A/N : For those of you who have already read this chapter, I apologize for making you read it over again. One of my more vocal reviewers pointed out some issues that I decided to change. I think that this version of the chapter turned out much better when compared to rest of the story. Not only is there more character interaction, but it doesn't feel so rushed or forced.
Chapter Fourteen: Mon Amour
The weeks immediately following the invasion of Tristain by Albion were extremely hectic for most of the population. As soon as everything had been taken care of on the battle field, Henrietta returned to the capital for her coronation. Though she had been handling many official duties for years, Henrietta's mother was still officially the head of state before this point. After the event was through with, the whole country officially recognized their beloved princess as the leader of the nation. Those who may have been against the young girl taking on the mantle of leadership either did not voice their opinion, or more likely were quickly silenced by the fanatics who saw her as a holy leader. The presence of a certain winged familiar being seen in the area from time to time did nothing but solidify their opinion on the matter.
A great number of nobles streamed through the city during this period of transition to offer their congratulations to the young queen, reaffirm their feudal vows, or make an attempt at raising their own status while the girl was still getting the hang of things. If not for a number of her helpful advisers and a very protective Musketeer, they might have even succeeded.
Despite the goings on just a few miles down the road, things remained fairly uneventful for those still at Tristain's Academy of Magic. Most of the students has either returned home or were traveling for their summer intermission. Those few students and teachers left within the castle were using their free time to catch up on research and studies that had gotten behind while classes were in progress. Therum Magnus in particular was doing his best to take advantage of his downtime, most of which was spent in the company of his new forge.
The suit of armor that he had started over a year ago on Earth was making great strides towards completion. All it currently lacked were the arm coverings and the decorative work. While he prefers not to wear any armored clothing other than his coat, he really wanted to finish this particular suit. Someone said that he couldn't and he intended to prove them wrong even if he was only proving it to himself at this point. Between tempering phases he was working on a number of side project too. Derflinger is an excellent sword, but he really doesn't fit Louise's build very well. She needs something made of a lighter metal that can also be used as a wand. Same goes for Siesta. She was finally catching up with Louise in terms of skill and needed a proper sword of her own. At the moment she was using one of the ones he used while in Albion.
For the time being both weapons were still in the planning phase. He was still trying to figure out what metal to make the weapons out of. Much like people, metals have a slight affinity for one type of magic or another. To most people this affinity isn't worth bothering with but to those who know what to look for, it can make all the difference. Most people would be very surprised if they were actually able to pick up either of his primary swords. The metals that match best with his magic are silver, tungsten, and titanium so those are what he makes most of his crafted items out of. He used all three when making Aurora, causing it to weigh nearly twice as much a steel sword of the same dimensions. For the girls, he would most likely just use the lightest metal that worked for them and work from there whenever he got around to testing them. For the time being they would have to live with what he had lying around.
Around noon the sweaty man decided to take a break from working the fires to find some kind of lunch. His preferred path to the kitchens brought him right by the Academy stables where someone was causing a massive commotion about something. Once he got close enough he was able to see the cause of the commotion was a pair of men trying to lead a particularly spirited black horse towards a waiting carriage. The closer they brought the horse to the harness, the meaner he got. Eventually one of the handler brought out a whip to try and make the animal more agreeable and got kicked at least ten feet back towards the corral for his trouble. The other man dropped the reigns he was holding in an attempt to help the other guy. Apparently the second guy was a mage because he pulled a wand out of his pocket and cast a number of healing spells on the guy who got kicked. The Horse on the other hand took off the second it was released. It would have gotten away too if Therum hadn't been standing in its path. With a subtle calming spell Therum managed to reign in the irritated animal.
"Easy there boy, I won't let them hurt you." He gently stroked the animal's mane while leading it back to where the two men were at.
"Thanks for catching that one. He has been nothing but a ménage since one of the local lords pawned him off on us."
"It looked to me like he was just a little startled."
"That's just what the horse wants you to think. He's a perfectly calm animal until someone tries to harness it or ride him. This is the third time he kicked one of my assistants into the hospital. I think I am going to have to put him down and cut our losses."
"That's the worst idea I have heard since coming to this stupid academy. Tell me what you want for him and I'll buy him off you."
"What would you want with a horse you can't use for anything?"
"I'm feeling nostalgic today and he reminds me of a horse from a story I read as a kid."
"I'll tell you what. You but the saddle and harness on him and he's yours. Just get that thing out of my stable." Therum happily handed over a random fistful of gold coins and lead his new horse towards the kitchen for a sandwich and a couple apples.
***Break***
Louise, Siesta, and Kistna came across a rather strange sight later that afternoon. They had been having lunch with Siesta in the dining hall for a change and decided to come out to Vestries courtyard for some fresh air when they found Therum sitting under a tree idly talking to a large black horse.
"Why are you talking a horse? I thought you hated horses."
"He was causing trouble for the stable manager so I decided to take him off their hands. That and he reminded me of a piece of my childhood." He flashed his master a cheeky smile.
"That still doesn't explain why you are talking to it. I have heard rumors about how this horse is supposed to hate everybody. "
"The poor guy is just misunderstood." Therum stroked the nose of his new stallion while feeding it an apple.
"What do you even know about training horses? From what I heard, it would have killed its last trainer if a water mage hadn't been nearby."
"That's what makes him even better."
"He's better because he almost killed a man? I know you are actually from another world, but you are making less sense than usual."
"He is living up to his namesake perfectly. You are such a good horse Widowmaker. " He continued to stroke the nose of the large black horse.
"I kinda agree with the man. He seems like a fine horse." Kistna made an attempt to pet the horse only to receive a headbutt for her troubles. If possible the horse looked extremely pleased with itself.
"Why doesn't he try to hurt you Therum? You two act like you have known each other for years," asked Siesta.
"A magician never reveals his secretes." With a smug smile the man led the mighty black horse out of the academy stable towards his own workshop.
"That guy goes through the strangest phases. A week ago he was absolutely crazy about his airplane thing and then he just hands it over to that professor like an old pot. Now he says he is feeling nostalgic about his home so he buys a temperamental horse. What's next?"
"I am not sure that we even want to know."
