The various fictional worlds, characters and elements that are written about in this fanfiction belong to their various creators, who I'm too lazy to list. This is purely a fan work and not intended to generate any sort of profit. I know that if it does a fair number of bloodthirsty lawyers are likely to make my life miserable. As always constructive criticism is welcome and flames will be ignored.
I'd like to thank those who've taken the time to make suggestions at to characters I could use. Unfortunately I'll have to disappoint those that made Warhammer 40K suggestions for an Avatar because I changed my mind about having one of his Avatars being based off that universe. Rest assured that I'll still be drawing upon the rich story of that world, but just not in that way. I'm still looking for a healer though so any suggestions in that area would be appreciated.
On another note I'm pleased that the last chapter went down so well. By the looks of it my mysterious antagonist seems to have been well received, though I can't confirm or deny my reader's guesses without spoiling my future plans. Rest assured she'll get a fair bit of screen time if all goes to plan.
SPOILERS.
Not too much to spoil for this chapter. I freely admit that save for a few points this chapter is mainly filler since the real meat of the story will be showing itself next chapter. For the most part I wanted to flesh out the relations between Alex and the various girls in his life as well as introduce Henrietta. In all truth I'm not sure if I'll use her as a romantic subplot later in the story, even though I do like her. I'll just have to see how things develop since I don't really have anything set in stone.
Originally I wasn't planning to have that bit at the end involving my mystery villainess and her plans, but I felt that a little something extra was needed for this chapter. Just to be perfectly clear I DON'T plan to have any of the Chaos gods make an appearance. After all Alex might be pretty powerful in some ways, but he's not so much of a Gary Stu that the likes of Tzeentch wouldn't have him dead, dancing to their tune or locked in a padded cell with his brains having the consistency of porridge. What my mystery woman is doing is importing the WAYS of Chaos, the abandon with which those followers pursue the paths of the various gods, the ways in which those worshippers allow themselves to be consumed by the dogma of those they belong to until it subsumes their entire personality. To me that was always the most fascinating and monstrous aspect of the Chaos Gods, the way they not only consumed their worshippers but the way they made those worshippers WANT to be consumed, though of course that is simply my personal opinion on the matter.
Once again I'd like to offer my most sincere thanks to my Beta without whose help this chapter would be nowhere near as polished.
Chapter Eight: Introductions
"The Evaluation Fair?"
"It's a yearly routine exam. It's to show off the familiars that the students have summoned to the entire academy."
Okay, this was another discrepancy, and they were starting to pile up into a worrying pattern. The Evaluation Fair had been a plot device from the anime, a means by which the visit of Princess Henrietta could be combined with the whole Fouquet affair while at the same time spinning the whole business out for a couple of episodes. But the thing was that once again it didn't match with what he'd been expecting.
No, that wasn't true now that he thought about it. Alex had sort of been expecting this ever since the whole mess with Count Mott, that had been an anime event as well. Did this latest development mean that he'd been wrong in his initial assessment that he was in the Light Novel continuity? But if that was the case then did it mean that the rest of his knowledge would be off? He'd only watched the first two series all the way through and had more skimmed the second two so as to have a general idea of what they were about, but one thing he was pretty sure of was that at some point the anime and the novels had diverged. He knew a bit more about the novel than the anime, but in both cases his knowledge didn't extend much beyond Saito's big battle on Albion.
"We've got to do something that'll be absolutely fabulous!" Louise's declaration brought him out of his worries of the future and back to the present. "Maybe we could have several Mages attack you and you fight them off to show how strong you are. Oh, or maybe Professor Colbert could throw fireballs at you and you can use Derflinger to swat them away. Or maybe Tabitha would lend us her dragon and you two can have an on-stage sparring match."
Louise continued to list ideas, each of them more dangerous than the last, but the pseudo Servant only listened with half an ear.
If the Evaluation Fair was coming then Princess Henrietta would be here soon, and that was a very important event, one that he didn't want to mess up. An idle part of his mind wondered if he could recreate the situation from the Light Novels where Saito had ended up kissing the Princess while thinking it was a simple polite greeting. He immediately dismissed the notion though; there were far too many things that could go wrong with something like that, besides he didn't have any particular desire to make a fool of himself in exchange for one kiss, even if she was gorgeous.
"Let's spend some time on it later," he suggested, cutting off her suggesting that they find a wild manticore for him to fight onstage. "We've got the rest of today and tomorrow, so that should give us a while to come up with something. Preferably something that can't go wrong."
"But it has to be something spectacular!" the pink haired mage declared. "It has to be something so amazing that even that Zerbst will fall to her knees in awe of what my fam-"
She cut herself off just before the word was complete and glanced over at Alex.
"I mean; what my Summon can do." She said, a slightly apologetic note to her voice, then her eyes narrowed as a thought seemed to strike her, "What about you using your Noble Phantom, if you did that there's no way we'd fail to win first place."
Alex rolled his eyes as he sat down on Louise's bed. As he did so he was struck by how used to wearing the Rider clothes he'd become in the weeks since arriving here. He now automatically adjusted the mantle as he sat on it as well as the kilt/coat that made up the lower parts of it. He'd even gotten used to wearing sandals, something he'd only ever worn to the beach before. Weird.
"Louise, I'm not going to reveal my trump card to the world simply so we can win a school talent show."
That had come out a bit harsher than he'd meant it to; perhaps a little explanation was in order.
"With Summons like me exact knowledge of our abilities and Noble Phantasms is key to knowing how to defeat us. As such it's always important to keep a few cards close to the chest so you've got something in reserve."
"What would showing off your chariot give away?" His ink haired Summoner's voice was slightly challenging, but for the most part it was honest curiosity.
"Well . . . as a Rider my Noble Phantasm gives me excellent speed and manageability as well as enormous close range destructive capability. My abilities as a Gandálfr are more geared to personal combat with any weapon I can hold. The problem is that I'm pretty vulnerable to Archers because I lack any ranged attacks of my own, showing off my Gordius Wheel could reveal that if I'm not careful."
That was true. In Fate/Zero Rider had been able to close on Gilgamesh by deflecting and enduring the Archer's shower of blades until he was within striking distance. Alex honestly didn't think he could match that feat, even with the powers that he'd gained. Right now his main defence against ranged attacks was his Magic Resistance, and that might not be too effective against some of the weapons that he recalled seeing.
Bah, he could worry about that later, right now his focus had to be on fully developing his basic combat skills. The Mark of the Gandálfr might grant him intuitive skills and his body might be superhuman, but without a foundation of discipline those advantages could well have the legs knocked out from under them at the worst possible time.
For her part Louise had a somewhat pensive expression as she mulled over what he'd just said. She opened her mouth to say something, but the ringing of the bell that signalled the start of the days lectures cut her off.
"Well . . . I've got to be off. See if you can think of something before I get back from my lesson. I really want to show all the others that I've got the best fa- I mean, Summon."
As his small Summoner made her way out of the room Alex let himself flop backwards so he was lying across her bed with his head hanging off the other side. The position was something of a personal idiosyncrasy, something he'd jokingly called his 'contemplating pose' when he'd been younger. In all honesty the only thing it really did was give him a crick in the neck as well as a slight headache if he held it for too long, but the memories attached to the position were comforting and helped him think.
What to do, what to do? He knew it was well within his abilities to win the contest for Louise, the only real competition he had was either Kirche's Flame or Tabitha's Sylphid. If memory served him right then in the original course of things Tabitha was the winner due to her familiar's flying stunts. Poor Saito and Louise had ended up being nothing more than a poor comedy act that had left the young Vallière more than a bit humiliated.
Well, he was sure that he could put up a better showing if he had to, the question was just how far to take it. Unlike Saito he had a far better grasp of controlling the Gandálfr runes, and even if he hadn't he had the hardly inconsiderable powers of a Servant. But just what to do, that was the problem.
Bah!
In a movement the red haired pseudo Servant sat up and got off the bed. He'd managed to identify the problem, what he now needed was a solution, but he wasn't going to get that lying here. Maybe a walk and a bit of fresh air would provide some inspiration.
-()-
Matilda of Sachsen-Gotha, currently living under the name of Miss Longueville, walked to her quarters while once more restraining the urge to choke the life out of her perverse employer.
She had to remember that she'd been expecting something like this, indeed she'd been counting on it. It had been how she'd been able to secure the position as the Headmaster's secretary after all, she'd flashed a little leg and given a bit of a hard luck story and she'd been in without any trouble at all.
The problem was that once she had the position she'd had to continue to deal with Old Osmond's lecherous. She'd been expecting him to at least be circumspect in his inevitable attempts to ogle her, what she hadn't been counting on was his sheer shamelessness. He not only sent his mouse familiar to spy what colour her undergarments were, he'd then gone on to critique her choice as well as suggest that she change her future underwear if she ever wanted to get a husband.
