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Everything and Nothing
A Powerful Mage
Stronger than you think
[10.]
Guiche had woken up early in the simply exquisite room that Kirche had gone through the courtesy of reserving for him at the Goddess' Temple, and wasted almost no time getting up and ready for the day. After an eventful and illuminating night like the one he just had, discussing with Ryan and the others what was to be done regarding the Viscount was such an important thing on his mind, that he offered barely more than a handsome smile to the lovely maid who was cleaning outside his door when he emerged.
"Good morning, sir, do you need anything…?" the maid began as he passed her.
"Only the hope that my day is as lovely as you are, my dear," Guiche replied over his shoulder with a casual wave.
Okay, he couldn't completely turn down complimenting a beautiful woman, so he kept it short.
Completely oblivious to the young woman swooning behind him, Guiche marched down the hall to Ryan's room. He certainly hoped that he was up so they could meet with Kirche and Tabitha quickly. Upon reaching the door, he quickly knocked on it.
"Ingram, it's Guiche. I hope you're decent because I'm coming in!" Guiche said as he cast a quick spell to unlock the door and swing it open.
"Guiche, don't just come-!"
The warning fell far short, as Guiche found he wouldn't have to worry about taking Ryan to meet with Kirche and Tabitha.
"Oh," Guiche said, finding the scene familiar, "Oh my."
Sitting on his bed, Ryan bit his lower lip pensively, expecting all hell to break loose. He looked to his left at Kirche who, to his relief, responded a lot calmer than he expected her to.
"Ah, Guiche," Kirche said, "Could you…?"
Guiche needed a moment before he snapped back to attention and performed an about face.
"OH! OF COURSE!" he quickly yelped as he marched for the door. "I AM SO SORRY!"
With that he all but slammed the door closed in his retreat.
Ryan let out an impressed hum. "Wow, given the last time, I thought you would've set him on fire."
"I seem to recall that you didn't care too much for that," Kirche replied.
"Good point."
They both looked down at Tabitha, and saw she was covering her face, absolutely mortified from embarrassment.
About a half an hour and some freshening up later, Tabitha was still giving Guiche a hard stare as they all sat at the suite's table with their breakfast. Now that he was experiencing it himself, Guiche at least now kind of understood why Tabitha's attempt at contempt could be considered cute.
"I suppose it's good that all of you had an enjoyable evening… and morning…" he said as he finally tore his gaze from Tabitha to address everyone, "But now we must discuss the Viscount."
Ryan nodded in agreement. "So how bad is it?"
"I am afraid it's worse than you can imagine," Guiche said, "The Viscount has ambitious designs for both Louise and you, Ingram."
Ryan's eyes narrowed slightly. "How so?"
"When I eavesdropped upon them, he revealed that he knew why Louise had summoned a human, and that it's actually something extremely important. The Viscount is certain that you are a special and powerful summon, Ryan, known as Gandálfr."
"Gandálfr?" Ryan repeated.
"From the way the Viscount described it, this Gandálfr sounds like a God of War, able to use any weapon and take on entire armies on his own. He also said that Louise would be able to control you and your power, as she was your Master."
Kirche couldn't suppress a laugh at that, but it quickly died when she saw that Ryan didn't find it funny at all.
"So that's what he was looking for during our duel," he said with a noticeable stillness around him.
Guiche nodded. "It's safe to assume that the men hired to kill you were another such test to pull forth this Gandálfr ability. After all, they had been instructed to only kill you."
"Was having someone like Fouquet hire them for him part of the plan? A red herring to throw us off from him?" Wulf mused.
"Not important," Ryan curtly replied.
He rose from his seat and paced out to the middle of the floor. He wasn't happy about this at all, no he was right pissed off.
"What else, Guiche?" he asked.
It was a pointless question, he realized. He'd felt Louise throughout the night, he could still feel her. She was happy, happier than he'd ever felt her before. He knew exactly what Guiche was going to say next and it turned his stomach with disgust.
"Well, the Viscount wants to marry Louise," Guiche said solemnly, "In fact, he did a great deal of cajoling her. It was rather wretched in hindsight… the way he preyed upon her admiration for him."
"Easy to recognize," Tabitha let slip.
Guiche recoiled, when he realized she was talking to him. "T-Tabitha!"
Tabitha looked down slightly. "Sorry."
Kirche patted Guiche on the shoulder. "Now, now, you're a slightly better man than you were. Besides, Tabitha's almost as angry as Ryan."
