Author's Note:
Alright! After a super short chapter comes a super long chapter! 23 pages, booyah!
-STORY START-
"So it truly was you two that saved us from Albion," Henrietta said.
Three days after the Battle of Tarbes, Louise and I had received a message in the early morning from Henrietta herself to come to the palace immediately. So now, we stood before the princess in the palace's throne room, whereupon we were asked to explain our role in the battle.
"Yes, Your Highness," Louise affirmed. "The Founder's Prayer Book told me that I am a Void mage and showed me how to cast the Explosion spell." Louise paused for a moment as if she were considering something. Then she added, "Properly, that is."
"Merciful Brimir," Henrietta breathed as she collapsed back onto the throne rested her head by her temple on a few fingers in a gesture of deep thought.
I watched her impassively as a cold calculating look danced behind her eyes. It was clear that she was considering all the possible ways that this new information and asset could be used to help her and her country. But then, that cold look suddenly faltered, and then vanished. Henrietta closed her eyes and shook her head briefly, before opening them again and smiling at Louise.
"Louise, as both princess of Tristain and as Henrietta, your friend, I thank you for your actions in the Battle of Tarbes," Henrietta said warmly. "Because of the Tristanian victory, I have been able to negotiate an alliance with Germania without going through with the marriage. As such, I will be crowned as Queen of Tristain and its sole ruler in place of the canceled wedding."
Louise let out a pleased, victorious sound at that.
"But, my friend," Henrietta said a little more sorrowfully. "I am sorry, for though your actions deserve a reward at least of the magnitude of receiving territory the size of a small country and a title of duchess, I cannot reward you for your actions. Doing so would reveal your involvement, and thus your Void magic, which ought to remain a secret as much as possible."
"Why is that, Princess?" Louise frowned. "I want to use this power to help you and Tristain."
"To tell you the truth," Henrietta said, "I was considering how to best put your Void magic to use in benefiting the country just a moment ago. But Louise, you are my friend and I have absolutely no desire to put you into harms way. The moment your Void becomes public knowledge, you would be beset by enemies from all directions."
"I am not afraid of Reconquista," Louise declared.
Henrietta shook her head again. "It is not Reconquista I'm worried about," she said. "The external enemies are easy to deal with. What I fear for your sake are the enemies from within the country."
"What do you mean, Princess?" Louise asked with consternation on her face.
"At present, your involvement in the Battle of Tarbes is known to only a very few high ranking officials. Namely my personal adviser, Cardinal Mazarin, Agnes, and a few military generals," Henrietta said. "For the most part, I can trust these people. But imagine if other, less savory nobles knew of your Void powers? They would stop at nothing to claim you as their own, to use your powers for their own benefit." Henrietta turned to look at me briefly. "Imagine if someone like Mott got a hold of Louise."
I narrowed my eyes and nodded in understanding.
"Of course," Henrietta continued, "I am not telling you to forsake your gifts. To do so would be like spitting upon a gift bestowed upon you by the gods themselves, and has been given to only one other before: Founder Brimir."
"What should I do then, Princess?" Louise asked.
"I want you to be my court lady, Louise," Henrietta answered. "If you accept, you would obey only me, and will wield my authority wherever you go, whether it be in Tristain or in other countries."
"I accept, Your Highness!" Louise declared eagerly.
Henrietta nodded. "Come with me after we're done here and I'll give you the necessary documents." Henrietta once more shifted her gaze to me. "Now, as for you, Kazuma. Your own role has a far less pressing need of being concealed. You I can reward more openly. And, after consideration, I decided that a large sum of gold would be the most satisfactory reward for you."
"Most satisfactory indeed," I affirmed.
"As such, before you leave," Henrietta said, "you shall be awarded with 1,000 gold coins."
"... You know," I said casually, "This time, my role in the war truly cannot be understated. Why, if it wasn't for me, Louise wouldn't have been able to get close enough to use Explosion. And if she somehow did, the dragon knights would have simply killed her without me protecting her. Really, you can say that the current victory of Tristain is all thanks to me and that wouldn't be an exaggeration. Considering that, don't you think 1,000 gold coins is a number far too small?"
Henrietta narrowed her eyes at me, but said nothing.
"Of course, I'm willing to accept whatever reward you think is fair," I shrugged. "And if you think 1,000 gold coins is fair, that's fine. But you know, I can't guarantee that I'll feel the motivation to do anything for Tristain again in the future when my own services are so... shall we say... undervalued."
"Kazuma! Don't extort the princess!" Louise hissed. "And besides, weren't you the one who said 'the payment is their lives?'"
"This and that are different things," I scoffed.
"Very well then," Henrietta said finally and in a terse tone. "I'll reward you with twice the amount."
"Eh... I guess you don't really need my services in the future," I said.
"Three times."
"Good luck in the future."
"Fine," Henrietta growled. "I'll pay you 5,000 gold coins, but not a single coin higher."
I grinned. "Thanks for your business."
-SCENE BREAK-
"I cannot believe you did that," Louise growled at me.
"It's simple business," I remarked as I set the bowl of water I had collected on the table in Louise's room. "I have to get as much money out of potential clients as possible."
"She's the princess!" Louise said, outraged. "You can't just extort money from her like that!"
"But before she's a princess," I said, "she's just another person, another potential client. And if she wants to employ my services in the future, I need to know that my services will be payed enough for me to accept her contracts."
"Unbelievable," Louise shook her head. "Just... Unbelievable."
"Eh, well, don't worry about it too much," I said as the room's door opened and Siesta walked in with the bottle of Albionian wine I had sent her to get for me. "Thanks," I said as I received the wine.
Siesta bowed in a very maid-like manner and with a demure smile. Because Tarbes had been ruined so badly in the recent battle, Siesta had ended up cutting her vacation time short. After helping her family relocate to a nearby village, Siesta had returned to my service. Thanks to the small fortune (for a commoner) she had made as my very well paid maid, the transition had been very smooth for her and her family.
I gestured for her to sit at the table in front of the bowl of water and after taking a swig of the wine straight from the bottle, I began my lesson.
"The first thing to remember when we talk about spirits is that the spirits of each element generally tend to have certain personality traits," I lectured. "Fire is passion and rage. Earth is perseverance and stability. Wind is capriciousness and freedom. The more a Seirei Jutsushi shares the personality traits of their element, the more spirits they can gather and the stronger the magic they can cast. Conversely, the more different they are, the weaker they are. For example, an Enjutsushi that is so gentle and kind that he or she would not harm even a fly would find their Enjutsu far weaker than their more passionate peers."