Still she could bear it, she could hang on. The prize was worth it in the end. The vault here in the Tristain Academy was famed for the powerful and dangerous items that it held. Once she was able to break in then she'd be able to have her pick of the treasures within. This would be her biggest heist to date, and the money that she'd make from it would make sure that Tiffania and the orphans that lived with her wouldn't have to worry about financial matters for a good long time.
She held on to that thought, well, that and the knowledge that she'd be puncturing the insufferable egos of those wretched Noble as well, that was always a pleasant bonus.
The thought of how chagrined her current employer would be when she made her final getaway brought a smile to her lips as she unlocked her room and entered.
That smile quickly disappeared as she noticed the stark white envelope on her bed that had definitely not been there when she left earlier. What was this? A love letter? Or maybe something of a more professional nature. Well, whatever it was she could-
Her thoughts ground to a halt as she saw the name written upon the envelope.
Fouquet.
Did someone know who she was? No, that was an idiotic question, obviously someone knew who she was, the fact that there was a letter on her bed addressed to her outlaw alias was clear proof of that. The real question that she should be asking was who knew her secret.
One didn't manage to survive long as a criminal without being able to keep one's head, not when your main marks were magic wielding Nobles. Consequently the earth Mage thief was able to fight down the panic that had risen up in her and maintain her rationality. Even without opening the letter several things were immediately obvious. First of all whomever had sent it to her wasn't a completely law abiding citizen, the fact that she wasn't in a cell or on the run was clear proof of this. Whoever knew her identity hadn't raised the alarm or told anyone yet, instead they'd left this message to contact her.
Of course that led to other less pleasant possibilities. The first that sprang to mind was a blackmail attempt, someone demanding that she pay them in return for their silence. Such payment might be a portion of her loot or, if the blackmailer was some degenerate type, demands that she surrender her body to them. Both were types that she'd encountered in the past, types that she knew how to deal with. Such greedy or lustful scum always had a high opinion of their 'brilliance', but normally it wasn't more than a combination of a bit of good luck and some shallow cleverness. Such fools always tipped their hands, too secure in their plan to see the holes that littered it.
Another possibility was that it was someone who wanted to aid or join her; both were things that she'd encountered before. Her reputation for robbing Nobles and tweaking their noses by getting away scott free had gained her a number of admirers amongst those discontented with the established order. To them she was a symbol of retribution, of justice, and on several occasions she'd run into those that wanted to join her on her escapades.
Naturally Matilda didn't see herself in that light; she was just a thief, one that stole from those she disliked. She wasn't some revolutionary or firebrand, but if playing on such people's preconceptions worked to her advantage then she had no trouble playing the part for however long was convenient. Afterwards . . . well, it was amazing how useful a patsy with a history of anti-Noble sentiments could be as a distraction while you made your getaway.
All that ran through her mind in the time it took her to reach out and pick up the small white envelope. A few quick spells confirmed that there weren't any enchantments or poisons on it, at least none that she could detect. After a moment of consideration she waved her wand and conjured up a small golem, handed it the letter and then retreated to the other side of the room. Another flick of her wand raised a basic shield and a last one directed her creation to open the letter. She admitted that such precautions were probably unnecessary, but paranoid life was infinitely preferable to lax death.
There was no eruption of magic, no hiss of poison, the golem's slim stone fingers reached in and pulled out a simple folded sheet of paper. Curious the earth Mage came forwards and unfolded the letter.
To Fouquet,
No need to get worried, I have no intention of letting anyone else learn of your identity from me. The reason that I'm contacting you is that I'm aware of what you're planning. Breaking into the Tristain Academy vault is quite the audacious plan, however I fear that you may well have bitten off more than you can chew on this occasion.
I have access to some insider information and I can tell you that the vault is impervious to any measure that you might be able to take. Even if you produce one of your impressively sized golems you will lack the physical force needed to breach the spells. I'm sad to say there's no way that you can break into the vault.
Matilda's lips drew back in a scowl and glared at the words before her. Was this some sort of warn off? But if so then by whom? Old Osmond might do something if he'd worked out who she was, but this didn't strike her as his style. If he'd learnt who she really was then he'd probably have told her to her face and either let her go or maybe blackmailed her into wearing a shorter skirt while she worked. At least, he would have done so as long as he found out before she did anything. He might hide it well, but she could see that there was still some of the old war hero left in him, even if it was hiding under him being a lecherous old man. If she'd done anything to hurt his students . . .
Shaking off that thought she continued to read the rest of the letter.
Still, I think that it's a shame to let a perfectly good plan fall through due to a minor detail. You've been able to establish yourself quite neatly and your questioning has led you to know just what to aim for, it would be improper to just let that go to waste don't you think?
Her blood ran cold as she read those words. Just who was this that knew so much about what she was doing? She was careful; surely she'd have spotted someone following her enough to learn so much about her plans, wouldn't she?
If you look under your bed you'll find a gift from me that should make your heist a bit more doable, DO NOT fiddle with it until you've read the rest of this letter.
Frowning again the thief known as Fouquet stooped down to look under her bed. Sure enough there was something there. She couldn't make out the details of it, but it seemed to be some sort of . . . musket? No, it looked too short and thick to be one, but the general shape was the same, so she was certain it was some sort of firearm. Instinctively she reached to retrieve it so she could get a better look, but caught herself before her fingers touched it. Whoever had left this here as well as the letter had been quite clear about not touching it, Matilda thought she'd err on the side of caution and pay heed to that advice. Turning her attention back to the letter she continued reading.
This is a device that will allow you to dispel the spells surrounding the vault. To use it all you have to do is point and pull the trigger, the resulting shot will cause a cascading failure in all the enchantments rendering the vault into little more than a box of mundane stone, something that shouldn't provide you much trouble.
There are some conditions that must be met though. First this device only has three shots, once they are expended then it must be reloaded with certain specially prepared ammunition which you do not have and which I don't intend to provide at this juncture. Maybe if all goes well we can come to some arrangement, but for now you are limited to those shots, so use them sparingly.
The second condition is that the shots will only work if they impact the vaults enchantments while they are in full use. If power isn't flowing through them at a considerable strength then the effectiveness of the shots will be severely compromised. I recommend using one of your giant golems to try and break into the vault by main force, the attempt will fail but it will force enough magic to flow through the enchantments that the effects of the shot will be guaranteed to work.
That . . . sounded like a dream come true for a thief like her. A tool that would allow her to breach any vault, collapse any spell, oh the jobs she could pull with something like that.
Which begged the question as to why it was being given to her? There were so many uses for something like this, uses that could well provide more wealth than she could make as Fouquet even if she did pull off this job. So why just hand it over?
The onetime Albion Noble's mind immediately produced a number of potential reasons. Perhaps the tool was experimental and she was being used as an unwitting test subject. Or it could be that it functioned well but had some kind of cost to its use, she'd heard of powerful magic weapons that would only work by draining the life energy of those foolish enough to wield them.
As to why I'm providing you with such a device, I know that you're aiming for the Staff of Destruction, but I'm told that there are also a considerable number of other magical tools and items there. It's my hope that with my aid you'll have the time needed to grab more than just a single item, and that once you make your getaway you'll be looking for someone to sell them to.
I consider myself something of a collector of magical rarities, and I'm sure that should events prove to go as I hope then not only will we both profit from this venture but there will be much more to come in the future. For now simply follow through upon your plans as you see fit, I shall get in touch with you as soon as you're done.
A friend,
Aside from those final words there was no signature or seal, no way of knowing who'd written it. Even the script was . . . bland, lacking in any sort of distinct style that could be identified.
So, it would seem that there was someone with a keen interest in magical items that had somehow learnt of her plans to rob the vault and had given her the means with which to be certain to succeed. At least that was what was on the surface. Underneath the lady currently known as Miss Longueville was certain that there were unseen sharks swimming. Perhaps this mysterious person planned to kill her and take the haul for themselves, or perhaps they planned to trap her in the middle of her getaway so they could have the credit for catching the infamous Fouquet. There were many possibilities, but one thought kept on rearing its head in her mind.
What if the device worked as claimed?
If that was the case then the options open to her would be enormous. Forget about robbing the manors of Nobles, with something like that she could move on to stealing the contents of the finest palaces in the land.
But dare she risk it? There was so much that she didn't know, so much that could be dangerous. But the potential rewards if she took that chance . . .
Moving slowly she reached under the bed and pulled out the strange firearm. It was heavier than it looked and was of an odd construction that she'd ever seen before. Even the metals from which it was built were unknown to her, and given that earth was her primary element and that she was quite a powerful Triangle class mage in that element that was quite unusual. She could feel something in it, not magic of any sort that she was familiar with, not even the little Elf magic that she'd seen in the past. This was something with which she had never had an encounter before, something new.