Guiche looked over to Ryan, and realized right off how angry Ryan was. Everything seemed… muffled all of a sudden, like the world beyond a certain point was being blocked out by something. It took Guiche a moment that it was the sheer weight of Ryan's magical presence.
Ryan took in a deep breath, before he reached behind his back and pulled his sweater's hood up and over his head. From under it, he lamented aloud.
"The worst part is… I really wanted the Viscount to just be a good, boring guy."
Kirche, Tabitha, and Guiche watched the confrontation of Ryan and Wardes from the side of the street, alert despite their relaxed appearance. Passersby on the streets in front of the Goddess' Temple also stopped and stared at the unexpected draw of swords between Ryan and the Captain of the Griffon Knights. At Wardes' side, Louise stayed close but not too close to her fiancé, fearful of what would happen when the tension of the standoff finally broke.
"He called him Gandálfr," Guiche murmured.
Kirche's lips turned up into a small smile, as she watched Ryan. "He's so handsome when he is serious."
Tabitha, as usual at this point, just watched carefully–though Kirche did notice a slight nod of agreement that made her smile grow a little larger.
"Jean-Jacques, Ryan…" Louise murmured, unsure of what to do.
Wardes waved the tip of his sword-wand from side to side slightly, while silently conjuring magic towards the wand built into the blade. Now that the boy was going to be serious, he was going to hold nothing back. He was going to see at once the worth of Gandálfr.
Ryan finished drawing his sword, and held the blade at his side, the blade pointed at the ground, and rested his free hand on his hip. He then raised the blade up, pointing it at Wardes in a confident attacking stance.
How much of that confidence was his own? It wouldn't take the Viscount too much to find out.
"Let us begin!" he declared as he shot forward, his blade leaving a glimmering afterimage at the speed it moved in a twirling motion to throw off Ryan's attempt to defend.
At the last moment he thrust straight for his face, missing Ryan's right cheek by mere inches. When he slashed across to follow up, his blade seemed to go through Ryan without hitting him as he stepped back.
Ryan slid backward on the cobblestone, remaining outside of Wardes' reach. That didn't deter Wardes' blade, he continued striking viciously at his target.
Kirche wanted to glance over to Tabitha, but she didn't want to miss a single moment of the fight. Though she needn't worry, Tabitha was watching the fight as she normally did, completely focused on Ryan's every move.
It was a complete reversal of their duel on the basketball court, but this time it was Ryan who was dancing about, narrowly avoiding Wardes' deft pokes and slashes. While Wardes' jarringly efficient moves were impressing the crowd of civilians who just did not know better, Louise was completely alarmed because she knew that even at his fastest he would not be able to touch Ryan as he was now… and she didn't know what Ryan was going to do to Wardes.
Ryan hopped back from a final diagonal slash from the Viscount, removing himself from the range of his blade, and then continued his backtrack for three more equally short hops. As he stopped, Wardes lowered his sword slightly, but not his guard.
"This is quite different from the last time," Wardes congratulated.
"That's because I was holding back out of consideration for Louise," Ryan replied.
Wardes steadied himself. "Oh?"
"I'm actually quite good, better than you," Ryan replied.
"That remains to be seen," Wardes pointed out as he began to gather wind around his blade, "So show me what you've been holding back… Gandálfr!"
When the Viscount moved again, he was a blur propelled by the wind. It was at his back and pushing out of the way at the same time, reducing the air resistance to his every movement down to zero while accelerating him through this new still air at superhuman speeds. To all of the onlookers, he looked as though he were carried on the wind itself, and his sword-wand was just a gleam of metal in the morning sun.
When that gleam reached Ryan, there was a bright flash as Ryan's blade met the sword wand in a perfect parry, deflecting it away from him and leaving the onrushing Wardes fatally open.
"Don't blink," Ryan said as he turned away.
Wardes, overextended and surprised, could only really watch as Ryan turned in a full circle, bring his sword up, then down again, building up tremendous momentum for a swing he knew he could not avoid.
A shearing of metal sounded, and the magic that Wardes had crafted around him burst away as his sword-wand was slashed through with such force that the blade shattered like glass and evaporated above their heads like water.
From the wind still blasting at his back, the Viscount nearly lost his footing trying to get back from Ryan. He caught himself from falling, however, and managed to look graceful as his cape fluttered behind him.
Guiche tightened his grip around his rose and pumped his fist. Even though he didn't quite see what just happened. "Yes!"
Kirche huffed in amusement. "Ah, the Viscount barely stood a chance."