"Why is that the case, Kazuma?" Siesta asked curiously.
"Think about it this way: when you have to work with someone, is it easier to work with someone whose personality agrees with you or with one whose personality clashes with you?"
"That would be the former," Siesta admitted.
"It's the same thing with spirits," I said. "You have to remember that the spirits are not just objects or tools you can make use of and throw away. You have to treat them like sentient beings with their own will."
"So what about water then?" Siesta asked. "What are water's personality traits?"
"Water is rather unique among the four elements," I said. "If I were to describe it, water would have the traits of volatility and purity. And that's because more than any of the other three elements, water changes the most. It can be as absolutely calm and peaceful as a still lake, or it can be as powerful as a raging tidal wave, or it can be as solid and cold as ice. Hence the volatility. Yet, despite the constant changes, it's still just water. They change, yet they do not change. They might take different forms, but they possess the same essence. And thus, the purity. Because of that, it doesn't really matter what kind of emotions you use, only that those emotions are pure and strong. Therefore, what kind of person you are will determine your field of expertise as a Suijutsushi."
"Now, the spirits tend to congregate to their appropriate elements. Fire spirits prefer hot places, earth spirits live in the earth, air spirits are everywhere where there is air," I pointed at the large bowl of water, "and water spirits tend to gather in bodies of water. Once you become more stronger and more skilled, you'll be able to gather water spirits straight from the air, but for now, try and make contact with the water spirits in that bowl. Concentrate and try to feel their presence."
Siesta nodded and closed her eyes as she placed her hands over the bowl of water. I watched the quietly concentrating Siesta for a moment before glancing over my shoulder to look at Louise who was also watching Siesta with a curiously conflicted expression.
On one hand, Siesta was Louise's friend, despite the status differences. And if her friend was improving herself in some way, then she was happy for the maid. On the other hand, there was still that status difference to consider. Nobles in Halkeginia were nobles because they could use magic. If a commoner learned to use magic then, well, what did that say about magic being an exclusively noble's art? Judging by Louise's expression, it seemed she was caught in between being happy and being indignant, causing her face to contort into a strange half-smile, half-frown.
"Kazuma. I think I can sense them," Siesta whispered softly, as if speaking any louder would break the tremulous link she had just formed with the water spirits. "What should I do now?"
"Talk to them through your thoughts, your will, and your intent," I said quietly. "And ask them to form a contract with you."
Siesta nodded as her mouth began moving ever so slightly as she unconsciously mouthed her conversation with the spirits. For a few minutes, this continued without pause and without change. Finally, Siesta opened her eyes and put her hands down.
Siesta looked at me with a smile and nodded. "I think I did it," the maid said.
"What was it like talking to spirits?" Louise asked her friend curiously.
"Strange," Siesta admitted. "It's as if they weren't speaking with words, but rather with raw emotions. They were so serene and calm and I think they were happy to talk to me. They agreed to make a contract with me."
"Congratulations," I said. "Now try asking the water spirits to lift the water in that bowl up into the air."
"Okay," Siesta said as her face screwed up in concentration.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the waters in the bowl began rippling as the water spirits answered Siesta's silent call. Slowly at first, small, trembling tendrils of water began reaching upwards. The tendrils became thicker, more stable, as the entirety of the water began forming into a globe of water the size of a head about five inches above the bowl. Then, after maintaining that globe for a solid minute, from the bottom of the sphere, water began trickling out in a controlled manner, as if someone had deliberately turned on a faucet to its lowest setting. In the space of three minutes, the globe of water continued to shrink as the water collected back into the bowl, until finally the floating globe of water vanished.
"Thank you, everyone," Siesta quietly whispered to the water spirits before turning to me with a smile. "How was that?"
"That was actually very impressive," I said honestly in a surprised tone. "Even if you are a descendent of the head family of the Sasaki clan, you are very talented to be able to form a contract and demonstrate that level of control on your first try, especially after only recently learning of the spirits' existence."
Siesta let out a pleased sound and her smile spread a little more broadly.
"Anyway, for now," I said, "keep practicing and learn to synchronize with your contracted water spirits better. As you get stronger, you'll naturally become able to contract more and more spirits."
Siesta nodded and turned her attention back to the bowl and began repeating her little exercise with the water, but this time more quickly and efficiently.
"I know you said that she could use magic," Louise whispered to me so as not to break Siesta's concentration, "but I must admit; I didn't think you were right. Even if she can't do much, it's still amazing she can use magic."
"Don't let looks deceive you," I whispered back. "Siesta is a descendent of the head family of one of the strongest clan of water mages in my world, which means she has a great deal of potential power. Sure she can't do much right now, but with time and practice, she could very easily become the equivalent of a square class water mage. Probably stronger."
"Huh," Louise let out, looking both impressed and annoyed. Clearly the thought of a commoner becoming stronger than the strongest level of nobles annoyed her, but again... Siesta is her friend. "Speaking of practice, I'm going to go and practice myself. Now that I've cast my first real Void spell, it seems I can use the other elements properly too. I want to make sure I'm caught up with everyone else before summer vacation is over."
"Alright," I nodded. "You need any help?"
"No," Louise replied. "I've attended all my classes for two years now. Even if I haven't been able to use magic properly during classes, I know all the steps and processes."
"Good luck then," I said.
With one last encouraging look at Siesta, Louise turned and silently slipped out of the room.
-SCENE BREAK-
"Phew," Siesta panted lightly as she leaned back in her chair and let out a breath of relief.
It had been nearly two hours since we had begun Siesta's lessons and Louise had left the room. During those two hours, Siesta had been practicing nonstop. And by the end of the lesson, Siesta had become able to synchronize with the water spirits far more adroitly than her first attempt. Now, such basic tasks as having her simply levitate the water wasn't even a challenge. Though she was still not ready to use her magic for practical applications, her quick progress was promising.
Furthermore, her progress was not a testament to her inborn talent as a Sasaki, but rather, a testament to the traits of Siesta herself. She was the type of person a teacher would kill to be allowed to teach, for her attitude was absolutely ideal in a student. Even with the dullest of tasks, Siesta practiced diligently and enthusiastically without slacking or complaining in the slightest.