But it was powerful, of that she was sure.
Carefully wrapping the strange weapon in one of her spare cloaks Matilda stored it away at the back of her closet.
This was something that she was going to have to think on.
-()-
Whissshhh!
Thhnnk!
Thnk thnk thnk!
Thnkthnkthnkthnkthnkthnk!
Alex's blades caught the lump of wood again and again, each strike pushing it into the air once more so that it remained in a constant state of falling. Bits of wood fell away as the twin swords bit into the airborne log juggling it in place.
In a single motion the red haired young man ceased his strokes and instead sheathed both swords. Before him the lump of wood fell to the ground, its surface a mass of cuts.
That wasn't what he wanted. Alex's face creased with dissatisfaction as he glared down at the chopped log as though the failure was somehow its fault. He'd had a crazy idea that he'd try to recreate something that he'd seen in a Love Hina manga as part of his act for the Evaluation Fair. The incident that he was thinking of was when Mokoto and Mitsune had been strapped for cash while travelling. In order to make some quick money there'd been a funny scene where the swordswoman had used her amazing skills to cut thrown logs into statues and furniture in front of a crowd which Mitsune had promptly been able to sell for substantial amounts.
The thought had occurred to him that with the speed and power of a Servant he might be able to duplicate the feat, something that was almost certain to ensure Louise's victory if he did it spectacularly enough. Unfortunately it seemed that while he had the speed and power needed to pull such a stunt off, at least in theory, his elevation into a Rider/Gandálfr had done nothing for his limited artistic ability. Quite simply he might be fast enough to get the job done, but that didn't change the fact that even under the best of circumstances his aptitude for wood carving was roughly equal to the average fish's for mountaineering. Added to that was the fact that the world didn't seem to be operating on the same slapstick mechanics that seemed to be so prevalent in Love Hina.
The end result was that rather than carving the log into a statue or even a ball all that it had become was a misshapen lump of lumber that looked as though it had been attacked by a demented woodcarver driven crazy by an overdose of triple caffeine espressos. He supposed that the sheer number of times that he'd hit the wood while juggling it was impressive, but that wasn't what he was looking for.
"Hey, that was pretty good Partner," Derflinger's voice brought him out of his thoughts as he sat down on the grass, "But if you're looking to impress those Nobles then you're going to have to come up with something a bit more impressive than that."
"I know," Alex agreed idly scratching at his short beard as he spoke, "I need something a bit more impressive than simple logs. Hmmm, maybe I can convince Guiche to help out with a few of his Valkyrie, that would be a pretty impressive show."
Hmm, that was something he hadn't thought of, he'd been here for weeks now and he hadn't needed to trim his beard once. Normally he had to be careful about keeping it trimmed since it grew like a bush during summer most of the time. But since he'd been summoned by Louise he hadn't had to see to it once. Could that be some side effect of becoming a Servant? Certainly something to think about once he had a bit more spare time.
"Ah, don't worry about it too much Partner, you'll think of something." the old sword sounded utterly confident in its wielder's ability to put on a good show.
"Yeah, I hope so." Alex mumbled as he picked up the lump of wood he'd been practicing on.
Maybe he had been a bit hard on himself. Granted it wasn't some masterpiece, but more by accident than design he'd managed to carve the log into a roughly oval shape. It wasn't anything particularly fancy, but he had taken all the bark off to reveal the clean wood beneath.
Smiling to himself slightly the red haired young man balanced the wooden ovoid on one finger, taking pleasure in the simple act that would have been impossible to him without the enhanced physical capabilities he'd gained. Maybe with a bit of practice he would have been able to pull off the stunt that he had in mind, the problem was that he just didn't have the time to get that practice, not with the Fair being tomorrow.
"Oh, Iskander. What are you doing?"
The sweet voice brought him out of his thoughts as he turned to see who was addressing him. The sight of Siesta's bright smile brought an answering one to his own lips as he stood up.
It had been several days since the whole mess with Count Mott, and in that time the black haired maid had settled back into her duties quite comfortably, or at least she'd tried to. As it had turned out she'd received something of a hero's welcome as soon as word had reached the rest of the staff that Alex had actively fought a Noble to free her from his lecherous clutches. The young man also had found himself once more a celebrity to the commoners that worked in the Academy and had been a bit uncomfortable with the almost star-struck way that much of the staff had taken to looking at him.
Of a particularly worrying note had been the other maids that had taken to sighing a lot and going on about how romantic it all was. Alex honestly hadn't been sure how to deal with it all since he wasn't at all sure of his own feelings in the matter. He knew that at about this point in the anime Siesta had begun to develop strong feelings for Saito which would later evolve into love. The problem was that he didn't really know if she had similar feelings for him or if they were just becoming close friends. He just wasn't sure, after all their relationship was progressing in a way much similar to the one that she'd had with Saito, but at the same time all the things that she'd done that could be construed as signs of budding romance could also be seen as signs of developing friendship.
Not for the first time Alex wished that he was a bit better at dealing with the fairer sex, he knew how to be a friend and how to be a boyfriend, indeed in all modesty he could say that he could be a fine example of both. The problem was that he'd always had a hard time picking up on the signals that indicated into which bracket the girls he spoke to wanted to fit into, a blind spot that had led to several embarrassing situations in his past.
And even if he was sure of her feelings he couldn't help but wonder if it would be ethical for him to pursue a relationship with her. A great part of his interactions was based on what he knew of her from the anime and light novels, so did that mean that he might not even have the right to think of it? After all if a relationship did develop from that wouldn't that mean that it was built on a foundation of half truths and manipulation?
The thought preyed on his mind, but he tried not to dwell on it too much. Whatever might come in the future one thing that he was sure of now was that he did want to be Siesta's friend if nothing else. Worrying about the ethics of using extra-world knowledge to aid in getting that friendship started was something that he could worry about at some other point.
Letting no trace of his internal worries appear on his face he offered a smile to the young woman.
"Not much, I'm trying to get a trick down, but so far I'm not having too much luck."
"Oh? Could it be that you're practicing for the Evaluation Fair?" a look of interest crossed her face as she stepped closer to him.
"Yeah, I'm still not too sure of what I'm going to do though. Louise has been a bit distracted by our training so she didn't remember about it until this morning. Now we're scrambling a bit to try and put something together."
She tilted her head slightly as a thoughtful look crossed her face, then it was replaced with another smile.
"Why don't you come with me? All the Second year students are using one of the courtyards to practice intensely, if you take a look maybe you'll get some ideas."
Alex felt an answering smile start to spread over his own face as he nodded enthusiastically.
"Siesta, you're brilliant." With an exaggeratedly extravagant flourish he bowed to her, "Lead on fair Muse, that I may gain wisdom and inspiration from your divine guidance."
The dark haired maid giggled at his antics, but then looked a little confused.
"What's a Muse?"
"Oh, they're spirits of inspiration that lent aid to artists of all sorts in old Greek mythology."
"'Greek'?"
"The Greeks were a civilization that thrived on one of the countries of my home continent more than two thousand years ago. They were famed for . . ."
As an enthusiast in ancient mythology the Greek civilization was something of a personal interest to Alex, enough that when given the opportunity he tended to ramble.
-()-
Kirche was very pleased with how her preparations for the Fair were going.
"Excellent Flame!" she congratulated her familiar as he released another thick stream of fire into the air. "Now, perform the fire circle dance!"
In response to her orders the muscles in the sides of the salamander's neck flexed and the single jet of flames divided into two streams that formed into a helix of fire.
Yes, this was just what she wanted. At first the Germanian mage hadn't been too enthused at the idea of the Fair, but after she'd seen the effort that some of her fellow students were putting into it her competitive streak had taken over. After all it wasn't like her Flame had too much competition to worry about. A frog, an owl, Guiche's giant mole, a Bugbear or a snake, out of all the other familiars the only one that could rival her magnificent Flame was Tabitha's wind Dragon.
Now there was some decent competition. Her Sylphid was certainly the most impressive out of all the familiars, large, powerful and useful in that she was able to act as a flying mount for the small wind mage. Since Tabitha herself wasn't too enthusiastic about practicing Kirche guessed that if she was going to take part then she'd be doing something that she was already well versed in with her familiar. Off hand the fire mage guessed that that would probably be something like some impressive flying manoeuvres or something like that.
Honestly if she did lose the Kirche didn't mind if it was to her friend, but that didn't mean that she wasn't going to give it her best to win. Since Sylphid was more physically impressive than her salamander then he'd have to take advantage of Flame's greater talent in theatrics. After all fire was the showiest of all the elements, and with his flames she was sure her familiar could put on a spectacular show.