"Regardless of what he does next, we really shouldn't worry about it right now. Anything he is likely to do will be completely different from what we expect anyway. Go see what he is going to do with it now that he has it.
***BREAK***
As they came closer to the clearing where Therum had built his workshop they heard the sound of metal striking metal repeatedly. Thinking that he had given up on the horse idea for the day they decided to head into the main building to see what he was working on. As it turns out, he decided to put his other projects on hold in order to make a supply of horseshoes. Normally watching someone make something this simple would not have held their attention for long, but then again this is not your normal hammer and anvil. With each strike of the hammer small flashes of light and electric sparks erupted out into the air.
"I bet Widowmaker is going to be the only horse on the block with magic shoes," he said after dunking the shoe in a barrel.
"Um, Mister Therum why are you making horseshoes?"
"I bought a horse today. Why wouldn't I hake horseshoes?" Therum gave the country girl an unusually cheerful smile.
"I guess I figured that the stable attendants would have shod it for you is all."
"I would have thought so too, but I guess he wouldn't let them. He seems to be particular about some people. Personally I just think that he has better taste than other horses. Have any of you ever put new shoes on a horse?"
"I am a proud member of the Vallière family. I would never stoop to doing something so common."
"Don't look at me. I have never even ridden a horse in my life. When you grow up with your own pair of wings other forms of transportation tend to get overlooked."
"My father usually had someone from town put shoes on our horse."
Therum reached into the bucket with the horseshoes and collected four of them. He then handed one to each of the girls while keeping one for his self. "Today is as good as any to learn."
"There is no way that I am going anywhere near that monster's feet."
"What are you complaining about? At least he didn't headbutt you when you were just trying to be friendly."
"Don't mind them. Widowmaker is the friendliest horse in the world, if you know how to talk to him."
"How are you supposed to talk to a horse exactly?"
"His language is a very simple one. Bribe him with an apple and you have yourself a friend for life; or at least until he gets hungry again. That's what he told me anyway." The three girls gave him a deadpan look.
"This is ridiculous I am still not doing a commoner's work. I am a court lady of the princess now."
"Technically I think she is the queen now."
"That's not the point! I am above doing such menial labor."
"How about I make a deal with you? If you agree to learn how to put shoes on a horse, I will teach you how to play horseshoes."
"You mean as some kind of musical instrument?"
"No, it's a game. It is a whole lot of fun and the rules are really simple."
"I'll do it. I would love to learn a game from your homeland." The country mage snuck a little closer to Therum than absolutely necessary.
"You can be on my team Siesta. Come on you three we have a horse in need of a new set of shoes."
"We really don't have a choice do we?"
"Not if you ever want any peace from me."
***BREAK***
A couple of hours later, the group of happy people came wandering back from the clearing towards the castle.
"I admit that actually putting the shoe on the horse wasn't all that bad."
"I told you so. What did you think of the game afterword?"
"Oh that game was wonderful. I think I am going to teach it to my family when I go back home again for summer break."
"Oh look at this. Somebody is having a picnic in the courtyard, how romantic."
"Whoever it is even sprang for some pretty good wine." Louise held up the bottle for inspection.
"I don't think that school kids should be drinking this stuff when there are no adults around to supervise. I am going to take this bottle into protective custody." The taller woman snatched the bottle from the small pink haired mage.
"Something tells me that bottle is not going to be much safer in your custody." Therum quipped.
"Yeah, but there are four of us instead of two of them, not to mention we have the adult supervision part down." Therum snatched the bottle from her grasp before she had time to even bring it to her lips.
"If you want a bottle of wine so badly go steal one from the kitchen like these kids probably did. Better yet, I'll give you some money so you can go into town to buy all the liquor you want. Hold this for a second, will you Siesta." He handed the bottle to the girl while he went digging around in his pockets for one of his smaller money pouches. He felt it was easier to pre-separate the coined money into various denominations to make transactions quicker. As he was sorting through the many small bags he noticed Siesta taking a small sip from the bottle of wine he had handed her. Therum was about to take the bottle back from her when a pair of blonde students came into view. Therum immediately recognized Guiche but was having a hard time thinking of the girl's name, Monmon or something like that. When she saw the bottle of wine in Siesta's hand, she freaked out slightly.
"You didn't drink any of that did you?"
"I didn't but it looks as if my friend here couldn't resist the temptation." The girl turned white. "If you tell me how much it cost, I will pay you back for what my friend took." He gestured to the money bag he was still holding.
"Oh don't worry about it. It was my fault for leaving my things unattended. Come on Guiche let's finish our talk inside." The blonde girl tried to drag her on and off boyfriend towards the castle.
"Hold on a second." The two stopped dead mid stride. "I insist on paying for this. It doesn't look like a cheap bottle of wine after all."
"What are you trying to pay that girl for Therum? You can have me for free any time you want it." Therum did a double take at the strange offer must have misheard.
"I'm sorry Siesta. Could you repeat that? I think I misunderstood something there."
"I said that you don't need to pay a girl for attention with me around. I will give you all the special service you need for free." All three of her friends looked at the country girl like she had grown and extra head or something.
"Now really isn't the time for such a joke Siesta. I think you have been hanging around Kistna too much lately."
"Oh I'm not joking. I owe you so much for what you have done for me that I would absolutely love the opportunity to repay you." She had moved close enough by this point that her finger was tracing suggestively along his chest.
"Alright girl, I think you might have gotten a little carried away with the wine. I think you should head on up to bed and sleep on that kind of an offer. We'll talk about this more in the morning alright?" She became extremely perky at his words and broke off from her embrace.
"If that's the way you want to do it, it's ok by me. I saw how good you were around my siblings. We should get started on our own family as soon as possible. My father said that if I became ready to settle down, I could move back home any time."
Therum looked on dumbly at the usually shy girl walked off in the direction he knew her room to be in. He was used to jokes being made at his expense by the other two, but Siesta never joined in on the raunchier humor. Putting two and two together he looked down at the bottle of wine still in his hand. The conclusion that he came to was that she had a crush on him that was being brought out by the alcohol. Nearly a quarter of the bottle was gone after all. There is a reason why young people shouldn't drink.
"Monmon can I ask you a question?"
"Um, sure thing." She said in a very small voice.
