Author's Notes:

Hey guys! Sorry for the delay on this chapter. I was thinking about how to go about it. After a long period of pondering it, I just decided to wing it and see how it goes. So if it's absolute rubbish, now you know why. Anyway, with that out of the way, enjoy chapter 21!

Chapter 21: Complications

Saito woke up rather late in the morning. It had been a week since his coronation, and the festival celebrating Shion, Alex, Louise, and himself was still ongoing. Today, he and his friends would have to leave the Palace they were staying in to meet the citizens that had come to their coronation ceremony. The problem was, of course, that Saito was not currently very healthy.

Louise was nowhere to be found, so he decided that he was probably supposed to wake up hours ago. He stood up and attempted to walk to his bathroom to bathe, but he was unable to walk without some kind of support. With nothing nearby that he could use as a cane, he laid back down in bed, brooding over his condition. After about an hour, Louise came into the room with Dr. Braun.

"Hello, Your Highness." Dr. Braun said as she bowed towards him.

"Please, just call me Saito." He said.

"As you wish. Her Majesty Ms. Valliére came to find me saying that your back was being abnormal. Is that true?" She asked.

"Abnormal? It feels the same as it did last week." He replied.

"Well, let's see about that." Dr. Braun said. "Please remove your shirt and turn around."

Somewhat confused, Saito turned around and removed his shirt. He felt Dr. Braun's cold hands examining his spine. She poked it and moved it for several minutes before sitting on a chair in the room in deep thought. After a few minutes, she got up and closed all of the curtains, making the room pitch black. Saito was confused, but he heard Louise gasp in surprise, leading him to believe something was wrong.

"Louise, is something wrong?" He sheepishly asked.

"Your spine is visible through your skin." Dr. Braun said. "It's emitting a dull red glow."

She poked his back and pulled back extremely quickly.

"It's also emitting a very high amount of heat." She said as she sucked her burnt finger. "Is there something about you that I should know. This is definitely something unnatural."

He remained silent. No matter what he said now, Braun would know he's lying. However, he knew he couldn't tell her about the creature that was living inside him. He couldn't tell her about his status as a special kind of familiar. If information about that became known to the public, it could cause unrest and put his friends in danger.

"He is my familiar, Gandalfr. Because of the that, his body is experiencing some changes that we can't explain." Louise finally said.

Saito was too shocked and frightened to be able to argue against her decision. He simply watched as Dr. Braun listened to the rest of Louise's explanation. Luckily for him, Louise had refrained from telling Braun about the monster that lived inside of him, as well as how he was somehow transported two years back in time. She did, however, explain Gandalfr's existence and described his appearance.

"I see." Braun said when Louise was finally finished. "I am not particularly knowledgeable about familiars and the like, but it appears that being your familiar is changing his body. If that's the case, I'm afraid that I cannot give any substantial help. Would you like me to refer you to another doctor?"

"No." Saito said. "I was actually going to ask Henrietta if you could be our personal doctor. You've been really nice and I think you'd like my country. It's completely up to you, of course."

Dr. Braun thought for a few seconds, then smiled at the two. "That sounds great! Just make sure you pay me enough to afford my retirement, okay?" She said, jokingly.

"Of course." Saito and Louise said at once. "Now, about my back. I think our only option here is to wait for all of this to fix itself."

"How are you going to go out today if you can barely stand by yourself?" Louise asked.

"I've felt worse pain before. I'll just grit my teeth and deal with it. Leaders have to be strong, right?" He replied.

"Okay." Louise conceded. "But if you ever feel too tired, tell me. I'll have you sent home immediately."

He nodded and stood up. Louise helped him get into his clothes. He admired how he looked in the mirror before finally putting on his crown. He turned around and put Louise's crown on her head. He gave her a kiss and then they left the room with Dr. Braun, who insisted that they call her by her first name.

As they walked through the halls of the place towards the exit, they encountered Henrietta. She was going to be accompanying them into the festival, so Saito wanted to ask her a few questions.

"So, what are we supposed to do at the festival?" He asked.

"You're going to be paraded through town. Just make sure you look friendly. You'll have a short speech to address the citizens in the city. After that, the flags you chose for your nations will be unraveled and a massive party will be held. At this point, you may do as you please." Henrietta explained.

"Sounds like a long day." He sighed. "Anne, you can take the day off. I'll be fine."

Dr. Braun bowed. "Thank you very much, Saito. Have a good time, Ms. Louise." She said.

Saito, Louise, and Henrietta left the palace and got into a large, open carriage which was pulled by a large dragon. Alex and Shion were in a separate carriage that was parked alongside Saito and Louise's.

As soon as they got into the carriage, it began to move towards the center of the city. On either side of the road they were taking, large crowds waved at them. They threw flowers and gifts onto them as they cheered their arrival.