Yes, Tabitha was her only real competition among the other familiars.
A flash of red at the edge of her vision caught her eye as she was about to hug Flame in delight at his efforts. Her familiar must have also seen it, because his head swung round at more or less the same time to stare in the same direction as his mistress.
Ah, that's right; there might be a bit more competition than just her best friend. It was so easy to forget that Iskander was also a familiar given how he insisted that he be called a Summon. If he entered the competition then there might be a chance he could steal the show.
As her eyes traced the way that the brilliant red of his mantle hung from his broad shoulders Kirche couldn't help but feel a rather delightful shiver run down her spine. Ever since that trip to Count Mott's estate she'd become far more aware of just how physically imposing the object of her affections was. It was odd really, before the main source of her attraction to him had been a combination of factors, his exotic garb and looks, his attitude of polite defiance to the Nobles that tried to treat him as just another commoner, the fact that he was the familiar of Louise Vallière and the fact that he hadn't succumbed to her charms as readily as all the other boys she'd met. All of that had added up to making him an extremely interesting target, but despite his large build and figure, a figure that was far different to the slim and pampered young men that made up her fellow students, despite being part of what interested her she'd never really made a connection between his large and muscled frame and the notion of him being physically powerful.
She supposed it came with her being a mage, since physical state had only marginal effect upon the potency of one's magic, muscle-tone didn't really have much to do with power since physical strength was largely ignorable when compared to magic. To her Iskander's broad shoulders and thick arms had been attractive in the same way that well groomed hair or clear eyes were. They were features rather than tells of strength.
However that had changed since the encounter with the crazed water mage.
Mott had swept her aside, had knocked her out with a single spell. That . . . bothered her; she was a Triangle class mage and a powerful one despite her young age. She had absolutely no doubt that she'd one day make it to being a Square class just as her mother and father were. Yet despite that she'd been defeated so easily, her own attack upon the crazed Noble completely overwhelmed.
When she'd awoken, it had been just in time to see Iskander defeat the clearly insane Count Mott. She'd seen the spells that he'd fought against, she'd sensed their power even though her head had still been ringing from the blow that had knocked her out. She seen him evade spells designed to slay the most dangerous of beasts and disarm and defeat the berserker Tristain Noble.
It was strange, even though she'd seen him defeat Guiche, even though it had been his grandeur in that battle that had attracted her to him in the first place; she hadn't made the connection in her mind between his victory in that battle and the concept of him being strong or powerful. She supposed that this was due to her own strength, after all Guiche was a Dot class as opposed to her Triangle class, she could say without vanity that the gulf between them in terms of raw power was so huge as to be near impassable. Even though Iskander had been able to crush Guiche in the back of her mind Kirche had never doubted that if the worst came to the worst then she would be able to defeat the human familiar herself if she needed to.
Now though, now she'd seen that he had the speed and strength to take down a mage that had swatted her aside like a bothersome insect. True she hadn't been able to witness the majority of the battle, but what she had seen had been enough to convince her.
Her Iskander was unquestionably a warrior of the highest level; he had to be to be able to defeat a mage like Mott.
And that knowledge made her all the more aware of just what an impressive specimen he was. The strength she hadn't realized he had, the surety of his movements, all those little details that she'd seen but hadn't really registered until now.
It was strange, the thought of being held in those arms, arms that she now knew had the strength to crush her, to hurt her, had a certain . . . appeal to it.
All these thoughts ran through her head in the space of time it took for her to blink her eyes, then she saw something that she'd missed before, but which still drew a smile to her lips. Standing next to the object of her affections was the same maid that he'd gone to Count Mott's palace to rescue. Sienta? Shissta? No, Siesta, that was it. The dark haired young woman was standing next to the larger figure of Louse's familiar and smiling brightly as she gestured to the students practicing for the fair.
Oh, that cunning girl, taking advantage of the situation. Kirche could clearly see it in her movements; in the unconscious way the maid stood so as to ever so slightly emphasize her bust. She probably wasn't even aware that she was doing it, but she was definitely trying to catch Iskander's attention as a woman.
Oh ho ho ho, it was just as she'd expected, some competition for her darling's heart. Well, that was fine with her, trying to capture his heart might have been an entertaining chase, but the chase was always more fun when there was someone to contest against.
"Grrruuuggh!"
Her thoughts about future romantic competition was brought to an abrupt end as Flame let out a croaking rumble and sped away straight at his favourite playmate. Iskander barely had enough time for an exclamation of surprise before the large salamander jumped at him in a body slam that bore both of them to the ground, the fire lizard croaking happily the whole way.
Well, that was one way to open the conversation she supposed.
"Ah, Flame you mustn't play so roughly!" the maid was admonishing her familiar as the large red lizard wrapped itself in a sort of reptilian bear hug around the downed Iskander.
"No, no . . . this is okay," her darling assured her, managing to get one arm free so he could gently wave her off, "He just caught me by surprise is all, just give me a second."
With a grunt the large red head managed to lever himself up into a sitting position, pushing Flame off him as he rose. The salamander began to struggle so as to resume the playful wrestling, but then he went as limp as a court lady's fur coat and flopped down across Iskander's lap. The reason for her familiar's sudden change in temperament was due to the human Summon having found Flame's favourite scratching spot and paying it due attention. In response her familiar had abandoned his play fighting and was instead practically purring with his eyes half closed.
"Well, it looks like you're getting comfortable with Flame again darling; you know I never thought I'd be jealous of my own familiar. But then you never pet me while you let me lie across your lap, do you?"
Kirche took considerable pleasure in the way her words caused Iskander to flush despite the admirable control he maintained on his expression. It was obvious that despite his commendable self control her words were still enough to conjure up images in his head, images to heat his blood.
"Errr . . . I see that you and Flame are working hard, I guess you're looking to win the Fair huh?"
It was almost sweet how clumsy his attempt to change the subject was. Still the Zerbst heiress decided to show some mercy and allowed the change in topic.
"But of course, we can't allow such a challenge to go unanswered can we Flame?"
The only response she got from her familiar was a sort of crooning purr, but that was close enough as far as she was concerned.
"The Palace's Gift will most certainly be mine." She enthused.
"Everyone certainly seems to be getting pretty enthusiastic about this." Iskander commented as he glanced around the courtyard at where the various other students were practicing their own routines.
"Everyone's doing their best because Henrietta-sama is coming to personally observe the Fair," the maid explained, "It's unusual for her to come to the Academy like this, so all the students and staff are putting in some extra effort, even Marteau is making sure to prepare an extra-special feast for the occasion."
"Oh? And what does he plan to serve? His normal dishes are quite delicious, I'd like to know what he thinks would be special."
That seemed to catch her darling's one time damsel in distress by surprise; she honestly hadn't been expecting a Noble to take an interest in the staff, but that was to be expected. Tristain nobility were so terribly hidebound about how they interacted with the commoners. In Germania things were a bit more relaxed; commoners could even ascend into the nobility if they were able to amass enough land or money. Just another way in which her beloved homeland was superior to this stuffy country. Hmmm, she'd have to see if she could somehow arrange for her darling to accompany her on a holiday to Germania; that might aid in making headway in her plans to snag him. She'd have to give that some more thought later.
"Ah, he's planning some specially cooked meat and vegetable dishes that will use some very rare herbs and spices." The dark haired Maid explained. "He says that the final results can be delicious, but they have to be done just right so he's been preparing for the last few days."
"Sounds like something to look forwards to," She commented, "Along with my Flame winning the Palace's gift it should make for a splendid day. Now darling, I'm sorry I have to leave you but I need to get back to my own practice, unless . . ."
A slow smile crept over Kirche's face as a thought struck her, followed by her sidling up to the large red head until she was almost pressed against him.
". . . Unless we do a joint demonstration. What do you think darling? Together we could put on such a spectacle that even the princess would be stunned speechless."
"I think Louise would have a few things to say about that, none too polite if I'm any judge." He replied, taking a small step back to put some distance between them.
"Hmph, that stuffy little Vallière has no sense of fun and just holds to that silly old grudge." The Zerbst heiress sighed. "Ah well, perhaps another time. I certainly look forwards to seeing what you'll be doing Iskander."
To Kirche's mild surprise the maid stepped up to Iskander and took his right hand in both of hers. The sensual fire mage hadn't expected her to make such an overt move of her own while she was still here; she'd thought this Siesta would instead wait until she and Iskander were alone. Instead she'd made her move right where Kirche could see it.
Ho ho, it looked like she'd been right when she thought that the pretty maid would make for some competition, but she wasn't expecting her to be quite so willing to show her claws. Heh, fun.
"Please do your best Iskander," the maid declared, "I don't care what anyone says, you're the best of all the familiars. Ah, but of course, you're not just a familiar are you? You're a Summon."
