This small chapter segment is optional, as it's not entirely a huge segment/plot moving, but I thought I'd write it up since it would show what's going on, alongside explaining one last thing.

Interlude: Aftermath

The rain fell.

It had been falling for the past three days.

The rain came down without any signs of stopping, its steady staccato constantly mashing against the ground, clouding any person's vision in a deep greyscale. Fortunately for Kurt's students, the Contact Light had been reinforced so that the rain could not leak in nor cause the ground to collapse on it. No matter how heavy the mud, no matter the amount of rain that piled up on it… no matter how long she waited.

…The rain fell upon Tabitha. Just like it had been for the past three days.

In this whitewash, she didn't really care. Class would begin soon, with any luck. Her teacher was late, but then again he was never on time to begin with.

Sylphid nudged her slightly, trying to get her attention to the covered food box next to her. She dropped her voice to a whisper. "Master… Master… please eat."

But Tabitha just stood there like a stone, slowly weathering away in the rain. Her cloak was soaked in water, to the point it didn't even help her from the rain. Her hair was just as drenched, the light blue locks obscuring her vision. She was barely on her feet, using her staff as standing support.

"Ngh…!"

Eventually, it became too much. Tabitha collapsed from sheer exhaustion, falling asleep as she sank into the mud.

"Tabitha?!"

It had been fifteen minutes since she began sleeping. Kirche and Louise shook her, with Louise immediately picking her up. Kirche gave her a concerned look, but Louise didn't look like she was having any trouble lifting the blue haired girl.

After all, Kirche didn't know about the fact Louise was constantly weight and strength training now.

It didn't take very long to carry her up to Louise's room, where Louise laid her on the bed, uncaring of the mud and dirt. Kirche came in with another batch of food as Louise got to work with the knife she now kept in her room.

"When did you start using a knife?" Kirche asked as Louise cut through the damp and sticky clothing.

"After Kurt taught me how useful they are. I'd just cloth scissors, but I don't keep them handy. Can you get to my drawer and take out two of the towels? I want to dry her and make sure she doesn't get sick."

"When did you and Tabitha get so close?"

"When I found her out there two days ago." Louise said calmly as she removed the sticky clothing from Tabitha's body. "We talked as I forced her to eat something."

Kirche looked out the window into the torrent. "Ah… life has been pretty dull without Kurt, hasn't it?"

"…Yes."

After she laid Tabitha out on the clean area of the bed, Louise walked over to her drawer and pulled out the MP3 player Kurt left behind. Like always, she pulled out the plug that connected to the headphones before turning it on and pressing play just as he taught her.

She had cast a translation spell (which, now that she thought about it, wasn't useful for much other than talking to animals since everyone besides Kurt spoke the same language) on it so she could understand the words that it played.

That song that he taught to everyone, it always played some time during the day. As its solemn melody rang on, Louise got to work with Tabitha, drying her and making sure she was okay.

After all… Kurt wouldn't want his students getting sick because of the fact he was running late.

"Hm…?"

"You're awake." Louise noted as she held a bowl of soup near Tabitha. "When was the last time you ate, besides when I crammed a piece of toast into your mouth?"

"…Three days."

"Eat." Louise commanded, offering Tabitha a spoon that the light blue haired girl took. She began to eat slowly, wrapped in towels. Kirche came over and kneeled behind the both of them, wrapping them both in one of each of her arms. "Kirche?"

"Awww, it's so beautiful, isn't it? After all, there's no need to hide the fact we all have a thing for him now, is there?"

Kirche gave a smile that sent shivers down the spines of both Louise and Tabitha… though both of them could agree that it was nice to have someone there while he was gone.

As much as Louise didn't want to admit it, being like this with Kirche and Tabitha wasn't so bad. But perhaps, it just didn't compare to his grasp.

Even if he had left her just like that, it was for her life. A life that she didn't want back, at first, with all the nightmares and voices that haunted her whenever she wanted to just sleep. And sometimes, they didn't even wait until the realm of dreams to show themselves.

But she just had to remember what happened.

Just like when they first met.

Kurt had believed in her.

He had believed in her from the very beginning. When he had willing—despite all of his strength, all of his power, all of his ability—signed himself to her as her partner, even if she was seemingly weak. He had given her the way to power, trusting that she would succeed.

Maybe that's why… he did that. Why he willingly threw himself into the battle.

Because he… believed I could survive and live on. That I could overcome the voices. That I could… not want to rest forever, that I wouldn't want to die.

Is that why this storm is still here…? Are you still watching over us all, making sure we're okay before you pass?

"How are the flooding protection systems holding up?" Henrietta asked, lacking any amount of emotion in her voice other than a small amount of concern for her people.

Cardinal Mazarin looked at the back of the princess, bowing. "They are holding just as good if not better than what Sir Bright expected."

"…Sir…? I don't recall us knighting him." Henrietta said, letting each word almost hang in the air.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty, it was a slip of the tongue. It's what some of the commoners are calling him. Sir Bright, Knight of Brightest Light, Sword of Storms, the list goes on and on… in addition to his other titles that he has been quoted having. The commoners almost worship him at this point. He's a hero to Tristain, not to mention the fact he's clearly been heard to say that he doesn't have any alliance with Tristain. There's rumors he did it only to protect his friends, too. Did you really… give the command?"

"No. I gave no such command to hold a last stand. The news just reached my ears. Those generals have something to answer for, especially since it seems they were trying to keep me from knowing…"

"Indeed."

"But is it true? Did he… really go and fight of his own accord?"

"…I thought you'd like to read this." Mazarin answered, avoiding the question.

