door, then paused. Hesitantly she turned back to her mother, and in a voice that she struggled to keep from breaking, she said:
"Of course, mother. Just please, give me a moment."
"Be quick," came the reply.
With a nod, Louise pried open her bedroom door just enough for her to squeeze through. Once inside she saw Siesta merely staring blankly at the table she had been polishing so fervently earlier, her thoughts obviously not in the present. Again she stepped forward and spoke the maid's name softly, then carefully placed her hand upon her shoulder. This time the maid didn't jump, instead she merely turned her head to look a Louise, the blank look slowly fading from eyes.
"Yes, Miss?" she asked, her voice properly respectful, but somewhat distant.
"Siesta, Mott is gone," she said. When the maid gave no reply she continued. "Are you alright?"
"Yes Miss," the maid replied, her voice barely a step above trembling. "I'm fine."
Louise hesitated, she wanted to enquire further, as Siesta was obviously holding something back, but she was not quite sure how to proceed. Not to mention her mother was waiting outside the door, and she certainly did not want to keep her waiting.
"Siesta, do you remember some days ago when I received the letter from my mother?" she asked.
The maid nodded.
"Well she's waiting just outside," she explained.
She felt her familiar's shoulders stiffen beneath her fingers.
"In a moment I'm going to let her in," she continued. "So take a deep breath and prepare yourself." Briefly she wondered whether the advice was more for her servant or herself.
Siesta moved to stand next to the small breakfast table, and Louise went to open the door. Her mother crossed the threshold, and Louise noticed her gaze immediately lock on to Siesta for less than a second, before scanning over the rest of the room. Louise knew that her mother had learnt more about the maid with that swift, appraising look, than she would normally be able to learn in a whole year. As usual, her mother got straight down to business.
"Now then, your explanation, if you please."
There was no need to ask what she was referring to, so Louise launched straight into her explanation of the events of the last month. She explained about the night that had started everything, carefully avoiding Siesta's eyes the whole time, which she was sure her mother picked up on. She made sure to mention her suspicions that she might have been drugged with a love potion. She explained how Siesta had ended up in her employ, and the events of the summoning ceremony. Finally, she concluded her report with the disastrous "duel", and its aftermath.
After she was finished talking her mother was silent for a moment, a moment which seemed to stretch into an eternity, during which time Louise's stomach busied itself by twisting into knots. Eventually the older woman spoke:
"I see. So you believe you were under the influence of a love-potion?"
"Yes, mother," Louise replied.
"Well, the symptoms you listed do match… Very well, I will speak to the headmaster about this personally. In the meantime Siesta will remain in your employ, she is after all your familiar. However your allowance will remain as it is. If you require extra funds you may write home to request them, however I will want to know what they are being used for," she said.
With business concluded Lady Valliére left the room, and strode down the hallway, in the general direction of the headmaster's office.
Louise slowly sank into a sitting position on her bed, and breathed a sigh of relief as her stomach unclenched. That had gone easier and far quicker than she had anticipated. She had been expecting her mother to question her more on her suspicions of a love potion, or on the circumstances surrounding the duel.
After a few seconds of simply watching the slowly darkening sky outside her window, she shot a quick look at Siesta, and saw the girl still staring at the doorway through which her mother had departed. Easing herself back to her feet, Louise slowly approached her servant:
"Siesta?"
"Yes, Miss," came that same reply.
"Are you sure you are okay?"
"Of course, Miss."
Louise bit her lip. Here was her chance to finally discover what Siesta was keeping bottled up, whatever it was Mott had done or said, with presumably no interruptions. Yet she had no idea how to approach the subject. Not to mention, it was Mott and given the tales about him and now her own first-hand experience, she wasn't sure she wanted to know.
Her mother had always stated that a servant's well-being was part of a noble's responsibility, and Siesta was more than just her servant, she was her familiar. Perhaps, if she could not approach the subject herself, then maybe she should try to convince Siesta to make the first move? Maybe it would be best to sleep on it and approach the subject with a fresh mind tomorrow, or would that just be leaving it to fester?
Her eyes locked with the serving girl's and when she saw the lost, somewhat haunted look that lurked behind what were actually quite a pair of beautiful, dark eyes, her decision was made. She set her resolve, and pressed forward. Keeping their gazes locked she said:
"Siesta, if you ever have a problem, you can come to me with it," she said, as laid her hand on Siesta's arm. She found herself quite pleased when the girl did not pull away.