She didn't wait for a reply, instead she let go of his hand and gave a smile before turning and leaving. Kirche thought about playing a bit more herself, but decided against it for now, best not to spoil the game just as it was beginning after all. With a wink and a nod of her own she gestured for Flame to follow her and made her own exit.
Thing were definitely going to get interesting for this Evaluation Fair, of that she was quite sure.
-()-
Louise watched as the carriage arrived, shifting from foot to foot with a sort of nervous energy that was so clear it might as well have been emblazoned across her forehead.
For his part Alex simply stood behind her and watched as the short procession of guards and servants that accompanied the royal carriage drew into the academy's main courtyard. About him were all the other students of the academy, and it looked like the entire student body had turned up and were now lining the road that led through the large courtyard and to the central tower where the staff awaited. In all truth he felt slightly out of place standing next to Louise as he was.
Not because he was beside her, in that regard he had no problem. The simple fact though was that he stood out amongst the students like a sore thumb. They were all clad in their uniforms along with the cloaks of brown, purple and black; by contrast his own gold and red mantle combined with his size made him an island of colour amidst the darker sea.
On the other hand . . . did he really care?
Alex had always stood out due to his natural size and the effort he put into staying in shape. Granted he wasn't freakishly massive, but he'd always been the tallest guy just about anywhere he went, certainly the plain largest, so standing out was something he was accustomed to.
And in this case it might work to his advantage, that was the thought that ran through the pseudo Rider's mind as he watched the white vehicle go past. Princess Henrietta was an important figure in the 'story' of this world, one that would have heavy influence on the directions he and Louise would travel in. The fact that she also had his Summoner's absolute loyalty was also a vital factor. In the original 'story' Saito had been able to become close enough to the Princess that she had developed her own feelings for him. Alex wasn't planning to form quite so close a relationship to her, but he did plan to be a friendly ally and as such first impressions were important. He knew that the main reason that Henrietta had come to the Academy was to see Louise, which pretty much guaranteed that they'd be meeting. Hopefully he was currently being eye-catching enough that she'd notice him which might make their subsequent meeting go smoother.
And, of course, he still had to plan on how to deal with Fouquet when she showed up.
Bah, he wasn't cut out for this convoluted planning thing. Sure he could do it if he had to, but he didn't enjoy it and he was pretty sure he could feel a headache coming on. He'd best shelve this for the time being and simply watch the procession go by, that was much less troublesome.
The carriage was coming to a stop now as the unicorns drawing it came to a halt. That caught his attention, Unicorns. In the Nasuverse a Pegasus was regarded as a high level divine beast, but he couldn't recall where on that scale unicorns came in. Well, even if that was the case he doubted that the horned steeds of this world would be in the same class, not if they were so easily made to act as the horses of a carriage. No, if he wanted to get a cool steed in this world then maybe he should hold out for a dragon.
Thoughts about the beasts that could serve as future mounts were shelved as Alex watched the Princess of Tristain disembark from her coach with the aid of her attendant.
She was definitely beautiful, of that there was no doubt, but it wasn't a beauty that the human Summon was familiar with. Kirche's beauty was a sensual one while Siesta, by comparison, had a more approachable beauty that Alex had mentally labelled as 'the girl next door', even though that description wasn't quite accurate. Even Louise and Tabitha were lovely in their own ways, though both of them were more on the 'cute' side of the spectrum, at least in his opinion.
Henrietta though . . . she was difficult to place. She was definitely striking in her beauty, but at the same time it wasn't intimidating, somehow she managed to be graceful but also approachable. Yet at the same time there was an aura about her, a regality that, though gentle, still conveyed a sense of authority.
All about him Alex could hear a ripple of sound as all the present students began to chatter to each other. Most of them seemed to be commenting on the princess's loveliness, well most of the boys were anyway. Most of the girls were reacting with either mild jealousy or admiration. For her part Louise was staring at her childhood friend with a look that was happy but had a tiny edge of something else.
As Henrietta approached the respectfully kneeling teaching staff of the Academy Alex found himself admiring the poise with which she moved. Still, he supposed that as a genuine princess she'd probably received lessons in grace and posture since she was old enough to walk, like some sort of child fashion model. Or maybe not, would that sort of thing have been invented given that the country was still in a semi-medieval state of culture?
Alex blinked and realized that he was just about to devote serious thought as to whether or not the country had some sort of training program for courtly behaviour that it sent young royalty through. Quite clearly he needed to either get something to eat or make sure he got a bit more sleep tonight, if this was anything to go by he needed it.
-()-
"I think I've got something that we can use tomorrow."
Louise looked up from where she was sitting on her bed to where her Summon was standing. Unlike her, who had already changed into her nighty, Iskander was still wearing his odd garb including the thick red and gold edged mantle that he almost always had on. It was odd really, under normal circumstances she'd have thought that such a thick and heavy cape would have been something that he'd take off when indoors, but instead her unusual familiar seemed to wear it almost all the time regardless of the heat.
Well, that wasn't really important right now. What was of note was what Iskander had just said.
"What have you got?" she asked leaning forwards slightly in anticipation.
"Well, we don't have time to set up anything particularly fancy in the time we've got," the red haired giant as he gestured with one arm, "So instead let's go for something simple but impressive.
"There're a good number of logs that the kitchens keep for firewood. Tomorrow I'll go and grab some before the Fair starts. When it's our turn I'll throw them into the air one by one, starting with the thinner ones and then moving to the thicker, and cut them apart as they come down. Nothing fancy, just chop them as many times as I can before they hit the ground. I'm pretty sure that will be impressive enough to earn us a few points."
Louise sat back and slowly nodded her head as she thought about the idea. That could work, she knew that Iskander could be wickedly fast with his swords when he had to be, and as far as strength went she had no concerns in that area. During one of their trips to the small wood near the Academy so they could work on her explosions she'd once seen Iskander hack a tree down with a single blow. A tree with a trunk so thick that she doubted that she'd have been able to get her arms around it if she tried. The image of him cutting apart some of those great logs that they used in the kitchen fires was one that she could easily see coming to pass, and it was a sight she was sure would impress any judges that saw it.
Still . . .
"Are you sure that you can't just use your Noble Phantasmal? If you summoned that onto the stage there's no way that the Princess wouldn't be impressed."
She could just imagine it, all the others would have gone before her and then it would be her turn. Her Summon would walk out onto the stage, then swing his sword to bring out that awesome chariot of his and everyone would stare in amazement. Perhaps they could even invite the Princess to take a ride in it as those mystic bulls pulled it through the air at speeds that even a dragon would be hard pressed to match. Hah, she could just imagine the looks of shock and defeat on the faces of her classmates, especially Kirche's as she realized just how far below her Summon her fire lizard was. Oh that would be sweet, and then the Princess would declare Louise the winner and-
"Louise," Iskander's voice, slightly pained as well as slightly pleading, broke into her daydream, "It's a Noble Phantasm and I've already told you why it's a better idea to keep it as a secret. If you really want to impress your princess I suppose we cou-"
His words were cut off as someone knocked on the door.
"It's a bit late, I wonder who that is." Alex commented to Louise
The knocks had been very orderly, two long knocks and then three short ones. With a slight frown on her face Louise put on her cape so that it covered her pink nightgown. It couldn't be, or was she wrong? Still even though her thoughts chased themselves around in her head, as soon as she had the cloak on she gestured for Iskander to open the door.
The red clad Summon opened the door to reveal that their surprise visitor was a girl, covered entirely in a black hooded cloak.
She looked around, and then quickly stepped in, closing the door behind her.
". . . you are?" Louise's voice barely managed to come out, her thoughts were whirling so.
The hooded girl made a 'shh' gesture with a finger on her mouth, and took out a staff from the folds of her black cape, lightly waving it while chanting a short spell. Louise felt the sensation of magic rippling out as glowing powder filled the room and then faded from view.
"A silencing spell?" she asked to which the veiled girl nodded.
"There might be extra ears and eyes around."
Louise knew that voice well, how could she not? With a growing sense of anticipation she watched as, having made sure the room had no magical ears and no peeping holes, the cloaked girl slowly pulled back her hood.
Before them stood Princess Henrietta, heir to the royal throne of Tristain.
Louise frantically knelt in a suitably courteous fashion even as her thoughts flapped about her skull like startled birds. Why was the Princess here? Where were her guards? Surely they couldn't have been so irresponsible as to leave her unprotected could they? Had she heard about Louise's horrible failures in magic? Was she here because she was ashamed of their childhood association? Aaaahhh! There were just too many questions.
Her voice gentle and a smile on her face that warmed Louise's heart Henrietta spoke.
"It has been a while, Louise Vallière."