And though her detractors (if she had any) might claim she is unintelligent because she isn't well educated, that was more because the culture of Halkeginia made it difficult for commoners to receive an education. In actuality, however, Siesta's mind was sharp and like a sponge, easily absorbing everything I taught her, only requiring me clarify occasionally. More importantly, her strong desire to learn made her work at least twice as hard as anyone else would have.
"Good job," I said. "After another one or two lessons, we can start having you contract more water spirits. At that point, depending on how many you can contract, I think we'll be able to start having you learn to use Suijutsu without a nearby body of water."
"That sounds great," Siesta said cheerfully.
It was then that the door to Louise's room opened and Louise stumbled in. Her face was flushed and she had a dreamy expression on her face. I frowned. Something was wrong.
"Louise?" I said tentatively. "You okay?"
The pink-haired girl looked at me for a moment. Then she began giggling.
"Fine, fine, I'm fine," Louise murmured as she walked over to me languidly before practically falling onto me. Taken by surprise, I instinctively caught her in my arms. "My, don't you think that it's really hot in here?" Louise said as she began fanning herself with her hand and panting hard. "How about you take me to bed and we can both cool off together?"
Okay. What the hell is going on here? And... What the? Did Louise just slap my butt?
"Louise!" Siesta cried out indignantly. "You can't do that! I was after Kazuma before you!"
Louise looked at Siesta, as if noticing her for the first time. "Hm... Well, since we're friends, I suppose it's alright if we reenact chapter 13 of The Duke and the Flower Girls."
Siesta's eyes went wide. "You don't mean... With all three of us?"
"Yes," Louise smiled and nodded slowly.
"And with the tea set, wine, broomsticks, and sweaters too?" Siesta's face was starting to flush a bright red now.
"Yes," Louise nodded again.
"Kya!" Siesta cried out excitedly, apparently having forgotten that I was here.
"As much as I'd love to engage in some kind of sex fantasy," I spoke up sarcastically, "I think we have bigger concerns right now, Siesta. Something is clearly wrong with Louise, so keep your head together."
"O-oh, right," Siesta said. The only reason why she wasn't blushing any more deeply was because her face had already become as red as they would become.
"What the hell happened to you, Louise?" I asked.
"I can tell you about what's not happening to me right now," Louise pouted.
"I think she's probably taken a love potion," Siesta said with a frown.
"A love potion?" I frowned. "You guys really have those in Halkeginia?"
"Yes," Siesta nodded. "They're highly illegal though, so I would never use one on you, even if my cousin keeps telling me to... Uh, I mean... Nevermind!"
"Right..." I said, silently making a mental note to have a word or two with Siesta's cousin when I had the chance. "Alright. We're going to retrace her footsteps to see who the hell did this to her and how we can get it fixed."
-SCENE BREAK-
"Open up," I said as I rapped on the door before me. "Open up now, Montmorency."
Slowly, the door creaked open to reveal the blonde girl with ringlets, as well as Guiche sitting at a chair in the room. Though he looked surprised to see us, Montmorency looked nervous.
"What do you want, familiar?" Montmorency said, using an angry tone to cover up her nervousness.
I pointed at Louise, who was being restrained by Siesta, a mouth held over her mouth in order to prevent Louise from embarrassing herself further. "Louise drank the love potion you intended to give to Guiche. Fix her. Now."
"Eh?" Guiche said in shock at the sudden revelation.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Montmorency said and slammed the door in my face.
I closed my eyes and sighed and took a deep breath.
One. Two. Three.
The winds formed into blades and sliced the door apart into tiny blocks. With that out of the way, I strode into the room to a now thoroughly angered Montmorency and a shocked Guiche.
"Louise was practicing her magic in the Vestri Courtyard for exactly one hour and 54 minutes," I said. "On her way back to her room, she came across you and Guiche, who was about to drink a cup of Tristanian wine – a poor pick by the way. Albionian is much better - that you had just given him. Being thirsty, Louise asked Guiche if she could drink some of the wine first, to which Guiche generously allowed. Unfortunately, that wine was laced with a love potion you surreptitiously added to the wine from a vial you hid in your sleeve before you gave it to Guiche. Fortunately, Louise didn't meet anyone else after the potion's effect kicked in until she returned to her room, where the first person she saw was me."
"How the hell do you know all that?" Montmorency demanded. "Were you spying on us?"
"It doesn't matter how I know, just that I know," I said. "So you will make a cure to this damn love potion of yours."
"I don't need to listen to you!" Montmorency said indignantly. "You're just a familiar!"
"Alright, fine," I said. "Nothing else for it. I'll just have to report this to the palace."
"W-wait what?" Montmorency's eyes went wide.
"After all, love potions are highly illegal," I said casually. "The way I hear it, using one on someone is enough of a crime to land you life in prison. Possibly even execution, depending on who you used the potion on. And seeing as how Louise is the daughter of the famous Valliere family..."
"You have no proof that it was me," Montmorency said nervously.
"No, I suppose I don't," I admitted. "You disposed of the vial used to perpetrate the act properly. But you know, Louise is a personal friend of Princess Henrietta, who also values my services quite highly. It will mean I owe her something, but she'd be more than willing to, shall we say, look the other way if I decide to take matters into my own hands."
"What are you talking about?" Montmorency narrowed her eyes.
In answer, an air blade flew past her, leaving a thin, red line on her cheek as it did, and slicing the bed behind her completely in two.
"That," I said in a dangerously quiet tone, "is what I mean."
Montmorency gulped fearfully.
"Monmon," Guiche said. "Is it true? Why did you use a love potion?"
"It's because of you!" Montmorency cried out. "You're always flirting with other girls and I couldn't stand that! So then I got jealous and wanted to make sure you only looked at me!"
"I don't care about your reasons," I said testily. "Fix. It. Now."
"Don't worry," Montmorency sighed. "It's only temporary."
That's good. Who knows what Louise might have tried to do to me if she remained like this too long. "How long?"
"About... six months to a year," Montmorency admitted.
My eyes narrowed coldly again and Guiche visibly blanched behind Montmorency.
"Then you are going to make the damn cure for her right now," a visible air blade formed beside me and hovered there as a quiet reminder of my threat, "or else."
"Alright, alright!" Montmorency said as she eyed the air blade warily. "I'm just missing one key ingredient: the Tears of the Water Spirit. They're too expensive for me to buy, but we can get one directly from the Water Spirit at Ragdorian Lake."
"Good," I said. "Let's go."
