Author's Notes:
Hey there, guys! I'm fully recovered now, so I'll be posting chapters a little more frequently. Other than that, if you guys have anything that you'd like to see, don't be afraid to send me some suggestions in pm's. I'll answer your PM's as soon as possible. Anyway, without further ado, enjoy chapter 20!
Chapter 20: The Coronation
Montmorency, Kirche, Malicorne, Guiche, and even Tabitha had their mouths wide open in shock. They could hardly believe what the letters they were holding said.
"You are personally invited to witness the holy matrimony between Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Valliére and Chevalier de Hiraga. Further information regarding date and location will be brought to your attention at another time. Please inform those who are to be married of your acceptance or rejection of this invitation."
After several moments of silence, Montmorency, Tabitha, and Kirche dragged Louise away to have a discussion with her. Guiche and Malicorne did the same with Saito.
"Louise! What the hell are you thinking?! Are you okay?!" Kirche asked, feeling a variety of different emotions about the news of her marriage.
"What do you mean?" Louise asked, bewildered.
"Did he force this on you? I'll sort him out for you, don't worry!" Montmorency said.
Tabitha was completely silent, but it was very obvious that the whole affair made her excited.
"Guys, guys!" Louise began. "He didn't force this on me. He proposed to me and I accepted."
They all stared at her in disbelief. They had never seen her look so happy, so they thought that she must have been telling the truth. They had all somewhat accepted that she was, in fact, getting married. All of them except Kirche, who seemed more agitated.
"But he's just a plebian." She said. "Wouldn't you want to marry someone of a higher status? I don't think you should go through with this."
"Whether he was born a plebian or not doesn't matter. He's a good person and I love him. He's been loyal and never lets me down. I'll spend the rest of my life with him because it's something I want to do." Louise said with a staggering amount of confidence.
This expression of affection gained her applause from Montmorency and Tabitha. Kirche knew she couldn't keep arguing, so she simply sat down, slightly disheveled.
Meanwhile, Saito was having a much better time. Malicorne and Guiche had instantly accepted the fact that Saito was now engaged. They dragged him away to begin planning his wedding.
"Which of us gets to be best man?" They asked.
"Uhhh, I guess both of you? The wedding won't happen for a few months, so we haven't figured out all the details. I'll let you know, alright?" Saito responded, slightly nervous.
"Ah, fine. So where is this going to take place?" Guiche asked.
"It's a secret." Saito said, smiling. "But I'm going to need you two to keep it a secret. We'll be announcing our marriage soon."
Guiche was confused as to what he meant by 'announcing', but chose not to ask. By this time, it was starting to become dark. Louise had finally broken free from Montmorency, Tabitha, and Kirche. She dragged Saito away immediately and ran to her room, where they were finally alone.
"I'm glad that's over." She said.
"Yeah." Saito sighed. "We should probably have our clothes made tomorrow by the way. We can't forget about our coronations."
Louise nodded. "Any ideas as to what you're going to wear?"
"I have a few. We'll figure it out tomorrow." Saito replied as he laid down on Louise's bed.
Louise changed her clothes at this point. Normally, Saito would be having perverted thoughts, but he had somehow changed after the time he spent in Halkeginia for a second time. Perhaps it was because he was now engaged or because he had too much on his mind. Either way, he didn't see anything wrong with the situation.
One thought, however, did cross his mind. He quickly activated his magic and looked at her abdomen. Again, he saw one large ball of light. Before she could notice, he deactivated his magic, laying back on the bed with relief. She put on her night gown and laid down next to him. She put her hand on his chest. Even through his clothes, she could feel several scars on his body.
"What happened to you?" She asked.
"Hm? Oh that." He said. "I hate arrows. That's all I can really say about that."
"Is it from when you fought Albion." She replied.
"Yeah. Some of them are new though." He said.
She felt bad upon hearing this. It had never occurred to her just how much he had been hurt for her sake. A feeling of guilt quickly overcame her. Saito noticed her suddenly gloomy mood, so he kissed her forehead to cheer her up.
"I would gladly get every single one of them again as long as you're with me. Don't feel bad about it." He said, giving her as sincere a smile as possible.