Tabitha nodded agreement, before she walked over to Louise, who was petrified with trepidation.
Wardes looked at what was left of his sword-wand, a destroyed hilt with a jagged piece of wood and metal jutting out of the silver handguard. He looked back up at Ryan, who tucked the tip of his sword into its sheath, before ramming the blade in with a loud clack.
"See?" he said, "Better than you."
The other spectators were stunned into silence, and Louise could hear their murmurings with unnerving clarity.
"That was the Captain of the Griffon Knights," one man in the crowd said to another.
"I can't even tell what just happened; did he just lose to a commoner?" the other man replied.
"It was so quick!" a boy said to his mother, who pulled him back from the front of the crowd.
"How embarrassing for the Viscount…" an older man said.
Louise sagged, as anxiety from the fight gave to anxiety over what Wardes had just confessed to. Tabitha rested a hand on her shoulder to get her attention, prompting the tiny pink-haired witch to turn to the tiny blue-haired one.
"This is awful," Louise said to her.
"Yes," Tabitha agreed.
Ryan looked down at the broken remains of the sword for a moment, before walking right up to Wardes.
Loud enough for Louise to hear, he said to the Viscount, "I don't care what you think I am, Jean-Jacques, but do not think for one damn second that I will let you take advantage of Louise."
Louise gasped. "W-what?"
"His only interest in marrying you is getting a hold of your power, Louise," Kirche said, "He was going to use you to try to control Ryan."
Louise looked back at Kirche, her mouth agape, before she looked back at the confrontation.
Ryan stepped closer. "Don't try to deny it, Jean-Jacques. From the moment you've come back into her life you've treated her like the child you last saw her as. You preyed on her feelings for you, and flattered her with this talk of Gandálfr and her power so she couldn't possibly say no to you… while your only real concern was me."
Raising his free hand, he slapped it against his own chest. "And while I'm flattered that you recognize mine and Louise's power, I will not let anyone use it for whatever their ambitions are. Not you, not anyone on this damn planet. You got that?!"
Wardes' stoic expression slipped for just the slightest instant, exposing to Ryan just how furious the Viscount was. He maintained the composure necessary to not outwardly reveal it, however. Silent for several moments, he reached up and tilted his hat up ever slightly.
"Not even if those ambitions were for the good of Halkeginia and everyone in it?" he asked.
Ryan felt it right then and there. The cold yet searing pain of Louise's heart beginning to break.
He clenched his fist, ready to shatter Wardes' nose… but relented.
"I've heard enough. You're going to leave," Ryan said sternly, "You're going to take your Griffin, pack your things, and go back to Tristainia."
Wardes' gaze flicked quickly from Ryan to his sword and back. "Regardless of my intentions I was ordered by the Princess to protect-"
"That doesn't mean anything to me; now leave before I make you. Don't even say anything to her."
Wardes' stoic expression slipped for just the slightest instant, exposing to Ryan just how furious the Viscount was. His gloved hands were tightened into fists, and the tremble they made promised that someone was going to pay dearly for this embarrassing setback. He maintained the composure necessary to not outwardly reveal it, however, as he turned around and began walking away without so much as a passing glance to Louise.
"Jean-Jacques…" Louise called weakly after him when she realized he was leaving, but Tabitha held her back with a surprisingly strong grip.
Louise opened her mouth to call for him again, but no sound came out. She looked downward, her bangs falling over her eyes.
Tabitha leaned close to her. "Sorry."
Louise tensed and pulled away from her. "I feel sick…"
She turned and walked away, back towards the hotel.
As she left, Ryan called after her. "If you need time alone, fine, but meet us at the shipyard by noon."
"Shut up!" Louise shouted.
Guiche looked to Ryan. "I will accompany Louise, and keep her safe."
Ryan nodded to him. "Thanks, man."
"It's the least I can do, but something bothers me, Ingram."
"What?" Ryan asked.
"I do not think you are Gandálfr, but what if you were supposed to be?" he asked.
Ryan reached behind his back, and began to scratch at it through his hoodie.
Fouquet of the Sand was the picture of patience when it came to dealing with a mark. She could wait for days to get her prize and she relished the wait. When the persona was pulled away, however, Matilda de Sachsen-Gotha had problems with waiting around and doing nothing. She was a revolutionary woman, after all, she didn't have time for idling while men of action acted.
It was worse this time around, because she was yearning to find out what happened to the boy who so soundly trumped her in her greatest moment, and the Viscount de Wardes was taking his sweetest time to meet with her. It was just not polite to keep a woman waiting!