-SCENE BREAK-
I watched Montmorency carefully as she stood by the shores of Ragdorian Lake and began the ritual to call forth the Water Spirit that dwell within. After placing a drop of her blood on her frog familiar, she sent the amphibian into the lake and began speaking.
"O Great Spirit of Water who dwells in this lake," Montmorency said. "I am Montmorency Margarita la Fere de Montmorency. Through my lineage of water and in accordance with the ancient oath, I ask of you, if you can hear my words, answer in a way that we might understand."
For a moment, nothing happened. Then a wave of water surged from the center of the lake towards us, before completely stopping just before touching shore. The mass of water then began taking shape. The shape of a giant, nude Montmorency, to be precise.
"I have heard your calls, insignificant one," the Water Spirit said. "In accordance with the ancient oath, I have come forth. Speak."
"Great Water Spirit," Montmorency said. "We desire a piece of your body."
Oh. So the tear wasn't actually a tear, but rather just a part of this water entity's body?
"Rejected," the water spirit said dismissively.
I frowned. That wasn't good. But that was alright. Montmorency would surely have foreseen this possibility since her family had a history of dealing with this Water Spirit and come with a plan or strategy to negotiate with it.
"Oh really?" Montmorency shrugged. "Well, thank you for your time then."
I gawked as Montmorency turned and walked over to us. Behind her, the water spirit was beginning to sink back into the lake.
"What are you doing?" I hissed angrily as I grabbed Montmorency by her shoulder as she tried to walk past me.
"I am not going to do something that angers the water spirit," Montmorency hissed back. "I'd rather die than do that!"
"Argh! You incompetent little... Never mind. Just stand aside and let me do this," I growled as I roughly pushed Montmorency aside and walked up to the lake's shore and called out to the retreating water spirit. "Please wait!"
The Water Spirit stopped and turned towards me. Though it was impossible for me to read this entity's emotions, it felt as if she was being patient. That wasn't good. Being unable to read the emotions of the divine entity made it difficult to know how to negotiate with it.
More so than most other human beings on Earth, and probably on Halkeginia as well, I had a fairly sizable amount of experience in dealing with divine beings. And in my experience, there were generally three ways to get something from them.
The first was to beg and supplicate. There were divine entities out there that saw themselves so far above the puny humans that worship was natural and only to be expected. Feeding their ego in this manner could sometimes be enough to gain something from them.
The second was to make a deal with them. This was much more like a business transaction than an actual meeting between a divine entity and a mortal being. This method was generally the most straightforward, but could also be the most difficult and dangerous. After all, you never knew if the divine entity would ask you to do some kind of ridiculously impossible task that, in all likelihood, would get you killed. Or more frighteningly, this could easily become a Faustian deal.
The third was to earn their respect. Odysseus from Greek mythology is an excellent example of this method. He, through the virtue of his strength, courage, and intellect, impressed the goddess Athena enough so that she granted him her favor and aided him in his epic quest.
There was also a fourth way: be more powerful than the divine entity and force it to give what you want. But this tended to have very bad repercussions, so it was generally only a last resort.
Needless to say, I detest begging and I probably did not have enough time to figure out how to impress this difficult to read spirit. In other words, I would have to use the second method, and possibly resort to the fourth if negotiations failed.
"Great Water Spirit," I said. "Is there any way, any task that I can do for you so that you would change your mind about not giving us a piece of your body? We truly need it to create a cure for a very evil potion made by a very evil girl."
Montmorency glared at me at that last little jab.
The Water Spirit stared at me with an expression that was almost... curious?
"... So. A Blessed One appears," the Water Spirit rippled. "Very well, Blessed One. There is indeed a task you may do for me so that I might honor your request."
"What is it?" I asked.
"I am assaulted nightly by your kind," the Water Spirit informed me. "Repel these attackers and I shall grant you your boon."
I nodded. "Understood."
-SCENE BREAK-
"Hey, Kazuma," Guiche whispered from beside me. "I'm curious. What did the Water Spirit mean when it called you 'Blessed One?'"
"It's not important right now," I whispered dismissively.
"But you know, what's the big deal anyway?" Montmorency said as she glanced at Louise. "Who cares if the Zero drank some love potion? Really, you ought to just enjoy it while you can."
Pa-ching!
All of us, save for Louise, who had found herself suddenly freed and taken the chance to jump at me and start nibbling and kissing my neck, had our eyes wide open in shock.
Standing in front of Montmorency was Siesta, her hand open and held out across from her. That and the red mark on Montmorency's cheek served as evidence that, yes, none of us were imagining it. Siesta had really just slapped Montmorency.
"It's not a big deal?" Siesta said, visibly shaking with anger. "That isn't funny! Because of you, Miss Valliere is enslaved to the effects of the love potion! Even though she knows what she's doing, she's not even able to control herself! Because of you, Miss Valliere is a prisoner in her own body, forced to watch as her body behaves in manners repulsive to her! And you think this is not a big deal? You ought to be ashamed of yourself!"
I blinked as I unconsciously restrained Louise and forced her off of me. Wow. Love potions are a lot scarier than I had first thought. I decided to add onto my mental note to make that conversation with Siesta's cousin a very, very stern one.
"How dare you speak to me like that, commoner!" Montmorency said, outraged. "And how dare you strike me! You will be punished most severely for this!"
"No, she won't," I said.
"Oh yes she will," Montmorency spat. "She broke the law. A commoner is not allowed to strike a noble like she did."
"She is my maid," I informed her calmly. "That means that she enjoys my protection. So I will kill anyone who tries to harm her. Besides," I shrugged, "she's right. This is your fault and you should be ashamed of yourself for resorting to love potions instead of using honest methods to gain Guiche's love. Now be silent. I can sense them approaching. Stick to the plan."
The plan in question was very simple. Because Siesta was still insufficiently powerful enough to fight, she was to remain with Louise and make sure she was kept restrained. Montmorency, who admitted to be more of a healer than a fighter, was to also remain with them. This left just Guiche and I as the main combatants. I, being more powerful, would engage the attackers on my own. Guiche would remain hidden in the forest and stop anyone who tried to flee.
This plan didn't particularly sit well with me, since in a more normal situation, I would have preferred to allow Guiche and Siesta to do the fighting so that they could gain combat experience, while I remained as a backup. Unfortunately, since the goal of this little ordeal was to cure Louise of the stupid love potion, I had no choice but to take the lead role.
