Disclaimer: I do not own Familiar of Zero/Zero no Tsukaima.
Chapter VII - Contracted
It took Siesta far too long to find the entrance to the caverns Professor Colbert had mentioned, and she was almost breathless after her sprint across the field, she felt just about ready to collapse. However, despite her exhaustion , she continued to press forward. Every second she was out here, was another second that Miss Louise was alone with that criminal.
The entrance to the cave was dark and foreboding, she felt her stomach tighten and the hairs of her neck stand on end at the mere sight of it. With only a seconds pause she took a deep, steadying breath, and stepped inside.
It got dark quickly, first dimming to the point where she could only make out even her own limbs as vague shapes, but soon it grew so dark that she could not see her own hand in front of her face. She had to resort to placing her left hand on the wall and feeling her way forward against the coarse, hard stone, praying that there would not be any forks or splits.
Her other hand despite its shaking, kept a constant grip on the hilt of her sword, not that she had any idea how she was going to be able to fight in the dark. Because they had had Professor Colbert and Miss Kirche with them they had not brought any torches or lanterns, instead she had simply assumed that the fire mages would be able to light their way if needed. Not that she had known Fouquet would be hiding in a cave.
Alone in the dark every noise seemed so much louder, the shuffling of her boots against the dirt, the creaking of her leather armour as she moved. Even the sound of her own breathing, and her hand brushing against the wall; all of them seemed so loud in the darkness, almost unnatural.
She could feel her heart beating heavily against her ribs, and even it sounded loud enough to alert the world to her presence, it almost felt like she was being watched. Her legs were trembling, threatening to give out beneath her, but she forced them to keep moving. Thoughts of Miss Louise in the clutches of that nasty thief urged her on, thoughts of all the terrible things that could befall a lone girl held captive by someone with Fouquet's reputation. Eventually, she felt the path she was walking begin to slope downwards, and the air began to taste warm and stale.
After what felt like an eternity the darkness slowly began to lift, and there was a light at the end of the tunnel. It had a soft, flickering quality that reminded her of open flames, and as she drew closer she could hear a soft crackling noise that supported her assumption. At first it hurt her eyes a little after the pitch-black of the tunnel, but she blinked her eyes a few times and her vision soon adjusted.
Upon reaching the end of the tunnel she found herself in a large, roughly round cave. Around the edges of the area were scattered several lanterns, the flames dancing inside their glass casing. In the centre with his wand already drawn was the one who had kidnapped her mistress, the thief Fouquet.
He had his hood up and his face masked, so that only his eyes were visible. She felt her mouth go dry and her stomach clench at the sight, her legs began trembling again. However, another thought overrode all of that; where was Louise?
Almost in a panic her eyes shot over the rest of the room searching for her master, and found the petite blonde leaning against the wall at the far end of the cave. She was obviously in bad shape, her clothes were in tatters, and she was covered in blood. She was not moving.
Siesta could feel the bile begin to rise at the back of her throat, ice ran through her veins, and her legs very nearly gave out from under her. No it wasn't true! She wasn't too late! She wasn't! Her eyes began to burn and she didn't even attempt to stop the tears that came pouring forth.
Her eyes drifted back towards the figure in the centre of the room, and suddenly her sorrow was replaced by a burning anger. She been angry before towards her brothers' stupid pranks, when her parents had forced her out of her home, and even towards the nobles who had been continuously condescending towards her; but nothing like this. Her blood boiled in her veins, and her muscles tensed. For the first time in her life Siesta wanted nothing more than to inflict pain, to leap forward and rend this bastard limb from limb.
Without thinking she drew her sword, and the runes on the back of her hand began to glow brilliantly. The sound the blade made as it slid from its sheath, and the weight of it in her hand, filled her with a sense of satisfaction.
"What did you do to her?" she growled at the thief. The anger in her voice surprising even her.
Fouquet remained silent, simply staring at her. Siesta's vision grew blurry from the tears, and she wiped at her eyes with her free hand.
"Answer me!" she cried, her voice a strangled scream.
When the thief again gave no reply, the last remnants of Siesta's self-restraint vanished. With a loud cry she leapt forward, raised her sword high above her head, and brought it crashing back down. Fouquet sprang backwards, barely avoiding the furious blow, as the blade cracked the earth where he had once been standing. The familiar whirled on the thief and swung her sword in a wild, horizontal arc, once more forcing the thief back.