She instantly felt better and gave him a kiss. They remained like that for several minutes before Louise finally fell asleep. Saito, who again did not feel tired, laid awake next to her. He thought about how since returning to Halkeginia, he had no time to figure out why he was sent back in time in the first place. He knew that the only other major threat that he knew for sure he would have to face was the Ancient Dragon. However, this was at least one year away, so it didn't bother him so much.
"Feeling troubled, boy?" Said a voice that Saito recognized.
"I'm just thinking of the future, Gandalfr. I don-wait. How come I can hear you?" He asked in his head.
"Since you removed my seal, its made it easier for me to communicate with you." Gandalfr said.
"Oh. That makes…some sense maybe. Anyway, I'm fine. I'm just thinking about the next few days." Saito replied.
"You must be honored." Gandalfr said.
"More like anxious. By the way, why can't I sleep?" Saito asked.
"It is most likely from stress. I myself require periods of sleep in order to perform correctly, so I doubt it has anything to do with fusing with my other self." Ganalfr explained.
"I guess I do need a little relaxation. I won't be getting any for a while though." Saito said. "Hey, is there a way you can put me to sleep?"
"That is not a power I possess. Force yourself to fall asleep." Gandalfr replied.
Saito said nothing afterwards. He held Louise closer to himself, letting her presence relax him until eventually, he fell unconscious.
He woke up the next morning to the sight of Louise getting dressed. He was extremely groggy, but forced himself to get up.
"We have to have clothes made today right?" He asked.
"Yeah. We should probably leave before Kirche and the others know. After all, they don't know the coronation is for us." She replied.
"Yeah, you're probably right." Saito replied.
He quickly put on his clothes. Before long, both of them were outside the gates of the academy. They found a carriage to take them to a nearby town. They wandered around for a little while before they managed to find a tailor shop.
"I've heard good things about this shop." Louise said. "We'll be able to have anything that we want made here."
"Great. I guess I'll see you in a few hours." Saito replied, smiling at her. "I'm looking forward to seeing what you wear tomorrow."
She nodded and they both walked into the store. An old man and an old woman greeted them.
"My, what a beautiful young woman!" Said the old lady.
"And such a dashing young man!" Said the old man. "My name is Ko. This is my wife, Lili."
"Nice to meet you both." Saito and Louise said, bowing.
"I am Hiraga Saito. This is my fiancé, Louise de la Valliére." Saito said.
"A pleasure to meet you." The told old people said as they bowed.
"May I ask where you are from, Ko? Your name sounds foreign." Saito said.
"As does yours, young sir. I'm from a land far away. I hardly remember what it looks like anymore. Anyway, it's always nice to see young ones like yourselves getting married. It really warms my heart." He said, laughing.
"Now then, I'm sure you two didn't come here to make small talk." Lili said. "What kind of clothes would you like?"
"Well, we need clothes that would be fit for a king and a queen. That's why we came here. I heard you could make custom clothes for people." Louise said.
"Indeed we can." Ko replied. "But why for a king and queen?"
"We're going to be performing in a play of sorts, so we need costumes to wear." Saito said. He had already thought of an excuse, just in case they would need one.
"Ah, I see." Ko said. "Lili can help your future wife with her clothes. What do you say you and I help you pick something nice, eh?"
"Sure thing!" Saito replied, excitedly. "See you later, Louise!"
She smiled at him as he ran into the men's section of the store, while she and Lili browsed the woman's section. For several hours, they all looked through a variety of different materials and designs. By the time they were done, the sun had already begun to set. During this time, Saito had attempted to ask Ko more about his origins, but Ko skillfully dodged every question.
After they had finished having their clothes ordered, Ko and Lili had told Louise and Saito to wait at the entrance of the building. They didn't know why they had to wait there, but they made pleasant small talk as they did. After a few minutes, Ko and Lili came out of a back room holding two boxes with Louise and Saito's names on them.
"These are your clothes. We hope you like them!" They said.
"How did you finish these so quickly?!" Saito asked.
"It's our special magic!" Lili said, smiling. "It's top secret, so we can't tell!"