The door to the cozy and simply furnished inn room she'd taken residence in swung open suddenly, and there was the Viscount. His already stony visage appeared even harder with the glare he leveled onto Matilda as he slammed the door behind him and marched for her.
Matilda rose to her feet from the table she'd been seated at. "Ah, had an interesting night I take it-"
Wardes raised his hand back, and brought it across her face with such force that she spun around once before she hit the floor.
Matilda brought her hand to her cheek, and looked out the corner of her eye at the Viscount.
"I beg your pardon?"
Her voice was dripping with anger that surprise held in check enough to prevent her from going immediately to her wand. She just had to know what had made the Viscount so quick to want to act with such regrettable violence before she paid it back in kind.
"After I broke you from confinement, I asked you a question, Matilda de Sachsen-Gotha. Do you remember what it was?"
Matilda had to admit, there was a quality to the Viscount's voice when he was truly furious that would make a lesser woman quake with fear. In her case, it merely gave her a surprised pause.
"Y-you asked me how Ryan defeated me, and I told you… he had help from the Gallian mute."
Matilda realized quickly that something must've happened, because the Viscount grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to her feet before driving her up against a wall.
"You left out a few things, Matilda," he growled.
"Such as…?" she replied.
"How he really defeated you."
Matilda's eyebrows rose, as a dangerous smile appeared on her lips. "He was quite fast, and durable too. That sword could cut through anything I threw at it, as well…"
Wardes narrowed his eyes at her.
"All of those things, and a minor distraction from the Gallian helped him defeat me with very little difficulty. Even my strongest spell probably would not have held him very long."
Her gaze darted over the Viscount, and quickly took stock of something missing from his possession. She gave him a very dangerous look.
"It was such a climactic battle. I enjoyed myself splendidly."
Wardes let her go, he had caught where her eyes had turned.
"Why did you not tell me this?"
"Did something happen?" she asked in turn, "Because you're sans a sword and clearly confused about how strong that boy is."
She chuckled. "Let me guess, you had another 'spar' with him and he beat you?"
She got it right on the head, given Wardes' sneer when he drew away from her. How interesting this was, seeing the Viscount so visibly shaken and frustrated.
"So now that you've seen what he can do for yourself, tell me… is this Gandálfr?" Matilda measured her tone carefully to not give away the nasty little facts she had over the Viscount. The last thing she wanted was for him to feel like she was just humoring him.
"No."
Well, this was a surprise.
"Whatever that boy is, he is not Gandálfr."
It was an assessment that left the Viscount seething.
"He is something else and I do not know what… but whatever it is, it makes him a dangerous threat."
He then turned back to her. "Matilda, you will go ahead to Albion and meet with Cromwell. Tell him that Louise is being protected by an extremely powerful mage, and we will need to plan accordingly."
Matilda nodded. "Yes, yes, of course…"
She brought her hand up to her cheek and mock pouted. "You are going to apologize for this, aren't you? I mean, I imagine you were quite upset about whatever occurred, but there was no need to take it out upon me, Jean-Jacques."
Wardes scowled, though this time the ire seemed more directed at himself. He walked back over to Matilda and slipped his hand beneath hers to cup her cheek, much in the same way he did Louise.
"You're right," he said in a softer voice, his expression contrite, "I should not have struck you. I apologize for it."
Matilda nodded. "Mm, just don't do it again. I'm supposed to be your partner, not some loose woman you can do with as you please."
She glanced towards the hand resting on her face, and then gave him a warmer look. "Unless that's something you need right now."
Wardes, smiling, nodded and stepped closer to Matilda.
The night he spent alone with Louise was far too long…
The dining hall of the Goddess's Temple was, as with the rest of the establishment, overwhelmingly high class. Sitting at one of the tables, with a glass of wine at her side and some bread in front of her, Louise was trying to sort out her emotions and coming up painfully short.
Guiche sat across from her, somewhat worried about her wine intake. "Louise… that's your fifth glass."
Louise looked at him, her eyes narrowed. She then poured her sixth glass of wine, and promptly drank it. Alcohol seemed to just burn away in the Aether, she didn't even feel the slightest bit inebriated.
She stopped drinking. "I'm fine, I can't overdrink."
"You want to," he said as she resumed.
Guiche was not wrong, and that deeply annoyed Louise.
Louise set her empty glass down and glared at him again. "Why are you even here?!"
"I said I would watch over you."
"I don't need you watching over me."
Guiche frowned. "I am only looking out for you, because you are a friend-"
That touched a deep nerve, and Louise suddenly shot a savage glare at Guiche.