Fouquet's arm snapped outward, pointing his wand at her. Suddenly the ground beneath her feet grew soft, and she started to sink into it. With great effort she managed to wade through it and haul herself out. Only to immediately be struck in the stomach by a chunk of earth, knocking the wind right out of her.
She rolled with the blow as best she could, then scrambled quickly to her feet. After taking second to gulp down some hair, she let loose another wild cry and charged the thief again.
Colbert ducked to the side, dodging yet another vicious hammer blow from the stone golem. The ground shook beneath his feet, but he easily maintained his balance.
Despite his extensive experience he could feel his frustration growing, in spite of his efforts to hold it back. In battle such emotions were a hindrance, and he could ill-afford such right now. Still, he did not know what his next move should be, and he could feel the concern for Siesta at the back of his mind. Maintaining the golem's ability to fight would likely be draining much of Fouquet's willpower, but the maid was still very inexperienced.
There were at least two clear problems he thought; the first and most obvious being the construct's ability to resist magic. It was something he had never heard done before, and it was an ingenious move by Fouquet, in fact, it could very well be something the thief had invented himself. The creature had managed to withstand every attack he had thrown at it thus far, seemingly without taking any damage. True all of the spells had been hastily created, but as a triangle class mage he was capable of summoning up a good deal of power quickly and without preparation.
He had been hoping that they could wear down the creature's protection over time, killing it with bug bites, but that did not seem to be likely. At this point he had no option but to keep probing it for weaknesses. On top of all that its speed was deceptive considering its size, but at least its attack patterns were predictable.
The second problem was his own allies. During his military days he had become accustomed to working alone, only being concerned with his own safety, and possibly the safety of hostages. Even on the rare occasions he had been part of a team they had been other professionals, people he knew could deal with problems, and could trust to watch his back as he watched theirs.
His current teammates may be talented, but were little more than children. All of them were still in school, and with the exception of Miss Tabitha, none of them had seen real combat before today. Speaking of Miss Tabitha, her familiar was circling somewhere among the clouds above them, however she seemed reluctant to call on it. He was tempted to order everybody on to the dragon and simply float above the battlefield, however that would allow Fouquet to spend more of his willpower in his battle with Siesta.
A blast of flame struck the stone giant in the side of what might pass for its head courtesy of Miss Zerbst, but it did not turn its attention away from Colbert. Perhaps it recognised him as the greatest threat? Certainly his opening shot had been the most powerful attack of the battle so far.
Another blow came rushing towards him, and once more he leapt out of the way. Unfortunately, this attack was powerful enough to crack the earth, making the ground beneath him uneven. When Colbert landed his footing was not sure enough and he slipped. Even as he hurried back to his feet the beast was already upon him, coming in for a finishing blow.
Suddenly something grabbed him tightly, and hauled him forcefully out of the way, before dumping him unceremoniously back on the ground. Looking up he found a bronze figure, vaguely in the shape of an armoured woman, standing over him. Looking over he saw Mister Gramont with three more of his bronze "Valkyries" standing around him.
With a motion of his wand all four of his creations charged forward, and struck at their opponent with their fists. Their attacks hit home and stone chips came flying away from the impact; Colbert smirked, apparently that technically didn't count as magic.
Unfortunately the damage was only superficial, and the giant lashed out with one of its own enormous arms. It tore straight through one of the smaller bronze figures, turning it into a pile of scrap. However for the first time the golem turned its attention away from Colbert, and headed towards the younger noble. That was until a large ball of flame struck it in the back, sending a wave of heat over the entire battlefield. Evidently Miss Zerbst had taken the time since her last attack to prepare a more powerful spell.
Once again the creature turned, having decided on a new target. It stormed towards her and she attempted to leap out of its way, but was not quite fast enough. The creature managed to grab hold of her cloak and attempted to swing her by it, but the fabric tore, and the redhead was sent sprawling into the dirt. As she struggled to get back to her feet, Colbert felt his anxiousness immediately spike.
With a curse Colbert leapt back to his feet and immediately started building up a more powerful spell, even though he knew he would not be in time. Already the golem was bearing down on the Germanian. He should have started his spell as soon as the Valkyrie had released him, instead of gawking like a fool.