"They're here," I muttered.
Two cloaked figures, one very short and one much taller, approached the lake shore and drew a staff and a wand as they began chanting their spells. I did not wait at all to make my move. As soon as they began chanting, I propelled myself out of the copse we had been hiding in and attacked.
My first attack had been meant to slice the two cloaked figures into little pieces. But either because I had made too much noise launching my attack or because these two were simply skilled enough to react in time, or perhaps both, the short one had raised a wall of ice to defend the two from my attack.
Though the ice wall was shattered by my air blades, it had served its purpose in absorbing the energy of my attack. Thus, when the two made a half-rotation so that the tall one was facing me and launched a flurry of fireballs and the short was was preparing her next spell, they remained completely unharmed.
With an annoyed gesture, I swept the fireballs aside with a gust of wind. But before I could even think about attacking, the two had rotated out again. Once more the short mage was facing me, and she pointed her staff in my direction.
Because I had been preparing for an ice spell to come at me directly from the short mage, I failed to notice until too late the air around my head compressing into three tiny balls; one beneath my chin and one beside either temple.
"Shit!" I swore as I frantically tried to gather the wind spirits to form a defensive barrier around my head while at the same time trying to jump backwards to dodge.
It was too late, however, and the air bombs exploded before I could safely get out of range. My head shot upward as if I had just received a powerful uppercut. Another immediately followed by my temple, causing my head to snap to the side, before being sent snapping back to the other side by another explosion beside my other temple.
Fortunately, I had managed to gather just barely enough wind spirits in time to create a weak barrier around my head. This served as the minimum amount of protection necessary to prevent me from being knocked unconscious. But it left me dazed... and it also caused me to realize something about the identities of the enemies I was fighting.
With my ears still ringing and vision swimming, I spoke. "Tabitha? Is that you?"
The two, who had already begun rotating once more, froze.
"Darling?" the tall one said as the flaming redhead pulled back the hood of her cloak. Beside her, the petite blue-haired girl did the same.
"What are you doing here?" we all spoke at the same time.
-SCENE BREAK-
"Great Water Spirit," I said to the giant liquid Montmorency who had been once more summoned by the real Montmorency. "We have done as you have asked and stopped the attack on your shores. In accordance with our agreement, I ask that you grant us a piece of your body."
The Water Spirit rippled, causing the light to be captured in an iridescent manner by its body, before nodding once. A small piece of the Water Spirit, no bigger than the first digit of my pinky finger, broke off from its body and slowly floated into an awaiting vial held in Montmorency's hands.
As the Water Spirit began to sink back into the water of the lake, I called out to it once more.
"Please wait," I said. The divine entity paused and looked at me expectantly. "I have recently learned that the reason you were being assaulted is because you are raising the water level of your lake, flooding the surrounding lands that humans call home. As a result, they felt as if they had no other choice but to resort to attacking you. As it stands, there is no doubt that they will send others to finish what we have stopped tonight."
This piece of information seemed to anger the Water Spirit, because it began trembling and rippling in a restrained, but violent manner.
"Thus, might I ask for what purpose you are raising your shores and what I can do so that you might cease to do so?" I finished.
The Water Spirit rippled once more, before suddenly condensing into a more human-sized version of Montmorency. "In the manner of your mortal kin, two years ago I was robbed of my sacred treasure. I raise my shores now to reclaim what is mine."
I mentally face palmed myself. What kind of idiot would rob a divine entity of its treasure? That was like asking for it to punish all of humanity. After all, divine entities put up with mortal beings so long as they didn't seriously piss them off. Stealing a treasure from such an entity was one of the best ways of doing just that.
"If you swear to retrieve my treasure in my stead," the Water Spirit continued, "then I shall in turn once more lower my shores to their natural state."
"I understand," I said firmly. "Tell me what this treasure looks like, Great Water Spirit, and I shall retrieve it for you."
Another piece of the Water Spirit broke off and transformed into the appearance of a small ring. Though nearly colorless due to being composed of pure water, it nevertheless had enough details that I could make out what it looked like.
"It is called the Ring of Andvari, and it holds the ancient strength of water," the Spirit said. It paused, as if considering how best to put that in words I could comprehend. "It is what you mortals would consider giving a seeming of life to the dead."
Ugh. You mean to say that this ring can make zombies? Damn. I hate zombies. "Do you have any clues to help us begin our search, Great Spirit?"
"Only that the one who stole my treasure is known as Cromwell," the Spirit said.
"Cromwell? Isn't he the leader of Reconquista?" Guiche muttered.
"Yeah, I think so," Kirche affirmed. "Ew. Reconquista with an army of the dead? That just sounds disgusting."
"Thank you, Great Water Spirit," I said.
As we all turned to leave, however, the Water Spirit spoke of its own volition for the first time.
"Hold," the Water Spirit commanded.
Obediently, we all stopped and turned back around.
"I would speak with the one who bears the true lineage of water," the Water Spirit said.
The group stared at each other in confusion, wondering what this could be about, as Montmorency stepped forward to face the Spirit. From the way she was trembling slightly, to the cold sweat that was beginning to form on her brow, and to the way she swallowed down her nerves before speaking made it easy to tell that the blonde girl was afraid she had done something to seriously tick off the Water Spirit.
"Yes, Great Water Spirit?" Montmorency said tremulously.
"Not you, insignificant one," the Water Spirit said almost disdainfully. It pointed at Siesta. "You, who are of the true lineage of water, the one who bears the bloodline of a Blessed One of Water. Come forth."
With a shocked expression, Siesta numbly stepped forward as an equally shocked looking Montmorency stepped aside in a daze. The Water Spirit trembled slightly as it transformed from an impersonation of a naked Montmorency to a naked Siesta.
"I see... You have only recently awakened to heritage," the Water Spirit murmured. "Yet the spirits of water contracted to you already cling to you most strongly. And the power that is held within your blood as a descendent of a Blessed One of Water is strong and undiluted. Such potential... "
Siesta glanced aside to me ever so slightly, silently asking what was going on. I made a quick gesture for her to be quiet and wait until the Spirit was done speaking.
"Yes, I am most pleased to have met a descendent of one blessed by my king and who bears much potential," the Water Spirit nodded in a very human gesture of approval. "If thou wishes, form a contract with me and you shall gain the power of all the spirits of water under my command."
"What?" Montmorency blurted out. "Impossible! She's just a commoner! Even my family doesn't know how we created a contract in the first place!"