It took them about 3 hours for them to pass through every part of the city. When they finally reached the centre, they were beckoned onto a large stage. They would have to give a speech to address the country. All four of them had subconsciously decided that Saito would speak for himself and Louise, while Alex would speak for himself and Shion.

They stood on the stage in predesignated spots. As the crowd died down in noise, Saito began to speak. Some kind of magic was used to amplify his voice so that the whole city could hear him. It made him very nervous, but he spoke clearly anyway.

"When I was younger, I used to dream about being the King of my land. It was a dream that I, of course, never thought that it would happen. I never thought that I would amount to anything. I was average, if not bad, at everything. However, after I arrived here, I was taught that working hard could help to accomplish anything. I worked hard because I found someone that supported me and that I wanted to protect. Honestly, I have no experience in being any kind of ruler, but as long as she is with me, I'm sure everything will work out perfectly."

As he finished, the crowd burst into a cheer. He bowed and held Louise's hand. She could tell from his grip that he was extremely uncomfortable, but she couldn't say anything yet. As the crowd quieted down again, Alex cleared his throat and began his speech.

"Hello everyone. Like my comrade, His Majesty Hiraga, I never thought I would be in this position. In fact, I never aimed to be anything higher than a plebian. As a result, I ended up doing some awful things. Out of guilt and a lack of family or friends to go back to, I agreed to become a king. I hope that during my reign, I am able to atone for my countless sins by serving my people. Like His Majesty Hiraga, I found a person who I could live and die for. My Queen, Shion. As long as she is by my side, we will rule together happily. Thank you."

Just as he finished his speech, two large flags unraveled behind them. One, which unraveled behind Saito and Louise, was dark blue with the family Valliére crest in it center. The crest was surrounded by a large pink rhombus. The flag behind Alex and Shion was silver with Alex and Shion's initials in its center colored in purple.

With the flags on display, the crowd cheered again. A party in the city had officially began. At this point, Saito immediately headed back to his room with Louise. I took them more than an hour to arrive. When they entered the palace, Saito laid on his bed. He wasn't so much in pain, it was more like a large amount of discomfort.

Louise stroked his hair and before long, he fell asleep. His sleep was at first uncomfortable, but for some reason, he suddenly became more relaxed halfway through a nightmare he was having. In his nightmare, a great storm had come up his country. It was worse than any hurricane he had seen in his own world. However, it soon turned into a pleasant dream, with sunshine and vibrant colors.

He slept until the next morning. Something was tickling his nose, which is what woke him from his sleep.

"Hey, Louise. Stop tickling me." He said, sleepily. He covered himself with his blanket.

After a few seconds, he felt his arms being tickled as well. "Louise, come on. I'm trying to sleep."

He kept feeling it, so he got up and looked around. Louise wasn't in the room. He got up and walked into the bathroom. When he came back, he immediately laid back down and tried to go back to sleep. However, he soon felt the same tickling feeling. This time, however, he didn't say anything. He waited for a few seconds, then in a flash, grabbed the perpetrator.

When he examined what he had in his hands, it was not a person like he was expecting it to be. It was a long, flexible, glowing orange object. The glow seemed to be because it had a large amount of heat stored within it. Surely, if anyone was to touch it other than himself, they would get severe burns. He traced it with his hand, trying to find its origin.

When he did, his heart nearly stopped from fear. It was connected directly to the base of his back. He began to hyperventilate, so he opened his window to breath air from outside. When he finally calmed down, he took the opportunity to examine it. It was, indeed, a tail that was connected directly to the base of his spine. It didn't appear to have any skin. It just looked like a long piece of deep orange light. It felt like it had some mass, and he thought that he could feel the bones inside of it, but other than that, he didn't know anything else.

He paced around the room, thinking about what to do. He could barely control its movements, so it would be hard to sneak through the palace without anyone noticing it. As he was thinking, he heard knock on the door. He immediately jumped into bed, cloaking his body with magic so that he didn't burn the sheets.

Dr. Braun walked into the room and smiled at him. "Good morning, Saito." She said.

"M-Morning!" He replied, nervously.

"I'm just here to check your back. It won't take long." She said.

"About that…" Saito replied. "It feels all better now. No need to check."

"Unfortunately for you, I am a doctor." She said. "I have to do my duties and make sure you're healthy. Remember, you're a head of state now. You're more important than you're willing to realize. Now, turn around."

While making sure his new appendage was covered by his blanket, he reluctantly turned around. He felt her hands again, making their way down his spine. Luckily, he thought, she stopped just before she would have been able to see it. He breathed a sigh of relief.

As he started to relax, Dr. Braun sat on the bed. Unfortunately, she sat right on Saito's tail, causing him to squeal in pain.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing!" He said, obviously in pain.