-()-
Alex watched as the princess of the country he was now in seemed to be overcome with emotion and hugged his kneeling Summoner.
"Oh, Louise, Louise, my dear Louise!"
"This won't do, Your Highness. Coming to a humble place like this . . ."
Louise was speaking formally, almost ceremoniously, but it looked as though the young royal heir would have none of it.
"Oh! Louise! Louise Françoise! Please stop acting so formally! You and I are friends! We are friends, are we not?"
"I am not worthy of such kind words. Your Highness."
Louise replied with a steely tone that was trying to be strong, but the pseudo Servant could hear the strain in it.
"Stop that, please! Neither the Cardinal, my Mother, nor those greedy court aristocrats who buzz around wearing friendly faces are here! Oh, don't I have any friends who will open up to me? If even Louise Françoise, my old friend whom I've missed dearly, acts so distant, I would just die!"
"Your Highness . . ."
As Louise lifted her face Alex couldn't help but feel somewhat unsettled by being present for what was clearly an emotional reunion. He wasn't a part of it and there was something almost . . . voyeuristic about witnessing it like this.
"When we were little children, didn't we get together and chase butterflies at the palace courtyard? And got all muddy?"
A shy smile crossed Louise's face as she nodded in agreement to Henrietta's recollections of the past.
". . . Yes, and Lord La Porte the chamberlain told us off for getting our clothes so dirty."
"Yes! That's right, Louise! We were arguing over those puffy cream cakes, and ended up having a real scuffle! Oh, whenever we fought, it was me who always lost. You would grab my hair, and I'd just start crying."
"Not at all, you achieved victory on at least one occasion."
Louise's smile now had a distinctly sentimental look to it.
"You remembered! Looking at the two of us, one could call that battle the Siege of Amiens!"
"That was when we were fighting over a dress in Princess' bedroom, wasn't it?"
"Yes, in the middle of our 'Make-Believe Royal Court', we ended up fighting over who would play princess! And it was my blow to your stomach, Louise Françoise, that successfully decided it."
"I'd fainted in the presence of Princess."
The previous awkwardness that had been present was gone now as the pair of girls exchanged glances and broke out in laughter.
As they laughed Alex took the chance to get a closer look at the young future ruler. If he remembered thing right Henrietta would soon become the principle monarch of Tristain after her mother stepped down which would lead to her being a major character in developing events. Earlier he'd only been able to see her at a distance, and even then the angle had been rather poor. Certainly he'd been able to appreciate her beauty, but even so he'd felt like a reporter trying to get a picture of a star that had just arrived at a movie premiere. Now though he had a chance for a better look at her.
She was definitely gorgeous, seeing her up close didn't change that in any way, but there were small details that he hadn't noticed earlier. The first was her hair, an odd shade of purple that appeared to be almost magenta in the light of the lamp that lit the room. He knew that since he was in an anime world he should be used to seeing odd hair colours, after all he saw Tabitha every day and her hair was a pale sky blue, but for some reason seeing the princess with such an odd shade really brought it home to him.
Another thing was the jewels that seemed to be sewn into the throat and sleeves of the white gown she wore. How did that work, they didn't seem to be set in any sort of heavy clasp so how were they kept in place? For that matter why would such jewels be set into the gown, wouldn't it make more sense for them to be in jewellery like bracelets or necklaces?
Dismissing such wandering thoughts from his mind Alex decided that is was about time he put his own oar into this friendly reunion since it looked like they'd forgotten he was here. Stepping up beside the still kneeling Louise he bent down and stage whispered to her.
"I'm going to take a wild guess here and say that you two know each other?"
"When her Highness was young I had the pleasure of being a royal playmate." Louise explained a fond smile on her lips as she relived fond memories.
"Please say, rather, that we are childhood friends." Henrietta stated, her hands clasped before her.
"Oh, I see," Alex nodded as he straightened up and leaned back against the wall again, "It's good to see that the bonds forged in childhood don't wither away."
For the first time since she'd entered the room the princess of Tristain seemed to register the presence of the large and oddly dressed young man that had been there the whole time. Alex saw the familiar slight widening in her eyes as she looked at him and then did a quick double take to confirm that yes, he really was that tall and broad. It was something he was used to, given that he was built to dimensions somewhat larger than the norm. It wasn't at all unusual for people to give him a second glance.
"Ah . . . I'm pleased to meet you," She greeted as she smiled pleasantly. "I must say that I was surprised when I heard that Louise had a human Familiar."
"Summon." Alex replied reflexively before he could stop himself, then cursed the knee jerk reaction that he'd developed in regards to being called a Familiar.
"I beg your pardon?"
Okay, maybe correcting the princess wasn't the best way to make a first impression. Still, the best ting was to go with it now that he'd unintentionally committed to that path.
"I am not a Familiar; a Familiar is an animal or mystic beast that has been bonded to a mage. As a human the link between me and Louise is more potent and complicated than that of a mere Familiar, hence why I prefer the title of Summon."
Well, considering that it on the spot improv he thought that wasn't too bad at all.
"ISKANDER!"
Ah, it would seem that Louise wasn't in agreement with that particular sentiment. In the anime she'd grabbed Saito's head and forced him to genuflect to Henrietta, however Alex was more than a bit too big for her to pull that off. Instead she'd somehow managed to swarm up the side of his mantle and was now whacking him on the head with her balled fist. However despite her enthusiastic efforts it was rather like being struck by a gently dropped beach ball, once more A rank Endurance proved its merit.
"Don't speak so casually to the Princess! And on top of that why are you standing?! Kneel down right now! KNEEL!"
Reaching up Alex caught the back of her nighty and lifted her off him as though she were nothing more than an irritating kitten. As she struggled and he set her down on the bed that he stood next to a small giggle escaped the princess. He supposed that the scene before her must appear somewhat comical what with the comparatively tiny Louise attacking him so ineffectually and him treating her like an unruly puppy in return.
"Remember that I'm not a citizen of Tristain," he commented as he set his enraged Summoner down, "As a proud subject of her majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second I have no obligation to kneel to anyone, unless of course they have a translated copy of Fate/Extra CCC, if that's the case I'll happy grovel quite enthusiastically."
The two girls were now giving him the slightly confused and tilted looks of those that were wondering just what he was babbling about and what impact it might have on their opinions of his sanity.
The moment of uncertainty ended as his pink haired Summoner turned and bowed deeply to the Princess.
"I'm deeply sorry for my Summon's behaviour, I'm afraid that being a foreigner he hasn't got much of a grip of proper social courtesies."
"It's alright Louise," the royal Heir assured her friend, "I confess I was expecting something like this after hearing about what happened with Count Mott."
The light hearted atmosphere suddenly froze as Alex and his small Summoner recalled the incident with the insane Noble.
"H-How is the Count?" Louise asked, her voice trembling slightly, "When we left he was still insensate from the poison that had sent him berserk."
"There's been no change," Henrietta answered, her brow creasing slightly in obvious unhappiness, "Several of the royal physicians have been sent to see him, but even the finest healing spells haven't been able to restore him to wakefulness."
"I can't say that I'm too surprised to hear that." Alex commented as he pushed off the wall he was leaning against in order to stand up straighter.
"Whatever do you mean?" the Princess asked curiosity clear on her face.
"According to the information I've gathered Count Mott was a low to mid level Triangle class Mage. However when we encountered him he was using spells that a knowledgeable friend of mine assures me were Square level. However despite having power of that level he wasn't using it wisely at all, just wasting it on frontal assaults and brute force traps. My guess is that whatever sent him berserk also gave him that boost in power and is also responsible for him being in this coma."
"So you think that the poison was a steroid of some nature?" Henrietta asked, "Something that gave him power but robbed him of his reason and then did him harm when it wore off?"
She was certainly on the ball, Alex had to admit. Most of the healers and servants at Mott's palace had needed to have that explained to them a couple of times before they'd gotten it. Even Louise had had some trouble grasping the notion since potions and poisons that could affect one's magic were rare to the point of being almost unheard of apparently.
"Indeed," he answered her question with a nod of his head, "What's got me worried is that I'm not too sure at whom the poison was aimed."
"But . . . it hurt the Count," Louise protested confusion evident on her features, "Who else could it have hurt?"
"Well, it was administered just before the Count was going to see our little party," Alex reminded her, "There was you, the youngest daughter of the Vallière family, and there was also Kirche, the heir to the Zerbst clan. Both of you could have been targets since both your families probably have their fair share of enemies."
"Louise could have been the target?!"
There was a definite hint of anger in the Princess's voice now at the thought of her precious friend being in danger.