"Yes, Miss…" Siesta breathed.
The two stayed in that position for some time, until it struck Louise how intimate a picture they must make to anyone looking in. She wrenched her hand back as though burned, and her cheeks suddenly felt like they were on fire. Quickly she tried to recompose herself.
"Y-yes well, if that is settled, then I guess it is time I got ready for bed," she said.
However, sleep would elude Louise for a long time that night as she was assaulted by the pessimistic thoughts her mind conjured up.
Again she wondered why her mother had not stayed longer. She did not doubt her mother's ability to learn all she needed to know in as few words as possible, perhaps she just did not wish to stay in the presence of her talentless daughter for longer than necessary. After all, everyone knew that Louise was a failure, that was why they had suck her with that detestable moniker. A noble that could not perform even the simplest of magics, she was a joke. To her mother, and to her father and sisters, that she had summoned a commoner as her familiar must seem like the punchline of a terrible joke.
Part of her yearned for the presence of her second-oldest sister Catlleya, for the simple soothing words she always seemed to have to spare, she did her best to silence it.
She remembered when she had first arrived at the academy, full of hope that she could live up to her mother's, and her family's reputation, that memory just made her current situation seem all the more depressing. They had been full of kind words and encouragement at first, the teachers and the students. However, as that first year had worn on the reassurances had waned, while the mockeries grew in number, until she knew that even the teachers referred to her as "The Zero" in the privacy of their own heads.
Finally she recalled the moment from only a couple of hours ago, when she had lain her hand on Siesta's arm. Even now she got a warm feeling just thinking about it, and her stomach felt…fluffy. Mott's accusations rang in her ears, and a treacherous part of her wondered whether he was right.
She shook her head violently against her pillow. No! She did not think of Siesta like that, she did not hire her because of she found her attractive, or to fulfil some base desire. She was not like him! If the two were closer than was normal given their stations, it was because of the bond as master and familiar; and perhaps because they had both suffered as a result of that frightful love-potion.
Not entirely convinced by her own words the young mage eventually managed to fall into a fitful sleep.
Siesta lay in her bed staring up into the blackness, beyond which was the ceiling of the servant's quarters, a whirlwind of emotions behind her eyes.
She still felt … afraid, she couldn't think of any other word to describe it. When Lord Mott had approached her outside the library, she had felt her stomach preparing to relieve itself of her dinner, and a icy chill had run down her spine. There wasn't a servant in the entirety of Tristain who had not heard the rumours of Count Mott's appetites, and from the way he had acted towards her, she would guess those rumours accurate.
The things he had said to her, the places he had tried to … to touch her… She had a suspicion he thought himself charming, but any woman would have to be insane to find what he said appealing.
In the end she had simply fled, only for him to turn up at her mistress' room mere hours later. She had felt so unclean after that meeting that she had scrubbed herself extra-thoroughly during her evening bath. Even now she lay with her sheathed sword clutched in her hands, for the first time drawing comfort from its presence.
She had now been almost violated twice, in the space of a month. Was this some sort of ironic punishment for those illicit books of hers? For her secret fantasies of some rich, charming noble to sweep her of her feet and ravish her? If so, she would burn those books tomorrow and curse the author them for making situations like that seem attractive.
Miss Louise had defended her, despite her having already gotten in trouble with another noble not long ago, her mistress had taken her side. For some reason that made her feel warm inside. It was strange, about a week ago she'd been terrified that the young noble would be the one trying to take advantage of her. Now her mere presence felt reassuring, even if it couldn't completely relieve that sense of wrongness that had come from being near Count Mott. And at the end, when her mistress had placed her hand on her arm it had felt strangely nice.
Then she had met Miss Valliére's mother, well not met exactly but rather stood in the same room as. Nonetheless, the woman's sheer presence was both awe-inspiring, and terrifying. She had no idea what it was, but there was no denying the pressure she had felt when the older woman's eyes had landed on her. It was a gaze that seemed to look straight through her, and learn everything it needed to know about her with a single look.
Slowly tiredness overtook Siesta, and like her master she fell into a disturbed sleep.
Author's Note: It lives! Yep, it's been a while but I've finally gotten a new chapter of this out. I actually took a bit of a break from fanfiction for a while but now I'm back, so updates should be faster.
Okay, this is the first chapter where people's characterization is going to start evolving properly so I'm a little worried about it, so constructive criticism would be nice. Also, if Mott's actions require a change to the rating, please let me know.
That said, as always please read and review.