"I AM NOT YOUR FRIEND!" Louise screamed at him, her voice echoing off the marble walls and polished floor of the restaurant.
The dining hall became extremely still after that.
Even with everyone looking at her, Louise was too upset to care. "You made fun of me like everyone else! You laughed and poked fun at me failing every chance you had! You haven't even apologized to me for all of that! The only reason you even pretend to care is because you're HIS friend! Not! Mine!"
She pounded her fist on the table, tears threatening in her eyes. "None of you are my friends…"
The people who have come back into her life… the people who gave her comfort when she felt that she was nothing… they only needed her because of him. The people who seem nice to her, were only nice because of him. He was powerful, she was just an accessory, a way to that power. Wardes… the Princess…
"Vallière," Guiche said, his voice soft.
"I wonder what would have happened if I had been able to tell him," she said, "How would he have reacted if he knew I was the familiar? I bet he wouldn't have even asked me to marry him. He probably would have just left."
Pulling out some money for the wine and bread, she threw it onto the table and stormed out of the dining hall. Guiche was right behind her, after adding a little more as a generosity to the servers for the outburst.
Louise marched out of the hotel, and turned in the direction of the harbor, her long pink hair making it difficult for Guiche to lose her despite her brisk pace and the large crowds of people moving through the streets of Rochelle.
It brought him considerable pain to admit it, but Louise was right. At no point since all of this began, had he out and said his apologies for all of his rudeness to Louise. Until their duel, no one thought much of Louise, and after… well, everyone feared her.
After it was found that Ryan was training her, and had taken away her wand, it was easier to relax around Louise. That didn't really change much else, though. No one was really nicer to Louise… no one was actually her friend. It was a revelation that struck Guiche hard.
"Louise," he called to her as he managed to catch up with her.
"I am not talking to you!" she shouted back over the bustle of the crowd.
Guiche placed a hand on her shoulder and gripped it firmly, to stop her. "Please listen! You're right, I've treated you terribly, and I want to make apologies!"
Louise did stop and whirled around to face him.
"I am sorry, Vallière, deeply so. I am sorry for how cruelly I treated you, and that something so terrible had to happen today. You have been through so much, and I know that you admired the Viscount and what he has done hurts. I have been no help towards you, or towards your feelings and that was wrong of me."
Louise's glare dimmed to something sadder, and she looked down at the ground.
"But know this, Vallière," he continued, "From this day forth, I Guiche de Gramont pledge my unwavering loyalty and friendship to you. The words 'Louise the Zero' shall never leave my lips again, and I will defend you and your honor as I defend all who mean so much to me."
He kneeled before her, with one arm crossed over his chest. "I swear this upon my life, my magic, and my name."
Louise looked up from her feet to his face and his determined, honest expression. She sighed.
"You…" she began to say, before she trailed off and sighed.
She then held out her hand to Guiche.
"Thank you, Guiche," she said quietly.
Guiche smiled as he took it and stood up. "You are welcome, Louise."
He looked towards the direction of the harbor. "Shall we go rejoin the rest of our party, then?"
Louise nodded. "There's not much else for me to do."
As the two continued on towards the group, a young, attractive commoner woman who had seen the display brought a hand to her cheek and let out a small hum… before she hurried to follow the two of them.
"So windstones are basically levitating magical rocks," Ryan said to Kirche after he received an explanation of how ships in this world flew.
Kirche nodded. "That's right."
She had just gone to great length to explain the process of wind magic being compressed into the Earth and crystallizing it in the form of strange minerals that allow for them to become so buoyant they could support entire warships, and even–in the case of Albion–entire islands.
"Huh, neat."
The two of them and Tabitha were in the harbor of Rochelle, walking along the gantries that held down the ships that were docked there. They were in search of a ship that would take them to Albion in the shortest time possible, but unfortunately finding very little luck, given the intervening circumstances.
Albion moved with the tides, which meant it was only closest to the mainland during the early morning and evening. Throw the war on top of that, and there were actually very few merchants short of ships carrying highly volatile materials for gunpowder and offensive magics willing to fly into what was effectively a war zone.
"So does your world have flying ships?" Kirche asked, after observing Ryan's apparent lack of wonder at these ships.
"Yeah, different kinds… we have lighter than air and heavier than air. Though those use physics and aerodynamics to fly. We only recently started having actual flying ships similar to this thanks to magic… but those are purely a military application right now."