"Oh okay." Saito said, with his curiosity now overflowing. "Thanks anyway! See you later!"
The old couple bowed as Saito and Louise went on their way. It took them about an hour or so to get back to the Academy. When they finally arrived, they found their friends sitting outside, obviously talking about Louise.
"Hello, everyone!" Louise said.
"Hi, Louise!" Montmorency said. "What's with the boxes?"
"Oh, this is just some stuff we had to pick up for the Queen." Louise said. "We have to leave for the palace tonight, we just stopped by to say goodbye for now. We'll see each other at the coronation tomorrow, okay?"
"Right!" They all said in response.
Saito gave them a small salute before he and Louise went back into their carriage and headed towards the capital of Tristain, Tristania.
As soon as they arrived at Henrietta's palace, they went to their room, where Louise instantly fell asleep. Saito, rather strangely, also felt tired. He laid down next to Louise and fell asleep within a few minutes.
He woke up early the next morning. Louise had already woken up and was stroking his cheek.
"Good morning, Your Highness." She said, smiling at him.
"Good morning, Your Majesty." He said.
He gave her a kiss and sat up. His back felt rather stiff, which he assumed was because of improper posture.
"The coronation takes place at noon, so around 4 hours from now." Louise said. "We have a little bit of time before we have to prepare."
He laid back down in bed, realizing she was probably right. "Yeah. So what do you want to do?" He asked.
She laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes. "I'm fine like this." She said.
He felt extremely happy. However, she suddenly looked at him with concerned eyes. "Your spine feels weird." She said.
It was then that he realized that her hand was on his back the whole time. "I just slept awkwardly. Nothing to worry about." He replied.
"If you say so. I'll have someone look at it later." She said as she laid her head back onto him.
They lay together for 3 hours, talking about where they were from and what they did as children. Unfortunately, they were soon interrupted by the growing sound of a crowd outside.
"I guess it's time to get ready." Saito said.
Louise nodded and stood up. They each went to separate rooms to change into their clothes. In his changing room, Saito found Alexandre.
"Hey, how've you been?" Alex said.
"Pretty good. I just can't wait for all this to end." Saito replied.
Alex nodded in agreement. "Well, let's get changed."
It took them quite a long time to change. When they were finally finished, they looked into a mirror with each other. Alex, who knew nothing of royal attire, wore a short, black coat that was lined with silver fur. He had long, grey pants and black leather shoes. He also chose to braid his hair, adding to his look of higher class. Overall, he looked quite dashing, although not particularly kingly.
Saito wore a long dark blue coat which was closed over his chest and stomach. It had bright orange highlights lining its edges. It had short sleeves which only reached halfway between his shoulders and elbows. Inside the coat, he wore a black, long sleeved shirt. He wore long white pants and black shoes. On his hands, he wore white gloves whose openings had orange lining. Derf hung from his back in a dark blue scabbard. Its opening and tip were lined with bronze metal.
"Looking good, Saito." Alex said, admiring his own looks.
"Likewise, Alex." Saito said.
"Why orange though?" Alex asked.
Saito simply pointed at his eyes. The one blue eye he had left was now mostly orange, with blue highlighting the outside of his iris. He turned around, looking at himself in the mirror. Feeling satisfied, he patted Alex on the shoulder and walked out of the room. He went back to his bedroom, where he found Louise tying her hair.
She wore a long light blue dress that was tied behind her back to cover her chest. It was simple, but elegant. It was made out of a material he hadn't seen before. It was very slightly iredescent, shining a shade of dark blue in certain light. She was also wearing long white gloves that reached halfway between her elbows and shoulders. Just like Saito, she wore her engagement ring over her gloves. She chose not to wear any make up, and simply tied her hair instead.
"Is it too simple?" She asked without looking at him.
"It's beautiful." He said, hugging her from behind.
"You look very handsome as well." She said as she turned around.
They shared a long kiss. After pulling apart, they held hands and walked towards the balcony that overlooked the large crowd. It would be there that they would be crowned. On the way, they encountered Alex and Shion.