"Did Guiche get you this bottle of wine to make up for another of his stunts?"
"No I am the one who invited him out tonight. We were going to be celebrating the second month of him not chasing after any other girls." The intimidating man gave the smaller guy a stern look.
"It's true Sir Magnus. After you knocked some sense into me I turned over a new leaf. I swear!"
"Alright, but I am confiscating this wine. Minors should not drink alcohol without supervision." He picked up the cork from the blanket where it had been left laying and put it back into the bottle. "I am going to bed early tonight Louise. I'll leave the door open if you need anything.
***BREAK***
Therum woke up the following morning feeling strangely contented. The only problem he had that particular morning came when he tried to sit up and found a warm mass holding him to the bed. Willing the light in the room to come on, he found that the object pinning him to his bed was none other than Siesta. Apparently at some point in the night, she has decided to retrieve the rest of the bottle of wine from his room and finished it off. She them must have become unstable and decided to just stay the night instead of wandering drunk through hallways. That is what Therum wanted to tell his self, but the fact that the girl was completely naked made her intentions seem slightly less innocent. Not knowing what else to do, he decided to gently shake her awake with his free hand. She gave him a big sleepy smile in way of response.
"Siesta, I think you forgot which room you were in. Louise's room is through the door there."
"No, I know exactly where I am. You said that we were going to talk more in the morning. I came to sleep with you so we could talk as soon as you woke up. The sooner we talk the sooner we can start working on our great big family."
"I don't think that is such a good idea. You are still a student after all. It wouldn't be proper of me to take advantage of you like that, especially when you have been drinking.
"I haven't had anything to drink in hours. I just want you to know how much I love and trust you. I know you would never hurt me, so you can trust my decision too." She moved her position forward enough to steal a kiss that put their last one to shame in intensity. He was too shocked at the moment to do anything about it. The forward advances of the girl may have continued if Louise hadn't chosen that moment to walk into the room.
"What is all the noise…about?" Louise saw the naked girl on top of her familiar and jumped to her first preferred conclusion. He was trying to take advantage of an innocent girl and needed to be punished. Seven seconds after entering the room, she was plunging Derflinger into the spot where his exposed torso had been.
"Woah Partner what are you doing?"
"Shut up you stupid sword. Can't you see he is doing something lecherous to her?" She pointed her sword to where Therum had teleported himself and Siesta on the other side of the room.
"That's not what happened at all! She came onto me, not the other way around."
"Not yet I didn't." For the sake of his sanity he ignored that comment.
"I don't believe you. Siesta would never do something so bold and perverse. Stand still and accept your punishment." She lunged at Therum with hew sword only to find it deflected not by her target, but by the girl who's honor she was trying to avenge.
"I won't let you hurt Therum Louise. I still need him to get my own family." Louise stopped dead in her tracks hearing what her friend just said.
"I don't know what he's done to you or told you, but you don't have to give in to his perverse intentions." Louise tried to explain to her friend.
"That's the problem though. I almost had him and you stopped me before he could do anything."
"What's all the yelling about? Who didn't do what?" A very ruffled looking Kistna poked her head into the room where the ruckus was coming from. The scene unfolding inside did more to wake her up than any cold shower ever could hope to do. "Do I even want to know why Siesta is naked and holding a sword at Louise and Derflinger?"
"Long story short, Siesta decided to have a sleepover without my knowing and Louise walked in on her trying to 'coerce' me into becoming a family man."
"When do the swords come into the picture?"
"Shortly after Louise's brain stopped working I think."
"Are you going to stop them or just stand there gawking?"
"I'm not sure. The logical part of my brain says that this shouldn't even be happening to begin with. The male side is wondering if I can turn this into a sport."
"You should probably stop them before they kill each other." Sadly the man's familiar made a good point.
"Girls! Stop this madness this instance. You are acting like a couple of mindless animals." He unleashed a little raw magical energy to make sure his point came across clear enough. He summoned Siesta's clothes from the neatly folded pile by his bed and magically dressed the girl after taking the sword away from her. He then forcefully summoned Derflinger from Louise's grasp and put it on one of the nearby weapon racks. For a brief moment all three girls looked at him with mild shock.
"What the hell was that?" Asked Louise once she had regained her senses.
"That is what happens when I become mildly annoyed with someone's actions."
"If that is what happens when you are only slightly annoyed, remind me to stay off your bad side." Kistna commented from the door frame.
"Louise, we will be talking about how you violently jump to conclusions later but right now I think there is a bigger issue to address."
"What would that be?" asked the small pinkette.
"Siesta has been acting weird since she drank that wine last night. I might be paranoid but I am pretty sure that there was something more than just wine in that bottle."
"For starters, Siesta has such a death grip on my arm that I am losing feeling in my fingers which isn't like our shy friend at all." The other two nodded in agreement while the country girl stroked her cheek against Therum's shoulder while making small kitten like sounds.
"Are you sure she isn't still a little drunk? Everyone in the castle knows she is the head of your fan club here at the school." Louise explained as if such things should have been obvious. Therum gave his little master a confused look before reexamining the girl on his arm.
"I wasn't aware that I had a following here at the academy."
"You bet your fine ass you have a following." Kistna laughed. "I'm not sure exactly when it started but I'd say that about every uninvolved girl in the school has fantasized about you at least once. A couple of them even tried to buy you for the weekend from Louise once. That was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. She got redder than Kirche's hair and ran them off yelling about you belonging to her alone and calling them new blooded tramps."
"He is my familiar. It is a master's duty to protect their familiar from unwanted advances."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night sister." The older girl teased "I've heard the way you and Siesta talk while reading those books you two like so much." Louise's face turned as pink as her hair.
"I wasn't aware that you are much of a reader Louise. What kind of books do you like?" Siesta caught on to the conversation and pulled Therum's head down enough to whisper into his ear. As she talked those watching visibly saw the color drain out of the man's face. When she finished speaking she let his face go so that he could look directly at her.
"I've been around the block a few times in my life and I am pretty sure some of those things are not physically possible even with magic."
"What did she tell you?" demanded Louise.
"Something involving twenty seven feet of silk rope, a bushel of apples, three feather pillows, and a live hedgehog, which I intend to get very drunk later in an attempt to forget about.