Kirche looked to Tabitha. "Could you imagine being in a world that just discovered magic? It must be so exciting."
"I don't know," Tabitha replied.
They approached a larger ship, which was in the process of having barrels loaded onto it for a long flight. Given that there was a considerable distance between this ship and the others, it was uncomfortably apparent that this was another ship carrying war materials.
Ryan didn't like it at least. "This is the ship leaving earliest?"
Tabitha nodded.
He looked over at Kirche.
Kirche stared back. "What?"
He looked back at the ship.
"What?" Kirche asked again when he looked back at her.
She then frowned. "Oh! Do you think I'll set off an explosion?!"
She turned up her nose. "I'm a triangle-class fire mage, I have more control than that, my love. I'd be more concerned about you setting off an explosion."
Before Ryan could snipe back, Tabitha spoke. "She's right."
"No she's not, I've never been able to set off stuff like that with my magic," Ryan replied.
"Okay." Tabitha trusted Ryan that he would not blow them up.
Ryan nodded in a bit of satisfaction, though to anyone not him or Kirche who heard Tabitha speak, her tone was too flat to tell if she was just being sarcastic.
"It's still the fastest ship we can ask for," Kirche said, "Beggars can't be choosers, right?"
"No, we can't," Ryan said before stepping aside and nodding to Kirche, "I leave the negotiations to you."
Kirche smiled pleasantly to Ryan and strolled over to the bearded, tricorn hat-wearing man who appeared to be the captain of the ship.
As Kirche trotted off, Tabitha turned and looked up at Ryan with somewhat greater scrutiny than usual. It was impossible for him not to notice it.
"What's up?"
"Louise." What was Ryan going to do about her?
"Louise is pretty volatile right now. Being told that the someone you admired is just using you for their own selfish ends isn't something anyone wants to hear. There's no telling how she's going to feel about it until we talk to her directly, at least."
Tabitha nodded, and after a moment of consideration, said, "Comfort her."
"I plan to. I hate this as much as she does."
He earnestly did. As bland as he thought the Viscount was, he'd respected him out of consideration for Louise's feelings. The way she spoke so highly of him, it genuinely sounded like he actually cared about her.
But it was a lie.
Just thinking about it took him back…
Tabitha noticed the flicker of a troubled look appearing on his face.
Reaching up, she patted him on the side of his shoulder in consolation, and when he looked back to her he smiled again.
"Thanks."
It was really nice how she could say so much with so little.
Kirche strolled back over, looking rather proud of herself. "Well, I was able to get us passage to Albion. The ship will be leaving at exactly noon, so we'd better get aboard and comfortable."
"How much did it cost, so Louise can have the palace reimburse you?" Ryan asked.
Kirche thrust out her marvelously exposed chest some. "As inexpensive as you would guess."
Ryan laughed.
Guiche and Louise had come to within sight of the harbor, and the masts of ships that rose above it, when they were approached from behind by the commoner woman who had been following them some ways. She immediately raises her hand and calls out to them.
"Sir! Excuse me Sir Noble, Madam Noble!"
At the sound of a lovely voice, Guiche could not help himself and turned around to face the woman who hailed him. "Oh?"
Louise stopped and turned back as well. "Hm?"
The woman brought her hands together, her expression one of worry. "Please, if I may ask of your assistance, the both of you?"
Louise considered herself a nice person, but time was running short. "I'm sorry, we haven't the time to-"
Guiche looked to her. "Now, now, Louise… for a commoner in need it is the duty of a noble to lend assistance. Especially as a noble of the de Gramont family."
Louise narrowed her eyes at Guiche. He wasn't flirting again, was he?
Guiche stepped forward and bowed. "I, Guiche de Gramont am at your service, how may I assist you?"
"It's getting close to noon," Louise groused.
Guiche turned back to her. "Getting there before it's too late shouldn't be a problem for you, should it not?"
He had a point, but she still didn't like it. "Fine, fine."
Guiche turned back to the woman. "Forgive my companion, we will be catching a ship soon and we don't want to miss it."
"Oh, I understand," the woman said, "It's a strange request, but I require the aid of a mage. What sort of mage are you?"
"An Earth mage, of course," Guiche replied.
"Oh! Wonderful!" the woman said, "My sister and I, we live close to the cliff face, and we suffered a minor collapse of our home's wall. We could use a skilled Earth mage to fix it back up."
Louise rolled her eyes as the opportunity to show off his magic reeled in Guiche hook, line, and sinker. He held aloft his rose and wagged it.