"There's no way of knowing," Alex replied with a shrug, "Still I think that the timing of the poisoning was rather convenient, but that could just be ill fortune. After all our own trip to see the Count wasn't exactly planned, more of a spur of the moment decision. There wasn't any notice that we were coming, so I don't see how anyone could have built a plan up about it."
"It did cause quite a stir up at the Palace," Henrietta commented, a slight smile touching her lips, "Not only was a Noble poisoned but he also went on a rampage and was subdued by a Commoner in full battle. There were quite a few that wanted to bring you in to learn more about what had happened, I was able to keep it from acting on any suggestions so there won't be any repercussions for you."
"Then you . . . ?"
The small Vallière seemed to be stunned that the Princess had come to her aid in such a fashion but the royal heir only smiled in response.
"Don't you remember? I promised that if you were ever in trouble I would definitely come to help, and I am the Princess after all."
"Hah! Now that is something that I can bow to." Alex declared as he bent at the waist while offering a formal bow to Henrietta. "If this is the one that holds your loyalty Louise then I think that you've made a fine choice."
Admittedly he wasn't making that assessment solely on this meeting. Having read the books and seen the first couple of anime series he knew that the Princess was for the most part portrayed in a sympathetic and admirable light. Indeed one of the last scenes in the books that he'd read before he lost interest had been the part where after learning that Saito might have died in her war she'd gone on to sell her own possessions to pay the soldiers rather than increasing taxes. He wasn't quite sure but he was fairly certain that there'd been a bit where she'd even sold her bed and had begun sleeping on a pile of straw, or at least something like that.
Not for the first time he cursed the fact that he hadn't continued to read those translated Light Novels.
However he didn't want to appear subservient to her either, both his actions and his attitude were meant to convey respect without implying his acceptance of her rule over him or anything of the like. Idly he wondered if that decision was the result of his own personality or the product of being a pseudo Servant. One more thing to ponder when he had some more time to spare.
A look of mild surprise crossed Henrietta's face, but it was quickly replaced by what could only be called an intrigued look.
"Well, Louise, you've definitely been able to call an interesting Familiar I have to-"
"Summon." Alex automatically corrected her.
"Ah, I mean Summon," the young princess said, accepting the correction gracefully. "I imagine that he certainly isn't dull."
"Hah! You've got that right. Partner is a really interesting guy to be around, especially since he-"
Derflinger's metallic voice cut into the conversation and was then cut off in turn as Alex's hand came down and forced the sentient sword back into its sheath.
"W-Was that . . ." there was a definite hint of bewilderment to Henrietta's voice at this point, but that was to be expected since from her perspective the large red head's belt had just started talking.
"Louise was kind enough to furnish me with a weapon from your country," Alex explained as he rested his hand on Derflinger's pommel to keep the sword from working its way out of the sheath, "I confess that it's the first time I've ever encountered a weapon that can critique its user, but it has proven to be a . . . refreshing experience, definitely the most interesting weapon I've ever been gifted."
Alright, technically Derflinger and that golden sword that Kirche had given him were the only swords he'd ever received, so there wasn't that much competition, but even so he thought that the talking weapon was novel enough that it could have held that position even with more challengers for the post.
The princess's confusion was replaced with comprehension which in turn faded into a giggle as a smile formed. However the smile soon faded as she reached to pull her cloak about her once more.
"I can't stay long, it won't be much longer before they notice I'm gone and I really don't want to have to sit through another lecture on security and caution." She commented with a grimace that somehow contrived to look adorable.
She turned to the door, then hesitated for a moment before turning back and embracing Louise.
"It's so good to see you after so many years Louise, I'm so happy to see you again."
"Me too Princess." The youngest Vallière replied returning the hug.
The embrace broke and Henrietta stepped back regarding both the other occupants in the room.
"I look forwards to seeing both of you do your best tomorrow," she stated, her tone warm and encouraging, "Please do your best for my dear Louise mister fam- I mean Summon."
Alex shot a wide grin in her direction as he slightly inclined his head to her.
"Don't worry; I think I should be able to put on a decent show tomorrow. Oh, and my name is Iskander Mest Babylon, I guess I should have introduced myself earlier."
"Don't speak so familiarly with the Princess!" Louise exclaimed, trying to rebuke her Summon by kicking him in his ankle. The move proved not to be a wise one as she ended up hopping on one foot as she clutched at the other one in pain. "OWWWW, Founder curse it, Iskander, what are you made out of?!"
With a sigh Alex reached down and picked Louise up by the back of her nightgown once more, a move that came just in time to keep her from falling over. Carefully placing her on her bed he went to her desk where a small box contained a number of herbal ointments. That box had been a new addition that had only turned up since they'd begun to experiment into seeing how Louise's explosions could be controlled. After a couple of mishaps had left his little Summoner with some minor burns and bruises the ointments had become fairly well used since Louise refused to go to the academy nurse for such minor injuries.
Glancing over at their guest Alex saw that the heir to the Tristain Throne was watching their antics with an ever so slightly mournful look on her face.
"It must be nice to be so free."
The words were spoken so softly that even with the slightly enhanced senses of a Servant the red haired young man almost missed them.
Ah, that was right. At this point in the 'story' Henrietta hadn't really come into her own yet and was still far more constrained by duty and custom than she would be once she took the throne. Right now she seemed . . . sad, no, that wasn't the right word. Melancholy, that was it. She was seeing something she wanted but could not have, something she longed for.
Impulsively he stepped forwards and caught the door as it started to swing shut.
"Look, I don't claim to know anything about what's bothering you, but I can tell that you've got something that's weighing you down. If you ever want to get away from it for a bit just come and see Louise here again. I don't know for sure but I think I can probably ensure you can get away on your own for a bit. There might be something of a mess when you get back, but if you think it's worth it I can do it I think."
Alright, not the most eloquently put offer. Still, considering that the idea he had was little more than a vague notion of spiriting her away in his chariot so that she and Louise could have some time off together. It would probably be more trouble than it was worth in the long run, but he'd ended up blurting it out before he'd thought it through properly. Oh well, he'd manage to make it work if he had to.
"I . . . I might take you up on that some time Iskander Mest Babylon." There was a small smile on Henrietta's lips as she said it. Then the door closed and there was just the soft sound of her feet fading down the corridor.
"Princess . . ." Louise's voice was oddly melancholic itself, her eyes fixed on the door that had just closed.
A number of things ran through his mind that he could say, words of comfort or encouragement, perhaps a joke or a gentle jibe. Instead he suddenly felt more tired than he could remember being since he'd first come to this strange new world. It wasn't a tiredness of the body; rather it was a mental and emotional fatigue, one brought on by the sudden stimulation of meeting the princess for the first time and then it ending so soon afterwards.
In all truth he was more surprised that he was experiencing it now rather than that he was experiencing it at all. He supposed that it hitting him now was due to it being a case of so much straw having been slowly heaped onto a camel's back. That was the only reason he could think of for it hitting him now rather than having struck after the whole mess with Count Mott.
Bah, he didn't have the energy to try to psycho evaluate himself right now. What he wanted was a good night's sleep.
Going with that thought he grabbed the rolled up mat that had been serving as his bed for the last few days and unrolled it.
"We'd best get some sleep if we want to be at our best for tomorrow." He commented to his Summoner.
"Yes, I suppose you're right." Louise agreed absently as she extinguished the lamp, took off her cape and climbed back into bed.
In the dark Alex lay back on his roll and smiled to himself. To Louise he knew it was important that she showed her old friend how reliable she could be, and the Evaluation Fair provided her with the means by which she could do so.
Well, as a Summon it was part his duties to act as her champion in this, at least in his mind it was, and that was something he was pretty sure he could satisfactorily accomplish.
-()-
"BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!"
The roar of violent adulation echoed through the place that had once been a church. Now it looked nothing like a holy place of worship, instead it resembled the workshop of some insane butcher.
Blood, blood and bodies were everywhere. Cruel hooks had been hammered into the wall and dead cadavers impaled upon them, their flesh slit open so the blood would drain out onto the floor. Huddled in the corners of the one time place of worship were several young men and women, innocent farmers dragged from their homes and brought to this place of mad nightmares.
The ones who had shouted were the two figures locked in combat in the centre of the defiled room. The two were men, of that there was no doubt given that save for some grotesque trophies that were literally stitched to their skins the pair were naked. However there was no way to tell their age, nor their nationality, both of them were so covered in healed scars and new battle wounds that it was impossible to tell if they were young or old, noble or peasant.
The only thing that was clear was that both were huge men, each towering nearly seven feet tall, and so covered in corded and bulging muscle as to be almost grotesque. Neither of them had any weapons, instead they fought with their bare hands, with fingers that were deformed into claws, with knuckles that were jagged spikes of bone.