"Oh you're talking about Maid in Paradise. That's one of my favorites." The small girl said happily."
"You three are never allowed to call me demented again. Compared to that kind of thing I am mildly eccentric at best."
"Why do I get lumped in with those two?" Kistna pouted.
"Easy, underneath your tough facade you are just as girly as these two." Kistna started to argue before quieting in defeat. "If I would have known that you ladies like those sort of books I would have given you Alex's collection. I would like nothing more than to be rid of the stupid things." He walked over to his book case labeled "English" and pulled on a large green book with the hand not claimed by Siesta. This caused the shelf to swing around and reveal over a hundred books labeled 'Romance.' "I would stick to the ones on the bottom three shelves for now if I were you girls. They are the ones that take place in time periods similar to this one. The top two shelves would take too much explaining about modern Earth."
"You mean we can have all of these books?" asked Louise as she thumbed through a volume.
"Sure, why not? I never read them and I would like to free up the shelf space."
"I can't understand anything written in this book." The small mage pouted.
"Oh, sorry about that, they are all written in my native language. I think I have something that should help with that." He attempted to go over to his desk but Siesta anchored him in place as she looked at the shelves. "Would you please let go of my arm Siesta. I need to go over to my desk."
"I have never thought anyone would have a larger collection than me," she whispered to herself. If possible she clung tighter to the man's arm. "We're perfect for each other!"
"If you don't let go of my arm so I can get some reading glasses Siesta, you won't be able to read any of them."
"That's ok, you can read them to me. Wouldn't that be romantic?" she said happily.
"I'd rather not have to read those books for any reason." Siesta's eyes began to water.
"Don't you like spending time with me? All I want to do is be with you. Why won't you love me back?" She sobbed.
"I'm sorry Siesta." He stroked her hair a few times to calm her down before casting a sleep spell on the hysterical girl. He caught her as she slumped to the ground and gently went and placed her on Louise's bed.
"What the hell was that all about?" asked Kistna while flipping through one of the books looking for raunchy pictures.
"Siesta isn't acting like herself right now so I put her to sleep while I figure out what is going on. I have a pretty good idea about what may be happening but I need to go confirm my hunch. You two stay here and keep an eye on her."
"What if she really has feelings for you? Would it be so bad if a girl did actually have those feelings for you?" Louise asked shyly?
"Let's get through this situation first before we go talking about the possibility of me courting anyone." He turned his back to the girls while he dug through a drawer in his desk. He took a small box out of the drawer and handed it to Louise. The glasses in this box should enable you to read any written language as if you were reading your own." Once Louise took the box from his hand he disappeared with a small crack.
***BREAK***
Monomneratcy was feeling mildly irritated the morning after her picnic with Guiche the previous evening. After Vallière and her commoner friends came in drank the wine she had intended to give Guiche, things steadily spiraled downhill. Both of the blondes were afraid that the crazy swordsman was going to come back at any moment looking for an excuse to harass them further so they moved the dinner to her bedroom. Guiche took the change of scenery as an indication that his girlfriend wanted to move their relationship to the next phase and acted accordingly. When he tried to physically make a move on her she freaked out and kicked him out of the room. To add insult to injury the maid drank the experimental potion that she was going to test on Guiche before she could even find out if it worked or not, thus leaving her out a substantial amount of money in potion ingredients.
When a loud knock came from her door she quickly hid her current potion project, which may have been slightly illegal, and answered the door. Contrary to what she was expecting, it was not Guiche standing on the other side but Louise's commoner familiar.
"What do you want commoner? I am busy working on a very sensitive project."
"Nothing much. I was just wondering what you put in that wine last night. My friend has been acting very strange since she drank it." The small aristocrat paled slightly at what she assumed he was implying.
"I have no idea what you are talking about. I would never drug anyone with love potion." Therum put on one of his trademark predatory grins.
"I never said anything about you using a love potion. I think you might have a little explaining to do." He piked up her small frame by the shoulders and looked her in the eye. If looks could kill Monmon would have become a sick as possible without actually dying.
"Alright! I put love potion in the wine! It was supposed to help keep Guiche loyal! I like him so much better this way and I was afraid he might go back to his old ways someday." The young girl was near tears. Therum dropped the girl gracelessly.
"I hope for your sake you have an antidote."
"It should wear off on its own."
"How long is that going to take?"
"A week, a month, a year, it varies from person to person."
"I don't really know how it works in this country, but mind altering potions and other substances were highly illegal in my homeland. I am willing to bet that I could get someone from the palace to look into this situation if you would rather take that approach…" The emotionless tone of his voice left no room for interpretation.
"There isn't anything I can do. I am out of the most important ingredient and I don't have the money to get anymore. Even if I did it could take weeks to find someone with any to sell."
"Give me the recipe. I may be able to fix this mess for both of us." She went to a secret drawer in her desk and pulled out a tattered scrap of paper and gave it to him.
When she handed him the list he sat down on her bed to go over the ingredients and brewing instructions. For the most part it was just a basic magical aphrodisiac that would wear off in a day or so. It wasn't until he came to the last section that he started getting worried and then furious. The stupid girl actually made a potion that used the essence of a Water Elemental as a catalyst. Luckily for the little noble he was mostly able to control his fury. He was barely able to redirect the explosion of raw magic he released into a lightning bolt that destroyed her window and most of the wall it was on. Louise herself couldn't have caused any better random structural damage. Unfortunately Monomneratcy wasn't aware that the man in her room was capable of such feats and promptly passed out due to the resulting mental overload.
Water Elementals are known for many things but mental stability isn't one of them. They usually start out calm but are quick to anger and absolutely ruthless in the pursuits of their desires. Out of every supernatural being that he had ever encountered, he hated dealing with water elementals the most. If she had fed this cocktail to her boyfriend he definitely would not have noticed any of the other girls in the school. Odds are he would have been the perfect doting boyfriend for a day or two as long as she paid attention to him as well. Then he would be getting more and more aggressive in his pursuits until eventually she would be offering her chastity up on a silver platter or having it taken forcefully and frequently. Normal people just can't handle the influences of an immortal essence mixing with their normal emotions.
