Louise stared down at her reflection, floating in the tub of soapy water. Her eyes red, bags hanging off of them.
What was she supposed to do once class started, and she had to face those whom she would have to serve?
Not even an hour after getting up and her feet and arms were already burning from hauling the heavy fresh meat that had been delivered when she awoke this morning giving her a bitter taste of what was to come.
"Here you are Louise." Her roommate, siesta said, entering the laundry room and setting down a basket of various uniforms.
Louise paid her no attention, instead grabbing her washboard and laying it into the water like she had been told to do.
Grabbing a shirt from the laundry bin, she dropped it into the water.
"So what you'll want to d-"
"I know how to wash clothing," Louise told the girl.
"What about your gloves? Won't they get ruined?"
The pinkette's eyes narrowed 'Gloves?' Gazing down at her hands, she realized that she was still wearing those gloves that she had plucked out of her tank the day she summoned it. "Oh, right."
Grabbing them, she quickly pulled them off. How long has it been since she last took off during the day? She couldn't quite remember.
"Is that a tattoo?" The surprised voice of her roommate pulled her from her thoughts.
Louise bit her lip as she began to scrub the shirt against the washing board. "Can't you mind your own business?"
"Sorry." The girl meekly apologized. "It's just that, the other servants usually converse to pass the time."
Pulling the shirt off of the washing board, she dunked it back into the water before picking and wringing it out, shooting a glance over at the raven-haired girl as she did. "Yes, it is." She answered with a sigh.
Siesta looked confused for a moment, before realizing what she was talking about causing the girl's eyes to light up. "What does it mean?"
"What are you on about?"
The girl's smile instantly ran off of her face. "Well, it's just that my family has a long history with tattoos." She said, looking away from her. "All the boys in our family are encouraged to get them once they are able to afford them it's usually a way to show off what they've been able to achieve. Each one is unique and they all mean something personal to them."
Louise could only look away tossing the cleaned shirt into the rinse bin. "If you're so curious, it says Gandalfr. As to what it means, I don't know."
"Why?"
Grabbing another skirt this time she threw it into the water. "Because my grasp on ancient Romalian is tenuous at best." She told her, scrubbing the skirt hard.
Her roommate rung out the shirt. "Well, maybe today during the mid-day break you can go look up what it means. You wouldn't want to be walking around with something lewd or heinous written on your hand." She said, standing up and tossing the shirt over a clothesline.
Louise let out a single laugh. "Yeah, they keep all the books on ancient Romalia behind sealed doors, and right now, I'm in enough trouble to last a lifetime." The pinkette told her, ringing out the skirt and tossing it into Siesta's tub of water.
Still, that raised a good point, she hadn't even thought about trying to decipher the familiar runes on her hand, perhaps, she could ask Colbert what Gandalfr meant, he would probably know.
xXXXx
The pair continued their duties, until after half an hour, the laundry bin was empty.
"Louise?" Claudie asked from the entrance way. "Your mother is departing and wishes to speak with you before she leaves."
Saying nothing, Louise pushed herself off of her knees a small grunt, grabbing her gloves and dusted off her apron.
"She's in the newly built shed." Claudie clarified throwing a thumb over her shoulder.
Giving the head maid a small nod, Louise left the room, and with a brisk pace made her through the still dark courtyard to her tank shed.
Pushing open the small human sized door to the shed, she saw her mother running a hand along the side of the tank while gazing up at the turret with an inquisitive look.
"Tell me Louise, how thick is your familiar's armour?" Her mother asked, not breaking her gaze from the tank.
Louise was slightly taken aback. "How did you know that it was my familiar?"
"Because it is written on the side."
Eyes widening, she rushed over to the side of the tank and found just like her mother said, 'Property of Lady Valliere do not touch' Painted on in white paint. "I- uh,"
"I'm not mad, however I want you to repaint it during the mid-day break." Louise could swore that in that moment, she could see the faintest smile on her mother face. "Now about the armour."
"It's t-two and a half inches." Louise quickly added getting back on topic.
Her mother hummed
"B-but, with its slope, it's effectively around three and a half." She quickly added.
Another hum. "What of the cannon, it seems rather small to be effective."
What was she doing? "What it l-lacks in size it makes up for in range. Its shells can reach up to seven miles."
"That is quite the claim." Her mother looked over to her. "But your familiar isn't the reason why I called you here." She stated. "Your father has been called to the court. As such, I'm going to be returning home soon."
"r-right."