The giant's fists came hurtling towards its target, two of the remaining Valkyries attempted to catch it but failed, exploding into pieces. They did however delay it a fraction of a second longer, enough for Miss Tabitha to knock her friend clear with a particularly powerful gust of wind.
His preparations finished Colbert unleashed his spell, and the air around him grew blazing hot. It was a familiar heat, but one he had not felt in years. There was a resounding roar as an intensely hot stream of fire speed towards the enemy. A massive explosion rocked the area, but Colbert kept his eyes trained on the billowing smoke where the golem had been standing mere seconds before.
Slowly the smoke cleared, and the creature was still there. It was covered in burn marks and parts of it were glowing red from the heat, but it was still whole.
He couldn't help but sigh as it turned to face him once more. At least its attention was on him again now instead of his students, and he thought, a creature like this should be consuming more of Fouquet's willpower than he had originally anticipated. He hoped that would be enough to give Siesta a chance at victory.
Fouquet was beginning to feel the strain, as she continued to evade her opponent's attacks. She had never intended to engage any of the rescue party personally, her plan had simply been to have her golem drive them back. She had even added the magic resistance, in anticipation that Old Osmund would send someone like the former Flame Snake after her. She had failed to anticipate that one of them would break away from the main group to come after her alone. Even if she had, she would never have expected it to be this girl.
That was another thing, the maid's unusual violence, it was completely atypical of everything Fouquet knew about her. The girl had been trembling when she first entered, but then had shifted so suddenly from fear to rage. She had been going for lethal blows from the very start, twice the girl would have separated the thief's head from her shoulders if her timing had been even a little off.
Fouquet had seen Siesta around the school a few times since she had started working there, and had witnessed nothing to suggest she was capable of such ferocity. She knew the girl had seen her Master lying against the wall and had jumped to the wrong conclusion, but this display of aggression was still incredibly out of character.
Perhaps she should have attempted to give her an answer when she had demanded it? She had remained silent in order to preserve the secret of her true sex. Having been caught off guard, and not knowing how the situation would be resolved, she had wanted to play her cards close to her chest. Although, the young Miss Valliére knew anyway, so that had probably been pointless.
She dodged another blow, barely avoiding the blade by less than an inch. If this kept up it would not be long before she maid caught her. She almost chuckled, she was an earth mage battling underground, normally a fight like this would be child's play. However, she was diverting too much of her willpower towards her golem, she simply did not have enough to spare for her more powerful spells. That is, unless she wanted the cavern to collapse and bury the three of them alive.
Fouquet just could not understand the girl's sudden ferocity, had she really become so attached to her master, in so short a time?
Miss Valliére had succumbed to the sleep potion not long before her maid had arrived, although given how diluted it was, Fouquet was not sure how long it would last. Her idea had been to leave the girl unconscious in a place where she would be found, whilst she herself made her escape. She could see how it must have looked to the maid as she entered.
She did not particularly want to harm either girl, Siesta had done nothing to deserve it, and the young Lady Valliére may be one of the few nobles who did not deserve a harsh lesson. However, the longer this fight dragged on, the more likely it was that she would need to. Then an idea occurred to her, and her lips twisted into a grim smile beneath her mask.
Siesta howled furiously as she swung her sword wildly at the thief. Her body moved of its own volition, with no conscious decision from her. She was covered in small wounds, and blood was smeared across her skin, but she paid it no mind, she did not even feel it. The only thing she could think about was what this bastard had done to Miss Louise.
The earth beneath her feet began to rumble, she spun to the side, barely avoiding the column of stone that erupted from beneath her feet. Then she used the momentum to launch herself at Fouquet, and lashed out with her sword in a horizontal arc. The thief leapt back and barely avoided the tip of the blade.
Siesta wasted no time in striking out again, only to find her blade blocked by a stone wall. A large chunk exploded out, striking her hard in the stomach and sending her sprawling into the dirt.
Another chunk of stone came soaring her way as she rose to her feet, and she rolled out of the way. She sprang back to her feet and got ready to charge forward once more. Suddenly the ground at her feet erupted and she was sent flying; there was a brief moment of weightlessness, and then she came crashing back down.
The impact knocked the air from her lungs, and she sucked in huge gasps of air as she struggled back to her feet. When she had been sent flying she had lost her grip on her sword, and it was now laying in the dirt a couple of feet away from her. The runes on the back of her hands had faded dead.