Shion wore a dark purple silk dress. It covered her chest and had sleeves, leaving the only visible parts of her body being her neck, head, and hands. Her face also seemed to have a small amount of glitter peppered onto it. As beautiful as she looked, she also looked extremely nervous. She was tightly holding Alex's hand, making him feel a little pain.
"Are you ready?" Louise asked.
Everyone nodded. Outside they could hear a large crowd eagerly awaiting their arrival. After a few moments, Henrietta arrived behind them. She was smiling brightly.
"Hello everyone! The time has finally come. I suppose I will introduce you all to the people. Follow me!" She said.
They followed her to the balcony, where she told them to wait before stepping onto it, as she had to properly introduce them. Through the curtains, they could see a massive crowd gathered below them, making each of them feel nervous. 4 red thrones were place on the balcony, behind 3 of which stood Wales, Albrecht, and someone who Saito at first recognized as Tabitha, but soon realized was her identical sister Josette.
Henrietta stepped behind the fourth seat and began to address the public. "Citizens of Tristain and its allies, today, we welcome two new kingdoms into Halkeginia! Their leaders, while young and inexperienced, have proven to be extremely brave and dependable! Please do not underestimate them! So without further ado, I ask these new leaders to please step onto this balcony, so that the citizens of Halkeginia may greet them!"
Behind the curtains of the balcony, Saito, Alex, Shion, and Louise took deep breaths. As the cheers of the crowd strengthened, they stepped into the light of the balcony. The ringing of cheers in their ears was almost deafening. They waved to the crowd, trying their best to look unfazed. In the VIP section of the event, which was located on the roof of a nearby hotel, Saito managed to spot Montmorency, Guiche, Tabitha, Kirche, and Malicorne, who all looked as if they'd seen a ghost.
They sat in each of the thrones set out for them as the 4 rulers standing behind them silenced the crowd. As Saito began to feel uncomfortable, he felt something get put on his head. He turned to look at his companions, who seemed just as confused as him. He soon, however, realized what was happening.
A crown was now resting on his head. It was made of solid silver and had 3 dark blue, circular diamonds in its centre. It was an open crown, allowing the top of his head to be seen. Its placement on his head was at a slight angle, as the crown was not symmetrical. Because of this, the 'center' of the crown was slightly angled on the side of his head.
Louise was given a silver tiara which was encrusted with 12 pink diamonds. Its metal was carved into a very complex shape, but was also symmetrical. Alex had been given an asymmetrical tiara-like crown. It was made of some sort of translucent, white stone and had a large, circular, black opal jewel encased within the stone of the crown.
Shion's crown, made of the same material as Alex's, looked much the same as his. The few differences it had were carvings of what appeared to represent water etched into the stone. The only other difference was that instead of a black gem within the stone, hers was a square shaped purple diamond instead.
"With these crowns, you have been made into the rulers of your lands. Please lead wisely." Henrietta said. She looked down at the crowd, who were waiting in eager silence. "Please, great citizens of Halkeginia, join me in welcoming these two new kings and two new queens. King Alexandre and Queen Shion of Alexandria, as well as King Hiraga and Queen Valliére of Côte de Nice!"
With these words, the crowd roared with cheers and claps. For several minutes, the crowd cheered and air horns were blown to celebrate their coronation. After a while, Henrietta spoke up again.
"I am afraid these new kings are feeling quite exhausted from all of this, so they will go and rest. Please, this will be a week of celebration and happiness. Enjoy yourselves. You will get a chance to meet them once they have rested." She said, smiling to the crowd.
With that she led the 4 new monarchs back into the building. They were clearly shaken by what had happened, so they just sat on the ground and started to laugh. After a few minutes, they got up and took deep breaths.
"Well, I guess its official now." Alex said.
"Yeah." Shion replied. "We have a lot of responsibility now."
"I'm going to relax in our room for a while. Want to come with me, Shion?" He said.
She nodded and looked back at Louise and Saito. "Congratulations, you two." She said, smiling.
She bowed to Henrietta and left with Alex, leaving Henrietta with Saito and Louise. Saito, who was still sitting on the ground, stood up. As he did, he seemed to wince in pain.