"Now, about your punishment." Her mother said, turning her entire body to face her, keeping both hands behind her back. "Your headmaster will be sending me the invoice for the reconstruction, however in order to gauge how much you've actually paid off, I've asked Claudie to write a report of the tasks that have been completed which I'll pick up at the end of every week."
Louise lowered her gaze to the floor. "Of course."
The clacking of boots warned Louise of her mother's approach. The contact of her mother's hand on her shoulder caused the small girl to flinch. "I know that this punishment may seem a bit harsh and unfair, but you must face it with zeal worthy of the Valliere name. If you do, you might find that this trial will pass quickly."
Her mother let go of her shoulder and walked past her, leaving her alone in the shed.
Louise bit the inside of her cheek.
A week. She had a week to make the money needed to repair the headmaster's office.
At least a week. Do you actually think you can make what you need in a week? And in the meantime how will you deal with the ridicule?
'No!' She inwardly shouted as she shook her head. She couldn't think like that. She had to face it like she had always done, with a stone face. Her family was better than all of them, all of her tormentors were just lower nobles striking up at her in a time of vulnerability.
All she needed to do to survive the week was stay away from the populated areas of the academy, most notably the dining hall.
"Louise?" A new voice called out from deeper in the shed.
Tilting her head up, she saw a cloaked figure standing near the back of the tank. "W-who are you?" Louise said, taking a step back.
"So, it is true." The figure said, slowly closing the gap forward. They grabbed their hood and threw it back, revealing a full head of short dark purple hair.
Before Louise could do anything, she was scooped up into a tight vice-like hug. "Princess?" She muttered, as her mind attempted to catch up.
"It's been so long Louise," Henrietta whispered, tightening her hug. The girl slowly pulled away, keeping her hands planted on her shoulders and began to look her up and down. "You've grown quite a bit."
Pushing herself away. Louise quickly kneeled to the ground. "Princess, y-y-you shouldn't see me like this. I've dishonoured my family's name."
"Louise." The princess muttered, her voice devoid of the previous joy. A hand wrapped around the pinkette's wrist and was swiftly yanked to her feet. "What did I tell you all those years ago?" The purple haired girl asked.
Louise's Couldn't face her. "Not to call you princess in private."
"Exactly."
Louise looked back to her. "But this is different," She told her, staring directly into her eyes. "I'm hardly a noble at this point, nothing but a common maid."
A mischievous smile formed on the princess's face. "Does that mean you have a contract up for purchase."
A chuckle escaped the girl's lips. "You haven't changed. And no, at least I don't think so. Even if it was, don't you think that might be a misuse of your kingdom's riches?"
"Royalty always needs friends in the court." Henrietta pointed out.
Her lips curled up into a smile. "A servant in the royal court would cause more of a fuss, then a friend would solve," Louise told her.
"Oh, don't talk like that, Louise." Henrietta scolded her. "Heads would roll before they insulted the royal playmate."
Her smile widening, Louise stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her friend putting all the sadness from the past few days into the hug. "It's... It's nice to know you hadn't forgotten me."
"Why would you think such things?" The princess asked clearly shocked by the idea.
Her grip tightened. "I was afraid that the rumours about my magical Difficulty had reached you."
"You mean your explosions?"
The pinkette pursed her lips. "Yes."
Her friend pulled away to look her in the eyes. "You do remember that I was there when you first used a wand."
Louise looked away in shame. "And ruined your dress." She added.
"The dress I hated, remember." Henrietta pointed out. "And didn't I tell you that your explosion was very impressive?"
The smile slowly returned to the noble's face. "Which caused me to keep throwing around explosions until my mother forcibly took the wand from me."
Henrietta chuckled, as she let go of the girl's hands. "That was one of the best summers I've ever had If I'm being honest with myself."
Louise gaze fell to the floor once more as the memories shared together flashed in her mind. "Sometimes I wish that we could just return to such times. When it didn't matter how we acted." She said with a sigh.
"I know how you feel, you don't know how bad I just want to go back to having days like those." The princess said. "Every day it feels as if the weight of the nation rests on my shoulders, with, mother in the condition she's in, I've had to step into the court in her Stead."
Henrietta, stepped away from her, turning her gaze to the main feature of the shed.
"What little time I spend away from the court is full of lessons by my advisors teaching me how to run the kingdom, even this trip which I had wanted to use to just get away from the politics for a few days has been corrupted. Since I've arrived, all I've done is meet the sons and daughters of prominent families and judge a familiar contest."