For a brief moment her fear overwhelmed her anger and she felt like she was going to be sick again. Even with her sudden skill with the sword she was no warrior, what on earth was she doing? Panic rising inside her she scrambled forward to where the weapon lay in the dirt. She almost sighed in relief as her fingers closed around its hilt, and she felt its reassuring weight in her hand.
Staring down at the earth beneath her while she was thinking about her next move, she suddenly noticed something strange about it. Gingerly she touched it with her fingers and they sunk straight in. It was the loose sand with which the thief had tried to ensnare her earlier, and it was still soft. She looked up and found Fouquet advancing on her, his wand pointed directly at her. As stealthily as she could she grabbed a handful of the dirt and waited a couple of seconds.
As soon as he was in range Siesta sprang into motion, chucking a handful of dirt directly into his eyes. Fouquet stumbled backwards blinded, his hands coming up to his eyes and Siesta pounced. She charged, tackling him around the stomach and sending both of them crashing to the floor. She rolled to the side towards her blade and grabbed it.
She quickly got to her feet and turned, spinning as she rose, and lashing out with her sword, nicking her opponent's leg with the tip. The thief's cry was distinctly feminine, but that didn't register to the maid right now. All that mattered was that it had hurt.
Another full rotation and she was completely upright, with her blade lying directly against his throat.
Siesta froze, unsure of what to do next. She had Fouquet at her mercy, and a small voice in her head whispered to her to just push her sword forward an inch, to kill the one responsible for harming her master; it would not even be hard.
Another part of her, her old self, screamed vehemently in resistance. She had never killed anyone before, and she didn't want to, the thought only would have made her feel sick if she had not already. At the same time she could see the mental image of Fouquet's blood running down her blade, and felt a sense of impending satisfaction. What was wrong with her?!
Her arm began to tremble under the weight of the blade, and she realised that she had to make a decision, but she had no idea what. She simply stared at the thief, her mind empty of answers.
She could not do anything, and soon her sword would get too heavy, and Fouquet would be able to do whatever he wanted to her and Louise. She thought of Fouquet laying his hands on her mistress again, and her mind return to the idea of just pushing her blade forward ever so slightly, but she couldn't…
Then a soft, tired voice interrupted:
"Siesta, wait."
Siesta turned towards the voice and found herself staring directly into the eyes of her mistress, they were slightly glazed over, but becoming more and more focused as the seconds wore by. She released a long breath and couldn't help the smile that began to curl her lips. Slowly the tension in her stomach began to ease, and she started to relax.
"Siesta, keep you're sword raised but do not kill her unless I say so," she croaked.
Siesta nodded, even though she knew her mistress must be bluffing. Miss Louise would never really order her to kill someone.
"Fouquet, do as I say and you will not be harmed, understood?" Louise continued.
The thief nodded in response, although not without a snort of amusement.
"Good," the blonde said, and coughed. "Now remove your hood and mask."
The thief stiffened, and seemed to hesitate for a moment before complying. Slowly his hands came up and brought down his hood, then went over to remove his mask. When their face was fully uncovered Siesta could not the help the gasp of shock that came from their lips.
"Miss Longueville?"
This couldn't be right. The fact that the infamous Fouquet was actually a woman was immediately deemed unimportant, next to the revelation of exactly who she was. Miss Longueville was the headmaster's secretary and had been one of, if not the only member of staff at the school who had not been utterly dismissive of her before she had become Miss Louise's familiar. She was kind, and patient, and not at all the type of person to go around stealing. She could not imagine someone like her garnering a reputation like Fouquet's.
Louise snorted.
"So that's why your voice sounded so familiar."
"Yes it is I," the older woman said, sounding more amused than hostile. "And I'm assuming there is something you want from me?"
"What would I want from a thief?"
Fouquet shrugged.
"Money, jewels, precious treasures?"
Siesta almost thought she heard her master growl.
"But I am more than a mere thief Miss Valliére," Fouquet continued, grinning slyly. "I've already proven to you that I am capable of learning information others keep closely guarded."
"And?" Louise asked.
"And," Fouquet replied. "You're in quite a precarious position right now, and there are a lot of people who'd like to take advantage of that."