Unfortunately, he accidentally moved his tail from underneath Dr. Braun, most likely as a reflex. It was now hanging in the air, shining brilliantly. He was extremely embarrassed, so he covered it back up in the blanket.

Dr. Braun did not appear to be in shock, she simply seemed intrigued. Without saying anything, she dragged him out of bed and took him to her lab. Once there, she sat in front of Saito, looking excited.

"So when did this happen?" She asked.

"I don't know. I felt really bad yesterday, so I came to bed early. When I woke up today, I had it." He replied.

"I see. I don't know how to put this nicely, but would you mind if I take a piece to research?" She said.

"Take all of it." Saito replied. "I don't want it."

"Are you sure?" She asked.

"Positive." He replied.

She sighed and said nothing. She went to one of her cupboards and pulled out a long knife.

"Ready?" She said

"Wait, what?! You're just going to cut it off like that?!" He exclaimed.

"Why, yes." She said. "Hold very still."

"Aren't you going to give me a sedative?" He asked.

"You won't need it." She said.

Without allowing him to say another word, she grabbed the tail. However, she soon realized that that was a mistake. It was immensely strong. No normal human could possibly be able to hold it down. Saito hadn't fully learned how to control it, so its movements were erratic, making it hard to hold. That said, she got a syringe from her cupboard and quickly injected Saito with something. Within a matter of seconds, he became still.

He was still very much conscious, but he had been paralyzed. He couldn't even speak, so all he could do was watch in terror as she lifted the blade into the air and brought it down at the base of the tail. However, much to his surprise, he didn't feel any pain.

"Did you think I would do this without enchanting this blade?" She asked him.

She gave him some kind of drink which restored normal function to his body. He was very irritated that she didn't tell him that the blade was enchanted before she actually cut him, but he decided to let it go. She put the severed tail on a metal table and began to examine it.

"I can't make out what its 'skin' is made of, if 'skin' is even the right word. Even its muscle seems to be of some unknown substance. I struggle to even use the word 'muscle' when I'm looking at it." She said.

Using a smaller knife, she cut down the length of the tail. It didn't bleed or excrete any other substances. She slowly pulled it apart, revealing the bone. It didn't look like bone at all. It looked more like stone than bone. It was dark grey and very porous. She cut one of them out to study it more closely.

"I don't know what this is, but it was connected to your spine. I don't know if your spine, or the rest of your body for that matter, could function properly if its structure was made of an alien substance like this." She said.

After a few more minutes, she looked back at Saito. "Why don't you leave this here with me? I'll study it and find out what I can."

Saito nodded. As he was about to reach the door for her office, his back felt excruciating pain, causing him to collapse onto the ground. It went on like this for a few seconds before suddenly, in the blink of an eye, the tail sprouted back from his back. It looked exactly the same as it had before, as if it had never been cut off.

"What the hell?" Saito said to himself.

"It looks like you're going to have to live with it. At the very least, it seems I will have an endless supply of research material." Braun said.

"Yeah." Saito said.

He walked back to his room. He didn't even bother hiding it anymore. When he stepped in, the sight of Louise looking into the mirror and combing her hair greeted him.

"Good morning, Saito." She said, without turning around.

"Good morning, Louise." He replied. "I have a question for you."

"Go ahead." She said.

"Hypothetically, what would you do if my body…changed?" He asked.

"Changed how?" She replied.

"Nothing major. Maybe a small feature or two." He said.

"Well, as long as you were still you, then I wouldn't care." She replied. "Why would you ask?"

"Well, it's just…just turn around." He said.

She turned and looked at him. At first, nothing seemed off to her. However, as she started to pay attention, she noticed the long, wagging appendage attached to his back.

"What is that?" She asked,

"Apparently, that's a part of me now." He said.

"Does it hurt?" Louise said as she became mesmerized by its back and forth movement.

"Not at all." Saito replied. "I can't control it that well yet though."

"I assume this happened to you because of Gandalfr?" She asked.

Saito nodded. "Yeah. I tried removing it, but it just grew back."

"I think it's cute." Louise said. "No one will care if you have it, I'm sure."

"I think it's probably best to hide it for now." Saito said.

Louise smiled and gave him a kiss, making it wag faster.

"You really are like a dog." She said.

It made Saito irritated, but he enjoyed her kiss, so he forgave her. He sat on his bed and closed his eyes. He began to try and gain better control over it. Slowly, he started to learn how to move it. It felt to him like learning to walk for a second time

He managed to perform simple movements, but was interrupted by a knock on his door. He wrapped it around his waist and put on his coat to hide it. Just as he managed to hide it, Albrecht walked through his door. Immediately, Saito raised his guard.