"Is your back still bothering you?" Louise asked.
"Yeah. It's probably nothing." He replied.
"I'm taking you to a doctor." Louise said.
"I'll inform our infirmary to prepare for your arrival." Henrietta said. "Take care."
She had a guard escort Saito and Louise to the infirmary. A man in a white lab coat arrived and greeted them.
"Hello. My name is Jacque. The doctor will be with you soon. In the meantime, please lay face down on this table." He said.
Saito was used to dealing with doctors already, so this didn't bother him at all. He removed his coat and laid down on the metal stretcher that was in front of him.
"Can you describe to me the symptoms you experienced?" Jacque said.
"I woke up this morning and my back felt really stiff. It was like there was more weight on it than normal." Saito replied.
"Interesting. I'll go and get the doctor. He'll diagnose you and inform you of what medical action will be taken. It was a pleasure to meet you." Jacque said.
He bowed and left the room. Shortly afterwards, an older woman came into the room wearing a similar lab coat, although hers had badges on her chest, supposedly indicating some kind of rank.
"Hallo!" She said with an accent that sounded somewhat German. "My name is Doctor Anne Braun. Nice to meet you!"
Saito shook her hand. "My name is Hiraga Saito. I assume you're Germanian?" He said.
She nodded. "Ja. Our people are known for our military prowess, but I have no interest in such things, so I came here to become a doctor. I'd like to ask about your name as well, but first, we must figure out what is wrong with your back. My assistant told me that you feel as if your back is supporting more weight than normal. Is this correct?"
Saito nodded. Anne put on gloves and then put her hand on several parts of Saito's spine.
"If your physical mass has not changed at all, the cause of this feeling is mostly likely that your vertebrae are being compressed for some reason. Where do you feel the most pain?" She asked.
"I feel it most in the middle of my back and especially at the base of my spine." He replied.
"I see. Your spine certainly feels extremely tight and stiff. I will have to see the actual vertebrae of your spine to figure out what is causing the compression. Don't worry, no surgery will be needed to do this. Just a little magic." She said.
She left the room for a few minutes before coming back with a large tub of water.
"This is a special kind of water I developed. I infused it with my magic. When it is absorbed by your body, it will cling to your bones for several hours and begin to glow. After that, I put you in a dark room. The water will glow brightly enough at this point for me to be able to see your skeleton in the dark." She explained.
"Where I'm from, we have a technique very similar to that. We don't use it to look at bones though, we use it to find other kinds of diseases. You're a very bright doctor." He said.
"Ah, I'm just an old bag with nothing better to do." She replied, smiling. "Now, please undress and step into this tub. You'll have to remain there for an hour or two for enough water to be absorbed by your body."
"Alright." Saito replied.
He quickly undressed and stepped into the water. It seemed to melt away the stress he felt in his back. He let out a sigh of relief, as this was the best he had felt in several hours.
"Your wife may stay here to keep you company. I'll come back to check on you in two hours." Anne said.
"Thanks for everything, Ms. Braun." Louise said.
"You're very much welcome, Your Majesty." Anne replied before leaving the room.
"How do you feel, Saito?" Louise asked.
"I feel great. The water is really relaxing." He replied.
"How do you plan to rule the nation?" She asked, rather bluntly.
"Well, back in my world, we used to have powerful kings and emperors. In the modern day though, most countries that have kings only have them for historical purposes. A king cant really work anymore in my world because most of them are corrupt and people like to be treated fairly. So, I want my subjects to be treated fairly. It's a small nation right now, so we have no reason to have heavy taxes on anyone. I thought a little about these things, you know. You didn't think I was that stupid, did you?" He said, looking at Louise.
"No, no! Of course not! It's just that I have no idea how to help you lead a country. I don't know what to do." She said quite sadly.
Saito held her hand. "You can help me by being at my side for as long as we rule together. I'm guaranteed to make mistakes and you're the only one who can steer me down the right path. Besides, making you happy is my number one priority, so everything will end up okay. You're a good person, so whatever will make you happy will definitely be a good thing."