The Water Spirit turned to favor Montmorency with what I guessed was an icy look. Honestly, it was as difficult to read the divine entity as it was to try and decipher the meaning behind Tabitha's one word answers. "Do not profane the name of the holy contract, insignificant one. What your family and I shares is but an agreement. What I offer the descendent of a Blessed One of Water is a true contract."
After that, the Water Spirit turned back to Siesta and ignored the gawking Montmorency like a person might ignore a pebble on the roadside. Like Montmorency, however, the rest of the us (again, minus Louise who had once more freed herself and jumped on me) were also equally shocked. Even Tabitha, the perpetually emotionless girl looked genuinely surprised by the Water Spirit's words.
On my part, I was simply shocked that Siesta was about to get such a large power boost. From what I could tell, the Water Spirit of Ragdorian Lake had a vast amount of power. If Siesta formed a contract with it, then she would gain raw power easily surpassing that of a square class water mage in a single shot. Of course, she would have to train a lot to learn to control and utilize even a portion of that power, but still, it was a near miracle that the Water Spirit voluntarily offered to create a contract with Siesta.
Siesta glanced at me again and I nodded in encouragement.
Steeling herself, Siesta turned back to the waiting Water Spirit and said, "Yes, I will form a contract with you."
Wordlessly, the Water Spirit raised one arm, and then it stretched and elongated like rubber until the tip of its index finger touched Siesta's forehead. From the spot where water met flesh, a bright cerulean light flashed for a moment before disappearing.
"The contract is formed, Siesta, descendent of a Blessed One of Water," the Water Spirit announced.
"Thank you, Great Spirit," Siesta said respectfully, but earnestly. "I promise not to misuse the power you have granted me."
"As you will," the Spirit said as it began sinking into the depths of the lake.
For the second time, however, someone called out to the Spirit and bade it to stop. This time it wasn't me.
"Please wait, Great Water Spirit," Tabitha said. The Spirit turned around and... Well, it didn't look impatient and annoyed, but I could somehow just sense that it was. Perhaps it was the way that its body rippled or how its expression rapidly changed from one to the other? "We humans have long called you the Spirit of Oath. Why is that?"
"I know not why your kind has named me as such, insignificant one. Our existences are far too dissimilar for me to truly understand," the Spirit said. "But if I were to speculate, it would be because of my very existence. For one such as I, time has no meaning. The past, the present, the future. The part and the whole. The instant and the eternity. All are the same to me. And though I may not have a fixed form, I shall never change for all time."
"Because you are eternally unchanging, you will always carry our hopes and prayers within you," Tabitha murmured softly before dropping down to one knee and clasping her hands and closing her eyes in prayer.
Kirche came up behind Tabitha quietly and placed a hand on her friend's shoulder, her expression somber. As Tabitha prayed, the Water Spirit watched silently, and it wasn't until a few minutes later, after Tabitha opened her eyes and stood back up that the Water Spirit vanished into its lake.
-SCENE BREAK-
"You know it's not your fault," I sighed exasperatedly as I looked at Louise who was sitting curled up at the far end of the bench we were sitting on. Standing beside me, Siesta was looking at Louise with concern. "Although... Your offer to Siesta to reenact chapter 13 of The Duke and the Flower Girls was pretty interesting."
Louise groaned in a strange, wordless, guttural noise. "Stupid maid. Stupid, stupid books..."
"Miss Valliere," Siesta said soothingly as she went over to Louise and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "It's alright. Nobody else saw you while you were under the love potion's effects, and you didn't even do anything bad! We realized what happened before you could do anything."
Louise glanced up briefly at Siesta, before once more assuming a fetal position and moaned piteously.
"By the way," Siesta leaned in and whispered quietly. "I recently got the latest book, The Dragon Knights Night of Passion. If you want, I can let you read it first."
"... Yes, please," Louise said, finally looking at us properly. Or at least, looking at Siesta properly. She still refused to meet my eyes. "You're a good friend, Siesta. Thank you for what you said to Montmorency."
"It's no problem at all, Miss Valliere," Siesta said happily.
"Ha... Ragdorian Lake," Louise leaned back against the bench. "It brings back memories. It's where Prince Wales and Princess Henrietta first met during a garden party, you know. The princess had me sleep in her bed while she sneaked out to rendezvous with the prince at night."
"That's it!" a voice from behind us suddenly declared.
"Hello, Kirche," I remarked casually.
"Kirche!" Louise said angrily. "Why are you spying on us?"
"Aw, don't be like that, Louise," Kirche said as she climbed out of the bush she had been hiding in, dragging Tabitha along behind her, who, with an impassive expression, was stubbornly reading a book. "I just wanted to see you and darling reconcile."
"What did you mean by 'that's it?'" I asked.
"Prince Wales," Kirche said. "Tabitha and I passed by him when we were going to Ragdorian Lake. I only just realized that it was him."
Louise and I both froze.
"That's impossible," Louise shook her head slowly. "The Prince should have met his death while defending Newcastle a couple of months ago."
"Eh? Really?" Kirche cocked her head. "But I'm sure that when I saw him he looked alive..." Kirche's eyes went wide. "Unless..."
Louise and I nodded as we came to the same conclusion.
"Unless somebody used the Ring of Andvari on him," Louise breathed. "Quick, Kirche. Where was Prince Wales going?"
"He was headed to Tristania," Kirche answered promptly.
Louise hissed. "The princess!"
-SCENE BREAK-
Thanks to Syphid, who flew at speeds faster than what even I could manage normally even while carrying all five of us on its back, it had not taken us long to get to the palace, which was in absolute chaos at the sudden disappearance of Princess Henrietta. There, Louise had used the documents that Henrietta had given her that proved her to be the princess's court lady in order to extract the necessary information from the guards.
The kidnappers, it seemed, were fleeing towards La Rochelle. Every available force had been mobilized in searching for the missing princess. And just in case the kidnappers attempted to pull a fast one, the rescue parties had been sent out in nearly every direction, in order to cover every single possible way out of the country.
Because of that, we decided to simply head straight for La Rochelle. It was the most likely place they would flee towards, as it was the closest port town to Albion.
And once more, thanks to Sylphid's amazing speed, we were fast approaching La Rochelle. Littering the ground leading up to it, however, were corpses of both man and griffin. Tabitha patted Sylphid gently on the neck and whispered something into its ear. The dragon nodded and descended to the ground gracefully, and we all climbed off to begin investigating the scene of carnage.