"Hello, Mr. Hiraga." Albrecht said, with a smile on his face.

"What do you want from me?" Saito said, holding Derf, who for weeks had decided to fall asleep.

"Now, Mr. Hiraga, I've simply come to talk. No need for violence." He replied, sitting on one of the chairs in the room.

"Like I asked before, what do you want from me?" Saito said.

Albrecht looked around the room and then directly at Louise, who was standing behind Saito, prepared to draw her wand. "It would be best if just you and I spoke alone. We are the leaders of our countries, after all." He said.

"Louise is my Queen, therefore she holds just as much power as I do. If you have something to say about diplomacy, she must be present." Saito replied.

"Very well." Albrecht said. "I have come here to discuss the relationship between our two nations. You see, because I have attended your coronation ceremony, the public believes that we are already allies. Of course, we know that isn't the case as of now. That is what I wanted to discuss with you. How would you like to be an ally of Germania? You could use our military and economic support, am I wrong?"

"I refuse." Saito said, stiffly.

"I thought you might say that." Albrecht sighed. "It's a shame. How nice it would have been for you to be on the winning side."

"Winning side?" Louise said.

"I speak metaphorically, of course." Albrecht said. "Well, I suppose I will take my leave. Take care. Until we meet again."

With that, he left the room. Saito sat down on his bed and removed his coat, letting his tail wag freely in the air.

"That sounded suspicious." Louise said as she sat down next to him.

"Yeah. Winning side…that could be dangerous. Should we warn Henrietta?" Saito replied.

"We should. Let's just tell her exactly what he said. If she finds it serious enough, she can talk to our other allies about it. They'll trust her and take her seriously." Louise replied.

"I see. Alright, let's go and tell her." Saito said.

Before leaving, he cut a small hole in the back of his coat so that he could put his tail through it.

"I thought you wanted it hidden." Louise said.

"It's better that people see it now rather than later. Besides, it feels uncomfortable when it's covered up." Saito replied.

He put the coat on and walked out of the room with Louise. They quickly made their way to Henrietta's room. Without knocking, they stormed into the room. They were greeted by the sight of Henrietta in her nightgown, enjoying a passionate embrace with Wales of Albion. Everyone remained motionless and silent for several seconds. After some time, Saito and Louise slowly backed out of the room and closed the door.

They waited outside for several minutes, with their faces flushed red in embarrassment. After a while, the door was opened. Henrietta and Wales, who were just as red as Saito and Louise, invited them into the room.

Saito, in an attempt to forget everything that he had just seen, immediately told Henrietta about his meeting with the Germanian emperor. She listened attentively to every detail. When he was finished, she sat on a chair, thinking silently.

After a few minutes, she finally spoke up. "I will inform our allies of his words. As much as I'd rather not believe this, I will have to have our militaries prepared, just in case. Your country will be given soldiers and equipment from each of your ally's militaries to make up your army. Be prepared for the worst."

Saito nodded. "In spite of this, me and Louise will still have to visit Germania. It will look bad in the public eye if we ignore one of the strongest countries in Halkeginia." He replied.

"Understood. You will be more closely guarded when you are in Germania. No harm will come to you or Louise." Henrietta replied.

Saito bowed low, exposing the shining orange appendage attached to his back.

"Saito, what is that?" Wales said.

"Oh, don't worry about that. It's because I'm Louise's familiar. That's all I can really say." Saito replied. "Anyway, we'll let you two get back to…you know."

"Thank you, Saito. I'll leave you be. After all, you now have to start thinking of producing an heir to your throne right?" Wales said, unfazed by Saito's mocking.

This comment defeated Saito. He left the room with Louise, with the sound of Wales's laughter ringing in his ears. When they arrived at their room, Saito sat on his bed, his face red with embarrassment.

"He's right, you know?" Louise said.

"What?!" Saito replied.

Louise laughed at him. "Just a joke!" She said. "We have a lot of years before we have to think about that."

He looked down at the ground. "Yeah…" he said quietly.

"Wait, you actually want kids?" She asked.

"Not now." Saito said. "It's too dangerous. You're right, we have a lot of years before that's even an option. We're not even married yet, after all."

He pouted his face, feeling extremely embarrassed. Louise sat on his lap and gave him a kiss to cheer him up. All the anxiousness that had built up inside of him over the past few months melted away. He slowly kissed her back as they fell onto the mattress. Their lips remained locked together for several minutes. As their passionate embrace escalated, Saito seemed to forget entirely about what he had said earlier, as he covered himself and his bride with a thick blanket and proceeded to make love to her.

Author's Notes:

Again, sorry for the delay! Life doesn't always agree with me. I received a few PM's and a review asking about different elements of the story. I'll do my best to answer them. Anyway, as always, leave a review if you liked the story. Thanks for reading!