Feeling happier now, she kissed his forehead. They sat alone for the one and a half hours telling each other fictional stories until a thought crossed Saito's mind. He thought about the book that Colbert had shown him so long ago.
"Hey, Louise." He said. "Don't you think Gandalfr kind of looks like that thing in the book Colbert showed me?"
She thought to herself for a few minutes. "I suppose he does. Why?"
"I'm going to ask him about it later. Maybe he knows something and hasn't told me for whatever reason." He replied.
"Mind if I talk to him with you?" She asked. "Just in case he becomes stubborn."
"Okay. Sure." He said.
After a few minutes, Dr. Braun came back into the room. "Alright!" She said. "Let's see how you're doing."
She handed him some white robes and waited for him to change. After he put them on, she took the tub of water away. She then came back and examined Saito's body.
"Okay. I'm going to put you in a dark room. Your bones will be shining brightly enough for me to see any imperfections." She explained.
Saito nodded. Dr. Braun led him and Louise to a wall made entirely of glass. Behind the glass, they couldn't see anything because it was completely dark. He walked through a door that led into the room. Dr. Braun turned all nearby lights off and waited for a few seconds. After a while, a glowing structure could be seen behind the wall of glass. It slowly got brighter until it was easily recognizable as a human skeleton.
Dr. Braun examined his body for several minutes. After some time, she turned on the lights and called Saito to her.
"Did you find anything?" He asked.
"Yes. It seems that you are…growing extra vertebrae…I counted two in total." She said. She sounded like she didn't believe what she was saying.
"What? So that's why it hurts?" Louise asked.
"Yes. It appears that the extra bones growing in your back are compressing the pre-existing vertebrae, causing them to feel pain. It's not a condition I've worked with before, so this is my hypothesis." Dr. Braun explained.
"Is there a way to fix this?" Saito asked.
"The only possible method of fixing this would be spinal surgery, but that is very risky and potentially lethal. I also do not think that you, who has just been crowned a king, should undergo a surgery this early into your reign." She explained.
"What could cause this?" Louise asked with concern.
"The only cause that comes to mind is that it may be hereditary. Children may be born with one extra vertebrae in their backs, but this rarely causes problems in their lives. Did anyone in your family ever have this condition?" Dr. Braun asked Saito.
He shook his head. "No one in my family has ever had any back problems at all."
"I see." Braun said. "Then unfortunately, I will have to keep monitering you until you stop feeling this pain, or until a reasonable explanation is found. Tell me, how bad is this pain?"
"It's not that bad. It just feels like I've been standing for a really long time." He replied.
"Okay. I will have a herbalist make you a pain killer. It should stop the feeling of aching in your back. I will visit you personally once a week to check on you and make sure whatever is happening to your back won't potentially prove lethal. If that becomes the case, surgery will be our only option." She explained.
"Thank you, Ms. Braun." Louise said.
She and Saito bowed to her and then left to their room in the palace. For several minutes, neither of them said anything. The mood in the room was gloomy and tense. It was as if the world around them came to a stop, as there wasn't a sound to be heard. After a few minutes, Louise finally decided to speak up.
"Do you think this has something to do with Gandalfr?" She asked.
"We should probably ask him." He replied.
She nodded and looked into his eyes. Before she knew it, she woke up in front of a giant, sleeping beast. Saito was standing next to her, holding her hand. He looked up at the sleeping beast and called its name. Within a few moments, it stirred in its sleep. It soon mustered the strength to sit up straight and look down at Saito and Louise.
"What do you want, boy?" He said, clearly upset that he was woken up.
"I'm sure you're already aware, but my spine is undergoing some kind of change. I want to know if this has anything to do with you." Saito said.
"It most likely does." Gandalfr said, bluntly.
"Is it going to kill him?" Louise asked.
"Absolutely not. It will cause discomfort for a little while, but it should go away with some time." He replied.
"Why is this happening to me?" Saito asked.
"Who knows. Whatever about your body changes normally shouldn't be extremely outstanding. Maybe your back will become stronger or something along those lines. Time will tell. Now, what else do you want from me?" Gandalfr said.