For the first time in a long time Therum was afraid. He wasn't afraid or his own safety but for that of one of the closest people he had left to family. If left untreated she may very well become a slave to her desires and take action into her own hands if he kept refusing her advances. Then she would either become suicidal or homicidal. Neither were good options and he would not allow that to happen. Using the better part of his self control to keep from killing the girl, he shook her till she woke up. Monomneratcy's return to the waking world was not a pleasant one. She woke up to the expressionless slate of Therum's face just inches from her own. She was just barely able to see small arcs of electricity dancing across his body in an attempt to vent some of his anger.
"Are all the nobles in this country idiots, or do you just not care about the consequences of your actions?" he asked in a low toneless voice.
"What are you talking about? I gave you the recipe that you asked for. Ww… what else do you want?"
"I want you to explain to me why you are such an idiot? What could possibly possess you to want to drug your boyfriend with a heavy dose of Water Elemental infused aphrodisiac? The best possible outcome from that would be for you to be frequently raped buy the guy. The worst would probably end in you snubbing him and him killing you in frustration."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'll explain it to you when I decide whether or not to remove your ignorance from the gene pool. Right now I need you to tell me where I can find another tear from another powerful water elemental."
"But I…" She shut up with a surprising amount of quickness when she found herself hanging out the hole in her wall from Therum's earlier outburst. She nearly lost all control on her bladder functions when she saw the ground several stories below.
"I don't want excuses I want a way to fix my friend. Now tell me where I can find a tear or a whole damn elemental. I don't particularly care which. "
"There is an ancient water spirit that my family has an agreement with at Ragdorian Lake." Therum considered her offer for a moment before deciding to put her back on the solid floor.
"That'll do. Be ready in fifteen minutes we are leaving today." His voice wasn't loud or angry sounding but the complete lack of any emotion sent chills down the girl's spine. She burst into tears as soon as her door closed behind him.
***BREAK***
Therum ported back to his own room before going to talk to the girls about their sudden field trip. If Siesta had managed to reawaken while he was gone, he would rather be prepared deal with her. Before entering Louise's room he gathered a strong dose of body cleanser from his rapidly diminishing potion stores. The stuff should clean her out enough to keep from going homicidal or anything but it was far from a proper cure. As far as affection levels go if he can get her to drink the stuff she would go from a hurricane to an unpleasantly heavy rainstorm.
"Hey girls I have…something… to… tell… you…" 'It's days like this that I just want to take out the whole damn planet and get it over with. I really hate how cruel magic can be sometimes.' In the time that he had been gone, Siesta had indeed managed to wake back up and apparently convinced the other two that her feelings were genuine. She was sprawled out on Louise's bed in a showier version of her usual maid uniform wearing a small choler with a metallic tag on it while the other two were calmly reading their new "literature."
"Therum you're back!" Siesta leapt from the bed into his arms while the others gave very unladylike grunts of acknowledgement. "Do you like my new uniform Master? I thought I could wear it when I serve you from now on." She released him long enough to twirl around in the outfit a few times for him.
'This really isn't fair. What did I ever do to deserve this? She is extremely attractive but all this attention is the result of a love potion not her true feelings.' "The outfit is adorable Siesta but please don't call me master. My own familiar doesn't even call me master." He said gently. "I have decided that we all need a vacation. We will be leaving as soon as you all can pack a couple days worth of supplies."
"Where are you going to take us? Is it somewhere where I can be alone with you?" asked Siesta.
"I heard about the place from Monomneratcy just a little while ago. It is called Ragdorian Lake. She is going to kindly show us the way. Now Siesta I need you to drink this potions and bundle up warmly for the trip. We are going to have to take horses because the trip is too long to teleport and the Motorcycle only seats two."
"I've been to Ragdorian Lake before. Why does Monomneratcy need to come along with us?" Louise asked after marking her place in the book she was tearing through.
"She promised to introduce me to the water spirit that lives there." He replied nonchalantly.
"I'm not doing anything until I get a kiss from you Therum." Siesta huffed while stomping her foot. Louise and Kistna stopped their packing to see how this new development turned out. The only thing keeping the man's hand from striking his face was the girl's surprisingly strong grip.
"If I give you a kiss will you be a good girl and go pack your things?" She nodded happily. Therum leaned forward and gave her a light kiss on the lips. She looked mildly disappointed at his actions but kept her word and left to pack her things. When she was finally gone Therum let out a mighty sigh before going to pack his own supplies.
***BREAK***
Getting to the lake proved to be a much bigger chore than Therum had originally realized. Organizing a sizable group to travel by horseback is not as easy as the movies led him to believe. Monomneratcy invited Guiche to come with the group as her escort so he now had five people to look after. Kistna insisted on flying above the group to act as a scout so he had four horses in his little posy. One horse for each noble, while Siesta rode with him on Widowmaker. It cost him an entire bag of apples to get the black stallion to even let the girl ride him. He was living up to his namesake than Therum could have ever hoped. With their four combined horses and the flying armored woman traveling as quickly as the animals could manage, they looked more like a raiding party than school children. Unlike his motorcycle, the horses and students required occasional rest stops along the way that proved no end of annoyance for the man. Every time the group stopped he had to make another apple bribe to Widowmaker. The other big problem for him came from Siesta as she told him every single one of her dirty fantasies in painful detail. He would occasionally notice Louise or Kistna giving him dirty looks as she spoke to him, convincing him that they could hear at least part of what she was saying to him and didn't much care for it.
With all the stops and the natural limitations of moving a group by horse, the party reached the edge of the lake right at dusk the same day they left. The trip would have gone quicker but on the final leg of the trip everyone but Therum had fallen asleep in their saddles. He had been forced to herd all four horses in a long train following the crude map Monomneratcy had drawn for him. When he finally reached the shores of the large body of water he carefully dismounted without waking up his passenger and cast a quick levitation spell on the blonde girl. His original intention had been to drop her into the lake to wake her up, but the long ride with the attractive girl constantly pressing herself into his back had put him in a slightly better mood, even if she was only doing it to enhance her perverse stories. Despite the circumstances, it reminded him of the evening rides he used to take with Alex. As a kinder wakeup he just set the girl down next to the lake and shook her a little.
"We're here. Time to get talking to your elemental friend."
"You didn't have to wake me so roughly you know? I am a fairly light sleeper."