"So you'd exchange secrets for your freedom?" Louise scoffed. "Why would I agree to that, when they will make you talk back at the academy?"
"Because knowledge is power," the thief replied. "And if I'm free, I can discover more secrets and report them back to you."
"I don't need to use such dishonourable – "
"Truly?" the thief cut in. "Do you not want to know what is going on outside of the academy? How your reputation is faring after your little scandal? How your family is weathering it?"
Louise was silent, and Siesta felt a desire to slap the thief in the face.
"I…" Louise began eventually.
"Who would tell you?" Fouquet continued. "Your mother? The princess? As you are, you are powerless to affect anything."
There was another long moment of silence, during which Siesta felt the tension return to her stomach.
"And you'd report only to me?" Louise asked.
"If that's what you want," Fouquet answered.
"Very well," Louise replied, nodding slowly. "If you swear to cease your thieving, I'll let you go."
Siesta's mind went blank, had Miss Louise really just made a deal with the person who was a thorn in side of nobles all over Halkegenia? Then again, she had already learned that her mistress was different from what she expected your average noble to be like.
"I swear," Fouquet responded. "Although in that case, I will need some compensation for my efforts."
"Excuse me!?"
Siesta's mouth dropped open, was the thief really trying to bargain for coin with a blade at her throat?
"Well," Fouquet said. "I'll hardly make a good spy if I'm starving to death in a gutter."
"Very well, I'll pay you a small amount, for every piece of information you give me," Louise all but growled.
Siesta almost winced, she knew how much her mistress' purse was strained already.
"…Very well, I accept," Miss Longueville answered. "So, do you already have any task you'd like me to undertake?"
Louise hesitated for only a moment?
"I want," she began, licking her lips. "I would like you to find out who gave me that love potion."
To Siesta's surprise, the thief chuckled softly.
"A simple question," she said. "So simple in fact, that I already know the answer."
"What?! Who?!"
"The Montmorency child."
Despite the situation Siesta suddenly felt a wave of irritation wash over her. Miss Montmorency?! She remembered the young noble girl, she had accused Siesta of seducing Miss Louise, and then pushed her into that horrible "duel" with Master Gramont. Now it transpired that it had been her fault all along, and she surely must have known that. A dark part of her wished she had given the young noble more than just a slap.
"Montmorency? But why?" Louise asked, anger creeping into her voice. She certainly remembered the duel incident too.
"I can't be sure," Miss Longueville replied. "But I believe the potion was originally intended as a leash for her wayward lover, Guiche de Gramont."
"De Gramont?" Louise responded. "Siesta," she added, after a moment.
The maid nodded glad to be able to lower her sword, her arm was burning and sore.
"So before I go, is there anywhere else you'd like me to start with this little spying game?" Fouquet asked.
Louise took a moment or two to think before replying.
"Start with the people close to me but not my family," she said.
The thief nodded slightly in her direction before limping towards the tunnel, and the surface, stopping only to grab one of the lanterns from near the edges of the cave.
Siesta and Louise merely watched the tunnel entrance until the woman's footsteps could no longer be heard. Finally Siesta sheathed her sword, and turned to look at her mistress. The blonde was covered in blood and dirt, and her clothes were in tatters, but she was alive. That fact alone made Siesta feel lighter than she had in a long time.
"Well then, Miss," she said, walking over to kneel beside her mistress. "We had best be getting out of here ourselves."
"You came for me…" Louise whispered.
Maybe it was Siesta's imagination, but she thought she heard a little shame in her master's voice.
"Of course I did," she replied, there had never been any question about it. "Now let's leave here," she continued. She really did not want to stay here longer than necessary.
"Yes, of course however…"
"However…?" Siesta asked, feeling tension rise in her again. Had she been wrong to feel so relieved just now?
"…I cannot stand," Louise admitted, turning her face to the side as though she was embarrassed to confess such a thing.
"I see…" Siesta replied, as she knelt down to inspect her mistress's legs.
She could not see what was wrong with them, but then she was no healer, or even a doctor. Slowly she crouched down and reached out to touch them, only for Louise to hiss sharply. Siesta quickly withdrew her hand.
"I'm sorry!"
"It's okay," Louise responded.