"These men were only recently killed," Kirche noted as she studied the severed limb of a dead griffin knight. I narrowed my eyes as I sensed the presence of eight others moving around us, hidden from plain sight. "They shouldn't have gotten far."
"They're here," I said. "Incoming!"
A rain of fire, water, earth, and air fell down on us from all directions. I immediately reacted by raising a dome of wind around us, and though the magical assault beat upon my kekkai, they made no headway in destroying it.
Seeing that their attacks were futile, the eight attackers revealed themselves in a circle that surrounded us. Standing together at the head was Prince Wales and Princess Henrietta.
"Princess!" Louise cried. "We've come to rescue you!"
The prince laughed coldly. "Rescue? There can be no rescue, for Princess Henrietta comes with us willingly."
"That's impossible!" Louise declared. "There is no way the princess would abandon her country for a moving corpse like you!"
"It's true, Louise," Henrietta said dreamily. "I want to be with my love. Please leave us be."
"Princess? What are you saying?" Louise said. "He's not your love! He's the revenant of Prince Wales sent by Reconquista!"
Henrietta shook her head languidly. "You don't understand, Louise. You've never loved someone so strongly that you're willing to throw away everything you own in order to be with him for just a second longer. You've never loved so strongly that it doesn't matter what happens or happened to the one you loved, only that you can be with them for just a little longer. You've never experienced that. Therefore, Louise, this is my last order to you as your princess. Let us pass through this place without trouble."
Louise opened her mouth, but no sound came out. I could practically hear the thoughts running through Louise's head.
"If that's how Princess Henrietta truly feels, how can I possibly stop them?"
As Wales and Henrietta's group began to turn to leave, however, I called out to them.
"Where do you think you guys are going?" I said loudly. "I'm taking Henrietta back with us."
"Didn't you hear me, Kazuma?" Henrietta said. "I am ordering you to let us pass."
I chuckled and shook my head. "Unfortunately, Princess, there are two problems with that. The first is that I am not your subordinate. You can't tell me to do anything without proper payment. The second is that since this isn't really you speaking, I don't give a damn about how you feel or what you think at the moment. I'm going to capture you and bring you back to Tristain. Then, when you wake up, you're going to be so damn grateful to me that you're going to pay me at least 100,000 gold coins."
"Wait, what are you talking about, Kazuma?" Louise said sharply. "What do you mean that this isn't really the princess speaking?"
"Don't you remember how you were drugged by Wardes into saying and doing exactly what he wanted?" I said. "Don't you think think that the way Henrietta is acting right now seems awfully similar to how you did back then?"
I couldn't help but wonder if these types of potions were made precisely for these kinds of sinister purposes. It was definitely very convenient for anyone who wanted to take someone away without resorting to brute force.
Louise's eyes widened, and then narrowed angrily. "Reconquista, you scum! Return the princess now!"
"... I had hoped it wouldn't come to this," Henrietta said softly. "Men. Attack."
The human body has much greater power than it normally demonstrates. But the reason why it doesn't demonstrate that potential power normally is because if the body used its full power all the time, it would very quickly break down. Thus, the brain puts natural limits on the capabilities of the body, removing them only in times of extreme emergencies.
Being dead, however, removed the need for those limits.
The six undead nobles moved with unnatural speed as they closed in on us with predatory swiftness and grace. Using their swordwands clad in fire or lightning, they attempted to cut us down from close range.
However, before they could get in striking range, my air blades cut them apart at their waist, and the halves of the undead fell to the ground with a meaty thud.
But instead of dying again, the corpses simply stuck themselves to their lower halves and stood back up, having completely regenerated from my attack. Ugh. Regenerating and fast zombies that could still use magic and swordsmanship? I pray to every god in existence, in this world or another, that these zombies couldn't infect us and turn us into one of them by biting us.
"Incinerate!" Kirche chanted, causing one of the undead nobles to spontaneously burst into flames and it shrieked in agony as it burned into ashes. "Fire is effective, everyone! Pin them down while I burn them!"
And then, as if the universe itself had a perverse sense of humor, it began to rain.
It came as a sprinkling shower at first, but quickly transformed into a heavy downpour. At this, Henrietta laughed loudly.
"Ah, dammit," Kirche sighed.
"The heavens favor us!" Henrietta declared. "A water mage is invincible in the rain!"
Henrietta waved her wand, causing water to form around the undead nobles as a suit of armor made of water.
"I'm guessing you can't use your fire magic in this rain, can you?" I said.
"Nope," Kirche confirmed. "The rain would just douse whatever I cast the moment I try it."
I sighed inwardly, wishing for the first time that we had an Enjutsushi on our side. An Enjutsushi could have burned these undead to ashes even in this rain. Now then... How should I do this? I suppose I could try to chop these corpses up into such tiny pieces that I utterly destroy them beyond the point of regeneration, but there was no guarantee that would actually work.
"Everyone!" Louise said. "Keep me safe while I cast my spell!"
I glanced over my shoulder briefly to look at Louise who had the Founder's Prayer Book in her hand. After the Battle of Tarbes, Louise had never allowed the book to leave her person, carrying it on her almost religiously. It seems that even during her love addled state of mind, that had not changed. And like during the Battle of Tarbes, the book was shining brightly. As Louise began chanting in low tones, I could feel her words flowing through me, empowering my resolve and courage.
As if they could sense the danger of allowing Louise to finish her spell, the undead nobles attacked, concentrating everything they had on Louise. I reacted swiftly, cutting them into halves with my air blades. And then, before they could regenerate, I launched even more air blades. Dozens, no, hundreds of air blades. Yet, even after being cut into tiny, bite-sized pieces, they easily regenerated completely, like slime youma.
But that had been enough of a pause for Tabitha to prepare and launch a flurry of ice spears at the undead, staking each of them to the ground and completely immobilizing them. At the same time, however, Henrietta and Wales were preparing their own spectacularly powerful spell.
I had learned once before that the mages in this world could combine elements to form new elements or make spells stronger. Tabitha used wind and water to create ice. Kirche, however, simply stacked fire with fire to make it an even stronger fire. The amount of elements they could combine or stack upon each other was what determined a mage's rank. Dot mages could only use one element, line mages could use two or stack it twice, triangle mages could use three or stack it thrice, and square class mages could use all the elements or stack elements four times.