"Do you have a relationship with a being called Soren?" Louise asked.
"I seem to remember telling this boy that that being is nothing more than a legend conjured up by humans." He replied.
"You look eerily similar to the illustrations, that's all." Louise continued.
"If anything comes to mind, I will inform you. As of now, I hold no knowledge of such affairs. Now, if you will kindly excuse me, I would like to continue my nap." Gandalfr said as he laid back down and closed his eyes.
Saito and Louise decided against pursuing him any further. They both woke up in their bedroom after a few seconds.
"He definitely knows something." Louise said.
"Yeah. We should probably hold off on asking him about it for a while, though." Saito replied.
With his back still feeling uncomfortable, Louise helped him back into his coronation clothes and put his crown on his head.
"It's a good look for you." She said as she kissed his forehead.
He held her hand and looked into her eyes. Slowly, he leaned in to kiss her, but he was interrupted when Montmorency, Guiche, Tabitha, and Malicorne barged into their room. They looked somewhat furious, but were waiting for Saito and Louise to say something.
"H-Hey." Saito said, nervously.
"Hey…" They all said at once.
Everything was silent for several, uncomfortable moments. After a while, Guiche decided to speak up.
"So Saito, how does one such as yourself ascend to the rank of King?" He asked.
"Well, I did some stuff in the time that I was here. It's technically top secret, so I can't tell you the details." Saito said. "I hate to be immodest, but had I not arrived here, you would all most likely be dead."
"Still, it seems kind of suspicious." Guiche said.
"Come on, Guiche. Don't be jealous." Malicorne said.
"I'm not jealous! I'm just being cautious!" Guiche said.
"Either way, they're only small pieces of land. It's nothing major." Louise said.
"For now." Montmorency replied. "So…I assume you two are going to need some kind of advisors to help you right?"
"We'll choose our advisors sooner or later." Saito said, well aware of Montmorency's intentions. "Besides, for now, it's customary for us to visit our allied countries. We'll sort out everything else when that is done."
Saito was becoming increasingly irritated. Not because of his friends, but because his spine was starting to bother him more and more. He tugged the back of Louise's dress without the others noticing. She understood immediately what he meant.
"We're really tired from all of this, so could you please leave us to rest in peace?" She asked politely. "We'll catch up later."
She quickly rushed them out of the door and shut it behind them, locking it. With his friends gone, Saito laid down on the bed. Louise could tell that he was in agony, so she prepared a bath for him to help soothe him.
As he sat in his bath, the pain from his spine began to dissipate.
"How cruel." He thought to himself. "God made me a king, but gave me this in return. Still, at least it will go away. At least, that's what Gandalfr says. But I don't really know that much about him. Should I even trust him? Surely he could have killed me if he wanted to, so I guess I have no choice anyway."
As he pondered for several minutes, the warm water soon caused him to fall into a deep sleep. His dreams were haunted by images of monsters that looked like Gandalfr. One in particular frightened him. He couldn't get a good look at its features, but it somehow stood out to him.
He woke up only ten minutes later. The water in his bath had begun to evaporate because the barrier he kept around his body had been turned off in his sleep. He got dressed in pajamas and went to his bed, where Louise was waiting for him.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
"Yeah. Just had a bad dream." He replied.
"Well, you should try and rest more. I'll sleep with you this time, so you don't have to be afraid." She said.
He smiled and gave her a kiss. After staying awake for a few minutes, he finally dozed off, with the thoughts of his previous nightmare still fresh in his head. As frightening as his dream had been, he decided that he wanted to see it again.
"Maybe." He thought to himself. "Maybe that nightmare could help me find out why I'm here."
It was a thought that was fueled by hope. Although he was happy, he still had not forgotten his mission. To find out how he was sent through time and, as a byproduct, by who.
Author's Notes:
Wow, this was a long chapter. For any of you still reading this, all I have to say is, you are a persistent bunch aren't ya? Not that I'm complaining of course. Thank you so much for reading! Please send me PM's about what you'd like to see. Anything from transformations and new races, to time skips and deaths. Anything that pops into your head! Anyway, thanks for reading!