Despite what Miss Louise said it wasn't okay, and for a brief moment Siesta did not know what to do. She could not risk moving her, what if she made things worse? She briefly considered going to get Professor Colbert for help, but she really did not want to leave Louise here alone.
After a few moments of agonising, she finally came to a decision. She marched over to grab one of the remaining lanterns, and upon returning, placed it next to the young noble. Then she drew her sword, and stood facing the doorway. There was really no option but to wait until Professor Colbert reached them.
"Please hold on, Miss," she said, as she took her place between her mistress and the tunnel leading to the surface.
Her muscles were starting to ache now, and she was tempted to rest herself but she remained standing. What if Fouquet came back? After all, could you really take a thief at their word?
The Professor limped slightly as he walked alongside his students, away from the unmoving mound of rock that until mere seconds ago had been their opponent, and towards the base of the mountains. He wiped at the fresh cut on his cheek as he mused over the abrupt end to the fight, whatever had happened it could not have been timelier.
He took a quick look in the direction of his companions. All of four of them, himself included, were tired, dirty, and carrying some kind of injury, although thankfully nothing serious. Everything they had thrown at the creature had done nothing more than superficial damage, and they had all been running low on willpower.
Frankly he had been running out of ideas, he was quite sure that if the battle had continued it would have won. In a way it was quite galling, proof that the Flame Snake had gone soft he supposed, although considering his past that probably wasn't an entirely bad thing.
Given that it was extremely unlikely that it was anything they had done, he could only conclude that the cause had come from the other end. Siesta must have defeated Fouquet. He grinned at the thought, he had been unsure about it at first due to the maid's obvious timidity, but for the moment it seemed that the girl was growing into her new role quite well.
Although, he was concerned over whether or not she had had to kill the man, he had seen what could happen to a soldier after their first kill. He would have to be sure to talk to her later, if she had indeed needed to end the thief's life.
Their passage through the tunnels went smoothly with himself, and Miss Zerbst able to light the way. The Germanian was casting the spell with her off hand, the forearm of her other arm was wrapped from elbow to wrist in bandages he had managed to recover from the wreckage of their carriage.
As they continued he found himself growing more and more impressed at the young familiar's nerve. She would have needed to find her way alone in the pitch black of the tunnel, darkness and solitude could play some interesting tricks on the mind of even the most hardened soldier. Especially when they knew something dangerous was waiting for them.
As they proceeded they spotted another flickering light from up ahead, the tunnel opened up in to a proper cave and there was someone waiting for them. He gripped his wand inside his cloak but relaxed when he able to see who it was.
Standing there sword drawn, looking very much like she had fought a hard battle, and obviously keeping watch, was Siesta. He grinned, yes definitely growing into her role. As they drew closer he could see that she looked a lot worse for wear, however it was the blonde laying against the wall behind her that caught his attention. She was covered in blood and dirt, and looked quite pale. Concerned he sped up his pace.
"What is wrong?" he asked once they were close enough.
"It's her legs," Siesta replied. "She wasn't able to stand by herself so…"
"I see," he replied.
"Will she be alright?" Miss Zerbst asked from behind him.
He gave the Valliére child a quick glance over (ignoring her grumblings of "I'm fine"), before responding. She was still conscious, and her usual stubbornness was quite apparent, but she did appear to be extremely tired. However he was unable to ascertain the true extent of her injuries.
"She will be fine," he replied, with more confidence that he felt. "I'll do what I can, but we really should return to the last village we came through on the way here, and book some rooms at the inn. Then I'll send word for a healer."
Seeing them all nod their assent, he turned back to Siesta ask his last pressing question.
"And Fouquet?"
The maid opened her mouth to respond and then closed it again, seemingly at a loss for words. He was about to ask what was wrong, when Miss Valliére spoke up.
"He escaped."
"Escaped?"
"Yes," she replied. "Siesta had him beat, but then the coward fled."
"I see." It was as reasonable an explanation as any he supposed. The only reason for Fouquet to flee would be if he was running out of willpower, or if he was otherwise sure he was about to lose. Even if he still had some willpower remaining he may have deactivated his golem to preserve what he had left for his escape. It wasn't an entirely satisfactory answer, but it would do for now, a proper debriefing could wait.
"Very well then," he said. "Now, if you would all give me your cloaks so that I can fashion a basic stretcher, and Miss Tabitha, if you could just prepare to call your dragon."