What Henrietta and Wales were doing was using three parts wind element and three parts water element to form what could be called the equivalent of a hexagon level spell.
I had seen twice before the level of power a square class mage could have. Foquet had created a golem of a size unthinkable on Earth and Wardes definitely had great skills and had been actually a very powerful mage.
What Henrietta and Wales were making made those two look like pathetic amateurs in comparison. A massive tornado of water had formed in front of them, on a scale as large and as powerful as a true natural disaster.
"Great Brimir..." Kirche said in a tone equal parts awed and frightened.
Beside her, Tabitha and Siesta simply nodded in agreement.
Well then. How should I deal with this? Create a tornado as large as theirs and with a rotation counter to their own in order to cancel it? Perhaps squash it from above using a downburst? Hm... The latter would definitely be much easier, but the former would prove to be an excellent training opportunity for Siesta.
In times of distress and emergency, humans were capable of breaking past the limits placed on their body by their brain. This was the same for magic as well. When in desperate situations, a person's concentration would sharpen and become capable of casting magic far more adroitly and with far more power than they had ever done before. In this manner, they could make years of progress in an instant.
Of course, that was assuming that they didn't just freeze up and get killed instead.
"Siesta," I said. "A water mage is supposed to be invincible in the rain. Let's show them that they're not the only ones with a water and wind mage. Follow my lead."
I raised one hand straight up into the air, using it as a focal point to gather the wind spirits. Suddenly, a tornado every bit as massive as Henrietta and Wale's sprang up in front of us.
"Siesta," I said. "Add in as many of your water spirits you can in the same shape and with the same spin as my tornado. We'll crush theirs together."
The Suijutsushi blinked at me. Then a smile spread across her face and she nodded. "Understood, Kazuma!" Siesta clasped her hands in front of her, as if in prayer, and murmured, "Spirits of water..."
With her newly formed contract with the Water Spirit of Ragdorian Lake, Siesta had become able to draw in exponentially more water spirits than she had before. And because it was raining heavily, there was an abundance of water spirits for her to call forth. These two things combined meant that when Siesta summoned the water spirits, they had taken shape as a waterspout every bit as large as either of the other two tornadoes.
And after Siesta's water and my wind combined, we unleashed it on the royals' spell. The two tornadoes of water met in a collision of nature. The sound of screeching wind and roaring water drowning out any other sound we might have tried to make, and for a moment, the two tornadoes were in a stalemate, pushing against each other without gain. Then, though slowly at first, the royals' tornado of water began to slow and weaken. Then, as it lost more and more power to mine and Siesta's tornado of water, it began shrinking until it eventually dispersed, leaving our tornado standing proudly as the winner.
"No!" Wales shouted furiously. "No! Henrietta, my love! Again! Let us do this again!"
"Dispel!" Louise cried out.
An iridescent wave flowed from Louise's wand. As it swept past us, each of the undead nobles groaned and ceased to move, and their water armors and the ice spears staking them broke and melted apart into puddles of water. Even mine and Siesta's tornado of water suddenly broke apart and dispersed into nothingness. And when it reached Wales and Henrietta, it caused both of them to collapse to the ground, unconscious.
-SCENE BREAK-
"Princess Henrietta. Wake up."
Henrietta moaned softly as she slowly blinked her eyes open.
"Kazuma?" Henrietta said as she sat up slowly. "What...?"
Though her mind was still cloudy and she still felt dizzy, the events of what had occurred came to her mind quickly.
"That's right... Wales sneaked into the palace and drugged me to make me obey him," Henrietta murmured as she rubbed her head. "He was going to kidnap me and take me to Albion..."
"Yes," Kazuma said. "But don't blame him. It was Reconquista's fault. They took his corpse and raised it as a revenant under their control with a magic ring."
"I see," Henrietta said darkly. "Damn Reconquista bastards. I swear they'll pay for this."
"But that's not important right now," Kazuma said quickly. "Wales is still alive for just a little longer, and he has regained his free will. Go speak with him."
"What?" Henrietta's eyes went wide as she quickly looked around and found Wales lying not too far beside her. She quickly scooted over to him and clasped his hand. "Wales. Is it really you this time?"
"Yes it is, Ann," Wales murmured painfully. Now that he was freed from Reconquista's control, it seemed that his regenerating powers had vanished as well, for blood was pouring out of several large wounds across his body. Wounds that he no doubt received in his final defense of Newcastle. "I'm sorry for hurting you like this, my love. Forgive me."
Henrietta smiled as silent tears began flowing down her face. "It's not your fault, love," Henrietta said. "It's Reconquista's."
"Thank you," Wales whispered. "I don't know why I'm thinking of this, but do you remember our last conversation at Ragdorian Lake?"
"I do," Henrietta nodded. "We talked about how nice it would be if we could just throw away our title of royalty and find a nice quiet home to live in, just the two of us. A small house anywhere, the location did not matter, and with a garden with a flower bed for me to raise flowers in."
"Yes," Wales said quietly, tears of his own trickling down his cheeks. "But we both knew that would never happen."
"Indeed," Henrietta agreed sadly. "Our duties to our respective countries were too great for us to simply throw aside selfishly."
"Despite that, I have never once regretted being born a prince," Wales admitted. "For if I had not, I surely would not have ever met you, my love."
"I feel the same," Henrietta said.
Wales coughed, causing flecks of blood to scatter along his chest and more blood to dribble down his jaw. His skin was pallor and his eyes sunken.
"I'll be returning to the grave soon, my love," Wales murmured. "So I have one last request."
"Anything. Ask of me for anything."
"I want you to forget about me."
"That is... impossible."
"And I want you to find another man to love."
"That is also... impossible."
"Oh, Ann," Wales said softly. "Your love is too good, too joyous for a dead man to steal for himself. Swear to me that you'll share it once more with another man. Please swear it lest my soul wanders without rest for all eternity."
"I cannot swear to that," Henrietta shook her head, her face wet from the tears flowing steadily from her eyes. "I can never forget you, my love."
"Ann, please," Wales pleaded weakly, but desperately. "I can feel death coming for me again soon. Before I go, please swear it!"
Henrietta closed her eyes. Slowly, in an almost imperceptible motion, she nodded her head. "I swear it."
"Thank you..." Wales murmured as he slowly closed his eyes and ceased to move.
And in that still rainy night, only the sound of Henrietta's mournful cry mingling with the tears of the heavens could be heard.