"I thought about dropping you in the lake so don't push your luck. I could still change my mind after all." He gave her one of his trademark grins. "Is there anything that I need to do to help you summon the spirit?"
"No, in theory she, it, should answer my call according to our old family pact. Although it looks as if the lake has risen quite a bit since I was last here so there is no guarantee that she is in the mood to answer. If she has become angry enough to flood the area, there is a good chance that she is not taking an audience with anyone. The only way to know is to try." The small noble girl gently brushed off her uniform and walked right up to the edge of the lake. "I am Montmorency Margarita La Fere de Montmorency," the blond spoke with surprising clarity in her normally stuck up voice. "I am a user of water, and a member of the lineage of the old oath. If you understand my words, answer in a way that we understand."
Two results came from her loud announcement. Firstly the rest of their group woke up and crowded near the lakeside to get a better view of what was happening. Except for maybe Siesta, She was too busy cuddling up to Therum to care much about the spectacle happening just a few yards from her. The second was a bit more impressive. A mass of flowing water slowly formed upwards from the rest of the lake. It shifted many times until it finally settled on a transparent duplicate of Monomneratcy. Its gaze drifted to each of the members of the group before settling on the one who called it forth.
"I recognize you little creature by the water in your veins. By the agreement of the old pact I have come to you. Speak what you ask of me." The facial expressions of the spirit constantly shifted from one extreme emotion to another as it spoke."
"Great spirit we seek a small portion of your body to use in a cure for an ailment that has fallen upon my friend here." She waived her hand to where Siesta was gently nuzzling against Therum. He nodded his approval of her statement. It was close enough to the truth.
"Your request is refused."
"Oh well, thank you for your audience great spirit." She turned to leave before meeting the iron gaze of an unimpressed familiar. He gently forced the girl off of him before waltzing right up to the vanishing elemental.
"Please wait great spirit. I am in dire need of you to grant this request." The spirit stopped its disappearance and gave the man before it a more scrutinizing examination. Its gaze lingered on his chest for a moment before eventually falling solidly upon his right hand. The shifting of its faces even stopped on one somewhere between fear and awe.
"I am not the first of my kind that you have encountered am I destroyer?" The rest of the group shifted their full attention to him.
"I have only ever briefly met with one other water elemental but I am fairly familiar with your kind as a whole."
"Why have you come here this day?"
"As the girl said, my friend is ill and in need of a piece of your essence as part of the cure. I would like to come to a peaceful agreement but will take what I need by force if necessary."
Monomneratcy jumped into the conversation in an attempt to avert what she saw as a disaster. "Please forgive him for his insolence great one! He is just a foolish commoner who knows not what he speaks." She was on her hands and knees in full groveling position. Apparently the shock from earlier had repressed the memory of him blowing up her bedroom wall.
"Be gone insignificant one this does not concern you." The spirit angrily said to the girl. Fearing retribution from the spirit, she made a mad dash towards the nearby tree line where the others were now gathered. "Do you truly wish to do battle with me destroyer? The one whose remains you wear around your neck was surely not as old as I."
"I would much rather not have to fight you on your home territory but I cannot lose another person close to me." He drew Aurora and switched it to its shield form to protect his self if things went south.
The spirit held up a watery hand to stop him when he went for his other sword. "I to would rather not fight this night. There are already those who attack me nightly. Put an end to these attacks and you will have what you ask for." The spirit told him where the attacks occurred each night before sinking back into the lake.
As soon as the spirit had fully disappeared those hiding amongst the trees dashed out to meet the man with nerves of steel. "Are you insane? What would I have done without you if that thing had decided to kill you?" screamed Louise.
"Were you even watching the same man Louise? My lovely master practically had that spirit bend over his knee," said siesta. "Like I wish he would do to me." Siesta added quietly.
"I asked you not to call me master Siesta. It makes me feel dirty. We will have plenty of time to talk about that later. Right now we have an attack to thwart so that I don't have to fight that elemental."
"What could a commoner like you hope to do against a being that has been said to exist since before the time of the founder?" Asked Guiche who had not seen the wrath Therum brought down upon his girlfriend's room.
"Have any of you ever heard of something called electrolysis?" All five of his companions shook their heads no. He gave a heavy sigh "I thought not. Let's just say that it would have been unpleasant for a being made of water. Now no more questions, we have an ambush to set up."
***BREAK***
Therum lay in waiting for the attackers to show up that evening. He hoped that the people attacking the spirit were not too good at what they were doing. He had eventually convinced Siesta that the fight would be too dangerous for her to be part of and left her with Guiche and Monmon. He took a chance and left Guiche and a reinforced troop of his Valkyries to guard the horses, just in case the attackers had friends lurking around. The kid is about useless in most aspects, but when his honor is called into question he will do anything to keep it, even stand guard over a horse that probably has more spirit than most platoons. Louise and Kistna were waiting a short distance away should he need any reinforcement.
Not too long after sunset Therum noticed a pair of hooded figures come to the lake right where the spirit had indicated and began their spell preparations. He knew that the elemental would not be thrilled but he let each of them cast a few spells into the lake to get an indication of what he would be up against. The taller figure was a fairly skilled fire mage while the shorter one was manipulating air pockets so was probably a wind mage. When the pair had begun their second volley he leapt into battle with Aurora. It wouldn't let him hill either of them unless they really deserved to die. He had nearly closed the distance with his target when he stepped on a conveniently placed twig and alerted the duo to his presence. As a testament to their skill, they switched targets seamlessly. A volley of fire and ice shot out at him with deadly precision. He managed to dodge the first of the flame attacks but took several glancing blows from the ice spears. If not for his trusty coat he would be dealing with much more than light bruising after this.
The two cloaked figures worked together seamlessly. They were staggering their attacks to keep the man from being able to move in during an opening in their spell casting. Whoever these two are, they know how to work as a team. Back on Earth Therum was a person that nobody liked to dual with lightly. His ability to manipulate energy made almost every form of direct magical attack nearly useless. Elementalists were much more uncommon in the old magic families instead of the norm like here among the nobles. Absorbing a bolt of lightning is one thing, trying to do the same with the other elements becomes much more difficult. He could absorb fire magic if given the chance to concentrate but that just wasn't happening. Wind and ice are a lot like trying to absorb a bullet. Solid objects don't tend to like being told to disappear.