Siesta stood looking out of the window beside her mistress's bed in the old inn where they had managed to find a couple of rooms. She was just staring at the full moon hanging in the night sky.
Her armour was leaning against the wall beneath the glass They had been lucky, it had been dusk by the time they had made it limping and exhausted back to the village, and there had been almost no vacant rooms left. Siesta had insisted on being the one to share a room with Louise and there had been no real argument.
Her mistress was lying in an old, slightly uncomfortable-looking bed a little to her right. She was sound asleep, but Siesta kept her vigil anyway. In case she needed to try and stop her hurting herself in her sleep, or she awoke or, she suddenly took a turn for the worse, or in case one of a thousand scenarios her mind could conjure.
It was the least she could do. The young noble had tended to her when she had been bed ridden after the incident in the Vestri Court. Not to mention buying her clothes, dealing with Count Mott, and giving her a new job, now it was Siesta's turn to look after her.
Down in the cave Professor Colbert had sent Miss Kirche and Master Gramont back outside to gather some wood, while he with Siesta's assistance, attempted to treat Miss Louise's wounds. He had taken his bandages out of his pack, and used them and a bit water to clean her wounds. Then combining it with some gauze, he had bound them. When the other two had returned he had been able to fashion two pairs of improvised splints, and with their cloaks a stretcher.
There had been no healer in town, but there had been a doctor, although he had been able to do little beyond what Professor Colbert had already done. He had given her some potions he purchased from the healer in the next town over to ward off infection and fever, then told them he would be lodging in the same room as the Professor, just in case Miss Louise took a turn in the night. Siesta felt sick at the thought.
Miss Tabitha and Miss Kirche had visited a little earlier to check on Miss Louise as well, and Siesta had found to her own surprise that she quite liked the both of them. She had already been feeling kindly to Miss Kirche because of her visit in the infirmary at the castle, but Miss Tabitha appeared to be a quite girl who she found easy to be around. Miss Kirche had even tried to lighten the mood by telling some lewd jokes, it had reminded Siesta a little of life back in her parent's village. Still, she had found her mood resistant to being lightened.
Suddenly there came a knock at the door, dragging her from her reverie, and Professor Colbert's voice called softly from the other side.
"May I come in?"
"Enter," Siesta called, in her master's stead.
The door swung open, and the professor strolled into the room, he cast a quick glance at the sleeping girl. He was still dressed in the same rags as before as were they all, almost everything they had brought with them had been destroyed by the golem.
"How is she?" he asked, as he went to take a seat at the battered-looking table in the centre of the room.
"Alright, for the moment," Siesta responded.
"Good. But actually I'm here to talk to you, about your fight with Fouquet," he said. "I would like you to describe the events in greater detail."
Siesta recited the story she had practised with Miss Louise, before her mistress had fallen asleep. It was mostly the truth, although she naturally amended the ending to make it sound like Fouquet had managed to fight her way out; and she had left out any mention of the thief being a woman.
The whole time she was talking the professor simply stood there looking at her, with a strangely expressionless look on his face. When she had finished her story his only response was only to give a curt nod and say:
"Thank you. Oh and yes. I've also received word back, there will be a healer arriving from a nearby town early tomorrow morning."
She nodded in understanding, relief coursing her veins.
"And you did very well today, Siesta," he added, before opening the door and leaving the room.
She merely stared at the doorway for a few moments after hearing those final words, unsure of how to feel. It was not often she received praise from someone who wasn't family, and to receive it from a mage was rarer yet.
Although it was odd, she felt her chest puff with pride at the comment, but it was nothing like the warm feeling she got when Miss Louise complimented her. Eventually she shrugged, and decided to simply let herself temporarily bask in the praise he had given her.
After a few moments of that she turned once more to gaze at her mistress. As silently as she could she crept towards the edge of the bed, and gently sat herself down on the edge of it. It was odd, even though the girl could be so stubborn and hot-tempered when awake, when she slept she looked so peaceful and pretty, even now when she was so badly injured.
Without thinking she reached out a hand to stroke a strand of Louise's blonde hair, and caught herself with it between her fingers. What was she doing?
Trying to ignore the thoughts racing through the back of her mind, even as the blood rushed to her face, Siesta all but sprung to her feet, and resumed her place by the window, looking out at the night sky.