"W-What about the Cardinal? He always seemed to care about your health." Louise asked.
The girl scoffed. "The cardinal? He's no help, if anything he's worst then all of the advisers put together." The princess looked over her shoulder at her. "I had to fight with him just to let me go on this small trip."
Louise was at a loss for words, "I'm... Sorry to hear that."
The girl shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. I came to see how you were doing, and here I am ranting about my own problems." And with a sigh turned back towards her. "So let me start again. How have you been, Louise?" She asked
Louise's eyes shot wide. "It's, uh." Her eyes darted around the room, looking for anything to focus on other than her friends face. "Going fine. Yeah, it's going fine."
The princess narrowed her eyes. "Well, if you say so. Although it seems that you've overcome your difficulty, at least somewhat." She said, looking to the tank.
"Oh, that, how did you know it was min-" Louise was cut off by the princess, pointing to the clear sign of her ownership.
"Not to mention that I overheard your conversation with your mother. It really is unique, though. I don't think I've ever seen an armoured carriage before."
Louise nervously chuckled. "Well, I wouldn't call it a carriage, it's quite rugged on the inside. Definitely not fit for a noble, let alone a princess like you."
"Now, you're just making me want to ride in it more."
"I... I wish I could do that for you, but I need to get back to work. I need to repay osm-"
"Osmond for the damage to his office," Henrietta said, cutting her off. "I know." A devious smile formed on her face. "But you do realize you're talking to a princess."
xXXXx
The tank speed along the open road. Dirt and rock was thrown from the back of the tracks. The princess's laughter from atop the turret was just barely audible over the roar of the engine. "Come on Louise faster!" The princess ordered. "I can still see the Cardinal's carriage!"
Louise sat in the driver's seat with her head out of the hull. The smile on her face was as wide as the planes of eastern Germania, "As you wish your highness." which only grew in size as she shifted into fourth gear.
If she had any doubts that she had changed over the past four years, this stunt was clear proof that she hadn't.
How they had gotten away with this was still fresh in her mind.
After her mother's carriage was long gone the pair quickly sprang into action, they both went to the cardinal, Henrietta in tears with her pretending to comfort her. The princess told him that she had a nightmare that Fouquet had taken her prisoner after her attempt robbery on the vault the day prior and that she needed extra protection on the way home.
This led Louise to proposition the use of her familiar. Its armour and cannon would deter any attempt at a kidnapping.
The cardinal was skeptical and ordered a quick inspection of the tank he allowed Louise to bring her back to the castle, quickly writing a letter to the headmaster to excuse her absence.
"Slow down!" The royal guard that was sent alongside them shouted, his hands clinging to the hull.
"No no no! Ignore that order Louise! Speed up!" Henrietta shouted.
Louise glanced over to the terrified young blonde knight and shrugged. Looking back to the road she shifted into fifth gear, the tank soon reaching its max speed.
If for but a moment, Louise felt like she was thirteen again.
"You are not to tell the cardinal any of this," Henrietta ordered the knight.
xXXXx
The people, like the last time she was in the capital, gawked at her familiar, or perhaps the princess who sat out of the top. It didn't matter. They quickly cleared the main street, giving her a path straight to the castle.
"This was fun Louise," Henrietta said, her voice no longer competing with the engine. "I wish we could do this more often."
The grin on her face turned sombre. "I do to princess."
"Perhaps, that's something that can be organized," Henrietta said.
Louise slowed and shifted down to second gear. "What do you mean?" She asked.
"The viscount wants to spend some time with you this summer. "Reconnect," He said."
Louise's eyes widened as she yanked both break handles to her chest, jerking the tank to a stop. "What?" She asked, looking to the turret where she presumed Henrietta was.
"The viscount, he wants to spend some time with you, so I was thinking that perhaps for a week or two during the summer you could stay at the castle."
Louise looked back to the road, "Oh." She muttered, shifting down into first and beginning to pick up speed once more.
He... wanted to meet with her? "I'll... I'll need to think about it."
"Just know that you always have a room in the castle if you need it."
Perhaps. Perhaps this would be for the best. It had been so long since she had last seen the viscount.
Pursuing her lips. She continued on to the castle's gate.
xXXXx
So I just want to say sorry for taking so long with this chapter. But with the semester finally, over i should be able to pump these out faster. Or at least for a week before I begin my job.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter though, let me know what you think and I hope you have a good day.