Eventually he got tired of being on the defensive and decided to show these people what a real mage can do when backed into a corner. He began throwing low grade lightning strikes at the pair. The fire mage went down pretty quickly to the magical equivalent of a tazer but the wind user was skilled enough to disperse the nonlethal attacks. Finally enough was enough and Therum put up a full body magical barrier. The spell drains magic like nothing else when attacked but it does come in handy when the caster decides to engage another powerful mage in hand to hand combat. The shocked figure didn't have time to process the sudden change of events before their small figure was hit by a flying roundhouse to the chest. The smaller combatant hit the ground pretty hard causing her hood to come up. Suddenly Therum lost all will to keep fighting. He knew the small girl that he had just kicked to the ground.
"Tabitha what are you doing here?" The small girl stopped her next spell when she recognized that voice.
"Working."
"Is Kirche the fire mage with you?"
"Yes she is."
"Why are you out attacking a water spirit in the middle of the night? I thought that you were home visiting your family."
"It's a family issue."
"You aren't going to elaborate any more are you?" The small girl shook her head. "That's alright you can tell me later if you feel like it. Come on over here, I'm not much of a healer but I reckon you are going to have a nasty bruise from that kick if I don't do something."
"It's nothing." She winced when she moved to attend to her unconscious friend.
"That doesn't look like nothing to me. Just let me take a look." Reluctantly she gave into his insistence and let him cast a diagnostic spell on the area where he had kicked her. His scan revealed a number of smaller bruises from the fight and one cracked rib. He cast the few healing spells he knew on the girl and put a bit of extra power into each one to make them more effective. "There you may be a bit tender for a week or so but otherwise you should be fine." He gave her a soft poke in the ribs to make his point. She let out an involuntary giggle when he poked her.
"Thank you."
"Uh oh; you aren't ticklish are you?" She took a step back and raised her staff in a defensive position without showing any emotion on her face. "I'll take that as a yes." Ignoring the small girl's continued defense of her sides, he went over to check on Kirche. Fortunately she had just taken the single electrical attack so she went down without injuries. He slapped her lightly on the cheeks to wake her up.
"Hey there darling, are you here to help us with the mission for the king?" she asked dreamily.
"Which king would this be Kirche?"
"Tabitha's uncle the king of Gallia, of course. He ordered us to stop the spirit from flooding any more of her family's territory." She said as she stood up. She paled slightly when she realized what she had told the man. She turned her head to give her friend with a remorseful look on her face.
"It doesn't matter to me who her family is. If she thought it wasn't worth telling me then I am sure she has her reasons. Unfortunately I am going to have to insist that the two of you stop attacking the spirit."
"I must complete my mission." The blunette spoke with uncommon firmness in her voice.
"I am in the middle of negotiations with the water spirit at the moment. I need you two to stop attacking it so that I can get a piece of its essence."
"Why do you need it?" Tabitha showed a rare bit of interest in the conversation.
"Yeah, it's not like you are a water mage of something."
"It'll be easier if I just show you. I have a hard enough time believing the situation myself."
***BREAK***
Therum led his other two friends to the location where the others were waiting for his return. He first called out to his master and familiar to get them to come out of cover before returning to their impromptu camp. When Siesta saw him returning she quickly left the food she was preparing to run and welcome him back. Before he had time to verbally greet her she had knocked him to the ground with her flying hug. She then took the opening that created to make her claim before Kirche got any ideas. Therum found himself on the receiving end of a seamy kiss that tasted of the spices she was using to cook dinner with.
"It would seem that you have been a very busy man in the few days that we have been gone Mister Magnus." Kirche commented in a sultry tone. Thinking that he had finally decided to take advantage of his charm, she tried to get a piece of the action for herself after he stood back up. She made it about six feet from the man before she found herself staring down the end of Siesta's wand.
"He is mine!" she practically yelled at the taller girl. "If you want him too you have to fight me for him. Then even if you win you still have to go second." Hearing Siesta offer him up for a threesome was almost too much for the poor man. He jumped in before the busty redhead had enough time to give the offer any serious consideration. And before the two sword wielding women in the vicinity could jump to the violence their eyes so clearly lusted for.
"We can discuss these matters later. We have to go tell the water elemental that we have stopped the attacks. Come on Monmon you have a spirit to summon." The young woman in question was so thoroughly confused by the last several minutes that she didn't even think to be bothered by her hated nickname.
With a little coaxing from Therum, the group migrated back towards the lake shore. At some point Tabitha decided to break away from reality with one of her ever present books. It didn't matter that the book was titled To Love a Commoner; it was still easier to follow than what had just happened. Besides the book and the darkness helped hide her flushed face. Therum noticed the title and could be heard softly muttering to himself about repressed nobility and their girl porn.
***BREAK***
"You have returned destroyer. Does this mean that you have stopped those who attack me?"
"Yes great Spirit I have stopped those that sought you harm you this night. Will you now uphold your end of our agreement?"
"I will do as we have agreed." The ancient entity sent a small translucent ball of water towards the man who collected it in an empty vial from one of his many pockets.
"Before you go, I must ask on behalf of my friends here." He pointed to where Tabitha and Kirche were standing. "Why have you raised the water level of the lake? You are causing a lot of distress for many people."
"About thirty cycles of the moon ago, one of your kind came into my territory and stole my most prized possession."
"Are you just angry for being robbed? Why are you just flooding the area to punish those who live here when they are just simple farmers?"
"My kind does not believe in such petty vengeance. I can only move through bodies of water so I am slowly spreading my reach in search of what was taken. I will flood the entire world if needed." Therum suddenly reverted back to the cold persona Monmon was far too familiar with.
"I can't allow you to do that. If you will return the water back to its original level I will offer to search for your ring in your place. Otherwise my efforts tonight have been in vain for I will have to put you down myself. Flooding the entire continent because you lost something is not an acceptable course of action, regardless of who you are. What is your choice?"
"I find your offer agreeable destroyer. This course of action is very tiring for me but it was the only option I had." The rest of the group was dumbstruck by what they had just witnessed. A single man had just bullied a six thousand year old elemental into changing its mind."