"Ah, such a task is trivial to me, my fair flower. Show me to your house and I shall fix it up for you."
"I'm telling Montmorency," Louise promised.
Guiche paled for but a moment, before he whirled around to Louise and held up his hands. "Easy! Easy! Louise, I'm not flirting! I'm simply doing my duty as a noble!"
"Then Montmorency will have no problem with it when I tell her."
Guiche shook his head and sighed. "Yes, she will not."
The woman raised her right eyebrow, finding their banter curious, before Guiche returned his attention to her. She clapped her hands together and smiled.
"Thank you, Sir and Madam Noble."
"You are most welcome," Guiche replied, "Now please show us the way?"
The woman nodded and led both Louise and Guiche off the main path and towards the narrower streets that led towards the cliff-face the city was carved into. It wasn't too far away, at least, judging by the time Louise felt they could make it without any difficulty.
"So, are you and your sister residents of La Rochelle?" Guiche asked the woman.
"Ah, we're from Albion actually. We moved here after the troubles began and there was still a Newcastle to leave from. Not long after that, the city fell under siege from the rebellion," she said.
"What of your other family? Did they make it safely?"
"No, only my sister and I retained our loyalty to the King. We were forced to flee by our own family."
"My, what a tragic story," Guiche said as the streets became narrower and narrower.
Louise looked around at the walls of the buildings that surrounded them, and looked back towards the looming cliff. She had something of an uneasy feeling now, being in this narrow place…
She looked around her. There weren't many people here, either. No people she could see at least.
"Is there much further to go?" she suddenly asked the woman, "Miss…?"
"Ah, Mary," the woman replied before saying a little louder, "But my friends call me Moll."
It was at that moment that four people, both women dressed in in trousers, shirts, and sporting long jackets swept into the alley behind Louise and Guiche. In front of Moll, four more women, all similarly dressed and sporting both cutlasses and musket pistols emerged and pointed their weapons at Guiche and Louise.
"W-what?!" Guiche gasped as he looked back and forth at the women bandits.
There was a rustling, before another woman appeared, this time dropping dramatically from the ceiling and landing next to Molly, who reached into the cleavage created by her low-cut dress and pulled forth a silver wand with a wooden hilt. This woman was also dressed like a rogue, sporting a tricorn hat, long red hair, some of which was tied into braids that descended the sides of her face and ended in black ribbons.
"That's right, Moll," the apparent leader of the bandit women said as she drew a wand sword not unlike Wardes own and pointed it at the two of them.
Louise turned and glared at Guiche, who began sweating profusely.
"'Allo there, you two," the woman said with a heavy accent that reeked of Albion, "I'm Anne, your highwaywoman for the afternoon. I hope your parents have versed you well in these sorts of situations. Now stand and deliver, or lose more than your valuables."
Guiche gulped. While he was well prepared for commoner bandits, he'd never imagined he'd be accosted by heavily armed commoner bandits, much less mages who were bandits!
Still, he held firm and held aloft his rose. "Whoever you are, this is a grave error on your behalf. I don't think you realize who you've chosen as a mark."
Anne raised her eyebrows. "Is that so, boyo? Pray tell, who are ye?"
"I am the son of-"
Louise palmed her face. They did not have time for this! "If you want any of our money, you can have it! I do not have time to deal with any of you commoner low-lifes!"
Anne and Moll, were both taken aback by Louise's angry defiance. The bandit leader wore a dire smirk and stared down at Louise.
"Low-lifes, hm? A brave thing to say when on the wrong end of the blade, aye wee lass?" the woman asked as she walked over towards her, "And to what function are ye so eager to get to in such short notice?"
Wee lass? Well that just tore it for her. Louise glared up at her, contemptuously. "None of your business, but if you do not let us go, I will lose what patience I have left with you."
She looked at the bandit woman's chest, and then up at her face. "You top heavy trollop."
Anne recoiled, looked over at Moll, and then down at the tiny witch. "Did you just-?"
"I said it."
The bandit woman chuckled darkly, before pointing the wand at her face. "Ya know what, lass? I don't think you're in much of a hurry towards anywhere but an early grave."
Guiche prepared to intervene and do something to avoid this assault, when Louise clenched her left hand into a fist and the asterisk upon the back of her hand began to glow.
Aboard the ship, Ryan was waiting for any sign of Louise and Guiche when he suddenly felt Louise across their connection. "Ah? Louise?"
Back in the alley, there was a sudden clattering, and Anne realized that the hand that held her wand sword was suddenly empty. The sword itself lay on the ground, under Louise's foot.