Yet even as they tore into each other a careful observer would have noted that each of the combatants wore an expression of twisted glee upon their faces. Or at least they wore as much glee as their ruined features could convey. Neither of them had a nose anymore, those had been torn off in earlier battles, their lips were shredded ruins and their cheeks were so scarred that it was unlikely there was enough muscle left to form a smile.
Yet despite their maiming there was no denying the sheer unadulterated joy that radiated from the two as they seemed to try to slaughter each other.
"Impressive aren't they?"
One of the terrified farmers tore his eyes away from the bloody battle to stare at the young woman that had appeared beside him out of seemingly nowhere. She was clad in black and was wearing clothes so fine that she could have been a Noble that had just left a ball. She stood there, untouched by the blood and gore about her, as though in the court of a king where servants awaited to tend to her every need and all had to bow before her.
"R-Run, please run and get help?!" the farmer implored his hands reaching out to her beseechingly. Had be been able to he would have moved towards her, but the spikes cruelly driven through his feet and into the floor held him nailed in place.
"Why would I do that? This is a fine spectacle to watch don't you think?"
Under other circumstances the farmer might have realized there was something wrong, might have sensed the danger, but at that time pain, fear and sheer horror had blinded him to the subtleties of the world. All he saw was a young woman who wasn't covered in blood and wounds, so to his horror stricken mind that meant she was safe, someone that could get help.
"Th-They're going to kill us all and give our souls to their god." The man's voice was raspy now, the frantic energy that had driven him slipping away as he saw that the black clad woman wasn't moving.
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that," she replied in an off hand manner, "After all their gods don't exist, they were invented by a brilliant fellow called Michael Moorcock. Still it was remarkably easy to get some cults started. All I needed were a few gene splices and tweaks to serve as 'blessings' and they pretty much started to run themselves."
The maimed farmer blinked at her, unable to understand the words she was using and unable to comprehend the meaning of what little he did understand. In that moment a roar echoed through the defiled building drawing his attention away from the young woman and back to the two contending figures.
One of them had gained ascendancy over the other and was holding him down with one hand as he relentlessly pummelled his face with the other. The downed warrior was trying to fight back, but beneath the incessant hammering of his foe he soon went limp as life was beaten from his form.
His teeth bared in a wild grin that seemed to spilt his face the victor of the bloody battle sank to his knees by the body of his slain foe and raised his arms in some sort of hideous supplication.
"BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!"
With a single savage movement he drove his hand into the still chest of his dead enemy. Bones cracked audibly and blood welled up, yet that was nothing compared to the bloody spectacle that followed as the winner of the death match drew out his hand that now clutched the still heart of his victim. The heart trailed veins and arteries that seemed to stretch as they sought to remain connected to the organ, but those vessels broke one after another, splattering more blood across the victor and the corpse of his dead foe.
For a moment the winner of the battle knelt frozen, his hands holding the heart up in the air as though to offer it to some invisible recipient.
Then the moment ended as he drew the organ close to his face and, with a sudden savage hunger, bit into it again and again as he swallowed down the still warm meat. The heart was large, yet in the face of the monstrous appetite of the victor it only last a few moments before it was fully consumed. The blood from his ghastly feast still running down his chin the madman gazed down at the motionless body of his slain opponent.
"SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE!"
The farmer could feel his sanity begin to fray at the edges, but then was that really a surprise? When faced with this obscenity . . . this atrocious mockery of reason, wasn't insanity the only possible sane response? Yet even as the moorings of his mind creaked and strained he couldn't look away as he watched the cannibalistic victor use nothing but brute force to tear the head off his dead foe's body.
"Khorne and Slaanesh were great successes," the voice of the woman intruded upon his thoughts, though the calm and conversational tone that she used served only to lend an extra dimension of discordance to the already insane situation. "I suppose that was only to be expected since it's pretty easy to get people to indulge their natural inclinations for violence or excesses if you use the right words. But Tzeentch and Nurgle? I'm not stupid enough to bring them into the game. A Nurgle cult might end up setting a plague loose if left unchecked and as for anyone following the path of Tzeentch . . . well the less said the better. I'm enjoying being able to direct this story so far, I don't want any competition for it thank you.
"Ah well, things might be a bit on the messy side but in the end it's worth it. I always wanted my own Chaos Marine, and this fine fellow and others like him will be as close as you can get in this world once I'm through with them."
"W-Why?"
The single word question came out as a despairing croak as the last of the farmer's energy left him along with any remaining hope. He didn't understand what it was this woman spoke of; all he understood was that in some way she was at least partly responsible for it. All he wanted to know was why, why was she doing this to him and his family.
"Because I can, because it's easy, and because it's not like you're real people." The reply was delivered without any change to her voice other than a slight note of condescension dripping into it. "This is just a story, and you are simply a piece of the background, a face in the crowd that has no purpose. By doing this I'm giving you purpose, I'm giving you a chance to step onto the stage and say some lines rather than just being part of the scenery. You really should thank me."
It started slowly but it grew. Laughter clawed its way up his throat and exploded out of him in a wheezing gasping rasp. It wasn't loud, he didn't have the strength for that, but it did echo throughout he defiled place of worship.
How could he not laugh, after all he now got the joke.
This was a dream.
Of course this was a dream, how could it be anything else? This didn't happen, not to honest hardworking folks like him. Sure there was some unrest abroad in the kingdom, but he was a citizen of Albion and as long as he kept his head down and was respectful to the mages everything would be alright.
This wasn't happening. This was all just a nightmare; he'd soon be waking up in his bed with his wife beside him and his son in his room. Everything would be fine and he'd be able to forget about this monstrous dream altogether.
"Oh, looks like it's your turn now."
What did he care about what she said? She was just a figment of his imagination after all. And what did he care if the huge bloodstained hulk was coming towards him? It wasn't as though he was real, so there was nothing to worry about.
So he kept on laughing.
Then the laughter was cut off.
Then there was only the dripping of blood.
-()-
She stepped out of the broken door to the one time holy place and gazed up at the moons above her. As she stared at the celestial display she idly rubbed her boots in the grass so as to clean the blood from their soles.
It was a bit on the distasteful side, all the blood and gore that had to be endued in order to create her pseudo Chaos Warriors. Still she supposed that it was a necessary sacrifice, and one that she was happy to endure as she watched others pay far more than she did. Once it was done she knew that she'd have some of the deadliest warriors to ever walk this world at her beck and call.
The mere thought of it made her shiver deliciously. That power, it would be hers, not her 'master's', hers and hers alone. The members of the cults she'd raised already regarded her as the speaker of the non-existent gods that they now worshipped fanatically. To them her words were absolute, unquestionable. Those who did contest her soon found themselves torn apart as heretics and non-believers.
Really it was almost a joke in how easy it had been to create the cults; all she'd had to do was outline the basic doctrine from what she could remember of the Warhammer lore and provide a few nudges here and there. The results had been . . . satisfactory, to say the least.
Now the Chaos gods of violence and excess each had suitable followings, followings that were slowly growing but remained firmly beneath her control. Soon their warriors would be ready, ripe for harvesting into her growing personal guard.
And the best part was that they were far from the only iron that she had in the fire several of her other plans would soon be coming to fruition and yielding their spoils to her.
That thought brought her mind back to the thief Fouquet. That was a scheme that could net her considerable benefits if it played out well. With the tool with which she'd been provided she'd be able to do much more than steal a single item from the vault, she'd be able to make off with dozens if she was as capable as her reputation suggested. And those items could be purchased so that they could add to her growing arsenal of magical items.
Almost of its own accord the woman's right hand came up to trace the runes inscribed upon her forehead.
Such a useful gift she'd received upon her arrival, a gift that allowed her to use almost all the wonders that had arrived with her with ease. Really, had it not been for the mark of the Myozunitonirun her life would have been so much more difficult, but with it . . . well, she was fairly certain that if she so wished she could bring an apocalypse to this new world she found herself in.
But that was hardly what she wanted; she wanted power and control, not destruction and wastelands. She had plans in that regard, plans already in motion. Never had she thought that she'd be so glad to have sat through one of those puerile animations that he'd been so fond of. The knowledge she'd gained had proven to be a godsend to her once she'd realized where she was.
She was well aware that Saito and Louise, along with some of their friends, would move to try to thwart her pawn's robbery. Well that was fine, she'd been expecting it after all. Indeed this was a good opportunity to see to eliminating the Gandálfr before he could become too much of a nuisance. She'd been surprised when she'd learnt that he'd survived his encounter with her poisoned Count Mott not having expected him to have been familiar enough with his new powers to have lived against such an obstacle. This time she wasn't leaving things to chance.
Her lips twitched into a smile as she once more waved a black gloved hand and called a black rip in the air into being.
Since she was being the villain she had best nip the hero at the bud.
Darkness swallowed her as she stepped into the portal.