"What can you tell me about this treasure and who took it. It would make things a lot simpler if I had a few leads to follow."
"The item is known as the ring of Andvari." The elemental held up a translucent representation of what the ring looked like for reference.
"I think I have heard of such an artifact. It is said to be a powerful water magic artifact that can bestow a semblance of life back upon the dead," quipped Monomneratcy.
"That is not incorrect, but death is a concept that I am not familiar with, therefore I cannot completely comprehend your description. The Ring of Andvari does not simply bring false life, it is the embodiment of the ancient "Strength of the Water." It is not simply a magical item. As to those that took it from me, I do not know much about them except that one of them went by the name Cromwell."
"I've heard that name before. If I'm not mistaken the man who has named himself emperor of Albion is named Cromwell." This time Kirche was the one to speak up.
"Just what I need a dictator with a sentient zombie army." Therum commented to himself more than anyone else.
"If I may ask of you before you go Great Spirit, why do you keep calling him destroyer?" Curiously it was Siesta that asked the question. Something about the situation must have really bugged her if it overwrote her desire to compete for Therum's affection for any amount of time.
"As I told the other one my kind does not understand your concept of death. For us there is simply existence and nonexistence. That one," she pointed at Therum, "has an aura about him that only comes from being near one of our kind the moment it ceases to be on this plane. The aura becomes stronger with each successive witnessing. His is bright enough that he must have seen a great number of my brethren's last moments. This could only happen if he were the one to cause their destruction as we do not disperse of our own free will often."
"What she says is true. For a time I was part of a team whose some function was to remove threats upon humanity. Occasionally an elemental would pop up that fit that description. Not all of them are as willing to cooperate as she has been. Sometimes one would become corrupt and start possessing or otherwise killing innocent people. When that happens we got called in to put the elemental down using any means necessary. Again like she said, elementals are not easy to kill. It takes some pretty questionable magic to make the job permanent. They have to be taken apart down to the atomic level or they will just reform later more pissed off than ever."
"Destroyer is a title rarely given by one of my kind to one of yours. I will remember our interactions this night and will look favorably on you and your descendants for your willingness to find peace instead of conflict."
As the spirit began to sink into the lake once more a voice called out to it once again. "Please spirit, wait," it was Tabitha's small voice. This was the first time anyone except Kirche had ever seen the girl initiate a conversation. "We humans have always called you the 'Spirit of Oath'. Is it because of what you said? That you experience all time different from us?"
"Yes, little one, that is the reason your kind speaks oaths in my presence," its face resumed its usual flickering changes.
"Because your presence is eternal, you will always remember our oaths," Tabitha whispered, and then went to one knee, closing her eyes. Kirche, looking at the kneeling girl with understanding, placed one hand her friend's shoulder. Therum watched the girls make their oath to the ageless entity with a bit more of his usual humor.
'It appears that there is much more to their friendship than I have been previously aware of. I wonder how this ties in to her secrecy about her family.' Therum made a promise of his own that night to the spirit under the shining double moons.
***BREAK***
Therum set up his travel chemistry set and got to work on the antidote right after the water elemental has disappeared for the last time. The other seven were gathered around him and a fire watching as he worked and eating the delicious meal Siesta had prepared. It might have been coincidence, but the fish Kirche got was just a little burnt. Monomneratcy was watching him the closest simply because potions were her passion and his equipment was much more refined than anything she had ever worked with.
"I hope it goes without saying that anything you may have learned about me tonight is to be kept extremely confidential." He didn't look up from his work but those present could tell by his voice that there was no room for argument. The one he was working on the potion for kept herself busy by alternating between eating and hand feeding Therum from the same plate. Normally he would have objected to this kind of treatment but both his hands were full and the food was really good. On the rare occasions that he looked up from his work he could tell that the others like the idea of Siesta hand feeding him about as much as he did. What he couldn't tell is if they were mad because she was doing it or that they hadn't thought of it first.
Tabitha had chosen to sit as close to the man as she could get without getting earning the wrath of the cook because he was currently using the best source of light that she could read by. After a while she finally gave in to the curiosity and asked the question that everyone wanted to ask.
"How many have you destroyed?"
He briefly met her eyes with a look of first confusion followed by amusement. He them went back to mixing the ingredients. Finally after what he considered to be an appropriately suspenseful amount of time he gave the girl her answer.
"Seven. Five lesser elementals, one about on par with this one, and one prime over three years."
"How could a commoner like you kill seven immortal beings in such a short period of time?"
"You are a bit thicker than I gave you credit for Monmon if you still think I am nothing but a commoner. I think the hole in your wall would attest to that if nothing else." Having finally finished with his concoction, he removed his brandy flask from his interior coat pocket and added the mixture to what liquid was already in it. There wasn't a whole lot of either fluid so he just poured it into a cup. After pretending to take a sip of the mixture he handed it to Siesta who happily drank what was left. Almost immediately she started to sway before slumping to the ground fast asleep.
"She'll be out till morning," he told the rest of the group. "When she wakes up she should be back to normal, except for Kirche. That antidote is basically a super charged purifying potion that should remove all traces of any foreign substance in their systems. Anything not made by a human body gets immediately removed while repairing most if not all damage the foreign substance might have caused. It even works as a stupidly expensive cure for most flesh wounds. Odds are she will feel better than she has in years once the mixture works its course. The only downside is that this particular recipe needed a couple of ingredients that I am now out of." Tabitha perked up slightly at the description of what his antidote was intended to do but remained silent.
After packing up his chemistry set, Therum recommended that the other three try to get some sleep. They still had to make it back to the castle tomorrow after all. He went to check on the horses briefly before settling down for his own well deserved nap.
A/N- I hope this chapter turned out better for everyone than the last one did. I always have fun writing scenes where I can throw a bit of humor into the mix to keep the story somewhat true to the comedic nature of the source material. I also got to write a little more about Therum's back story in this chapter as he interacted with everyone else. By this point I think most people can make a fairly educated guess about where he lived before getting dragged into the world of magic. Next chapter will cover the rest of the Ragdorian Lake arch and anything else my fractured sanity may want to throw in before dealing with the Fairy Inn. Till next time let me know how I'm doing and thanks for reading.