Far as the bandit woman saw, any of them saw, Louise hadn't moved from her spot.
"What did you just-?"
Moll pointed her wand at her. "You little-!"
Moll suddenly slowed down to a near crawl, and Louise stepped off the sword wand and walked over to her, before taking the wand from her hand. She then walked back to the spot she'd stood, set down the wand over the sword wand, and stepped on both of them before she stood straight and slowed back down for the world to catch up to her.
Moll yelped and looked at her hand in a fright, before she realized that her wand too was under the tiny witch's foot.
"Bloody hell!" she shrieked, as the other bandits prepared to fire their weapons.
Those weapons too disappeared from their hands, coming to a rest in a pile around Louise's feet. By this point, a menacing aura now hung around her, as she stared at Anne and Moll through her eye-shadowing bangs.
All ten bandits took a step back from Louise as one, Anne especially staggered by her shocking power. This girl… she didn't even have a wand! How did she do that?! When did she do it?! How did she do it?!
Guiche, who quickly realized what Louise had done, shrugged his shoulders. "Ah, did I not inform you of a grave error?"
He gestured to Louise. "As you can see, my dear friend Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière is quite the powerful mage. Easily the most powerful I've seen in quite a while, she certainly lives up to the reputation of her mother, 'The Heavy Wind.'"
Vallière? At the mention of the name of Tristain's most well-known knights, the bandits' fear grew much more intense.
It was Louise's turn to wear a menacing smile, as she freely let the Aether course through her without fear of this would-be rapacious gang of hoodlums. Upon seeing it, and her hair beginning to rise up like a mass of pink serpents, the bandits began to scramble away.
Louise reached into her cape, and promptly drew a riding crop. "It's useless, you won't escape me!"
The four bandits who had been behind Louise and Guiche were suddenly struck across their bodies and sent crashing to the ground in a heap. Anne and Moll opened their mouths to scream, before Louise appeared for the briefest instant in front of them both, and then disappeared. Wait, that wasn't right… she was still standing there next to the blond…
They then heard the yelps of pain of their comrades behind them as they were quickly struck by the Louise almost simultaneously. Louise then appeared again, right beside herself, looking back at the two remaining bandits. The original Louise then simply vanished.
"W-what…?" Anne sputtered, frozen in place.
Moll was equally terrified. She had graduated with high marks from her magic academy in Albion. Never in her life had she seen magic like this.
For both criminals, the world seemed to fall away into darkness as Louise turned and walked slowly towards them, before she too faded away. They stood alone, their world now a single pillar that rose from a dark abyss beneath an equally dark sky.
As they stood, frozen in time and space, Louise rose behind them, her smile fading to a look of disgust as she slowly raised the riding crop above her head, and then swung it down.
Battered with multiple strikes of the riding crop, both Anne and Moll fell to the ground as Louise appeared next to Guiche, facing the way they had come.
"Guiche," she said, "Take my hand."
Guiche, unable to contain his grin, turned around and took her hand.
"Lift up your foot," Louise instructed as she raised her foot.
When Guiche did as instructed, Louise concentrated. "And… step!"
Guiche stepped forward in unison with her, and suddenly the two of them were standing in the harbor, directly in front of the ship where Louise had sensed Ryan.
"Oh my…" For Guiche, the sudden trip had been a blur, like the world between where they had been and where they stood had vanished conveniently for them. His entire body seemed to tingle, as he felt the immense power that moved them here.
He looked over to Louise, who let go of his hand and looked away from him, her face somewhat flushed.
"Ahoy!" Ryan called out, "You got here just in time!"
When Louise looked up, Ryan found to his surprise that she was smiling.
"You're looking better," he called to her.
Louise nodded. She felt better, better than she ever felt in her life…
… She felt powerful.
Back in the alley, lying face down and in a world of pain, the bandit Anne looked to her younger sister, who turned her head and looked back.
"Hey, sister," Anne said.
"Aye?" Moll asked.
"What the bloody hell just happened?"
"I don't fuckin' know."
Anne closed her eyes and rolled onto her back, before letting out a bit of a laugh. After being faced with such a terrible thing, and coming out of it with only a painful beating… she couldn't help but feel like she'd encountered something far beyond her scope, that simply spared her because she was so weak by comparison.
Moll must've felt the same way, because she too began to laugh, and they were joined by the rest of their party of bandits. Soon, they were all laughing up a storm, like they had just heard the best joke in the world.
Why wouldn't they laugh?
They had just met God, and She slapped their wrists.
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