Cardinal Mazarin bowed his head slightly as he handed the small stack of papers to Henrietta. It was Louise's report from the operation. He had already read it before coming to meet Henrietta, making him hesitant to hand it to her.

One paragraph had stuck out at him.

For a second, before I passed out from the sleeping pills, Kurt looked so much at peace as he caught me. Like everything was going to be okay. I remember him handing me to Guiche and just as the last bit of my consciousness slipped, I could see him walking away with a smile on his face. If… if I may, I would just like to say that I could have sworn he mouthed "I'm coming home."

He had considered editing the document to omit this line, but perhaps it might help her. He could see the way the princess looked at that strong man, who exuded an aura of strength and conviction. He was the very sort of man that no doubt countless women would fall for: an exotic look, cold, calculating, yet with an obvious soft center with the way you could see him interact with the Vallerie girl.

"Your Majesty, do you believe he's dead?"

"…I don't know what to believe when it comes to Kurt Bright." Henrietta admitted, sinking her head down. "I would like to believe that he did die, to comfort and set this heart of mine to rest. But… no corpse has been found and the storm rages on as if, as the people have said, it is searching for her master."

"Like his title would presume?"

"Yes…"

"Also, there is the several nobles that are making their push—"

"I know that they are trying to make their pushes back against the change I have implemented, without Kurt here to battle them for their value. I will still hold my stance that those issues will have to be on hold until the peace has been fully set in. Even if we won, the entire of the deal with Albion and its newly implemented government must still be settled. We don't want another war like this."

"I see. I shall… inform them once again."

"Oh, and please remind Musketeer Commander Agnes that Operation Origin will begin in two days."

"Of course."

With that, Mazarin bowed and left the room.

She put the documents on the desk in her room, deciding to read them later. There would be plenty of time to look over them. The only that would really intrigue her would be Louise's, or so she thought now. She was concerned for her closest friend and would be sneaking out of the castle later to check on her.

She wished he was here. To be the blade of lightning that lit up the storms that rained over her as a queen. To give her direction, somehow knowing and predicting events with scary precision. Every day, she waited for new for the search, hoping that the hero of Tristain would return.

No corpse meant hope. Even now, the bodies were being sorted through on the hills of Saxe-Gotha. Endless rivers of blood and bodies—not just human ones, at that—littered the once clean countryside, forever tainting it with a memorial of a war no one wanted to remember.

Henrietta had visited once, just to see it for herself. Being of royalty, she had to compose herself, but the very instant she was able to without fear of being seen, vomited out the sick twist in her stomach. To think he had waded through all of that in the defense of those he cared for.

She had also run into the commander of the enemy army, who said something that had given her hope.

"He was not dead. We are only alive because he requested multiple times that we stop fighting after showing us what he could do. He even gave us multiple chances to just… leave. Because he didn't want to kill us. I last saw him just walk away when we were finished. I… believe he is still alive."

And to that sliver of hope, she held fast.

Henrietta sighed as she threw herself on the bed, curling up as she watched the rain fall outside. She wrapped the blankets around herself as she closed her eyes, hearing her breathing.

She wanted comfort. She wanted someone to hold her close, in these troubling times. To give her strength, to give her security. She wanted that embrace that she gave him, back when it was raining in the inn and she almost sank to absolute despair.

K-kurt… please… where are you…?

Could you… hold me again?

Guiche looked out upon the statue he was creating with his bare hands, having used his magic to create a dome around it to shield it from the rain.

He breathed deeply, leaning back on the wall. Montmorency knelt down next to him, handing him a glass of water, as he wiped off his sweat.

"Guiche, you should stop for now."

"I can't… I can't stop now. I've got to finish… because there's those that want the world to forget about him…" Guiche panted, standing back up on his feet. "And the new kids, the ones that are coming in the spring after this winter ends, they need to know. They need to know who he is and what he did."

"Guiche, you need to rest. You've been working on it whenever you're awake, aside from eating." Montmorency argued back, tugging on his sleeve. "Please, Guiche…"

He turned around to say something back, but saw the tears running down her puffed up, reddened eyes. With a small sigh, he nodded and decided to let her move him along.

"Mon Mon… those new kids, when they arrive."

"Yes, Guiche?" she asked, slightly squeezing his hand.

"…They won't understand a thing of what happened here. How everything's changed because of this war. Because of Kurt and everything he did here at the Academy. They'll be…" He paused, as if considering some horror. "…Like us before."

"Mhm… We weren't exactly the best people before." Montmorency got a small smile—the first she had seen in a while from Guiche—as he chuckled.

"No, no we weren't. But I think we've all changed for the better."

Guiche stopped as they passed by a special area of the Academy, one that would be sacred and hallowed to the current students of the Academy.

"At least… those of us who remained so that we could change."

Kurt… Please, come back. There is so much that have yet to learn from you.

"Headmaster."

"Professor Colbert?"

Osmand looked up from his work on his desk, finding Colbert with a somewhat concerned look on his face. "What is it?"

"Ah, a query regarding my new classes that I am to teach. I know you may find some amusement in regards to a man surrounded by many young women, however I would just like confirmation on a theory I have on why my only classes are one hundred percent female."

"…It has to deal with the situation that happened at the Academy during the war."

"That's what I thought."

"I wouldn't have rearranged them if it only a very small amount that requested to have you for Fire classes. But when all three years, especially the third years who are about to leave, asked to have you not only this year, but for the other years they attend this institution, I felt like I had to honor their request."

"Ah… Though, they will need to have someone besides me to truly move on. I will teach, but…"

"I understand, Colbert. But the very least we can do for now is to help them in these trying and desperate times when we're all still recovering from the war."

"Who…?"

A certain half elf walked through the forest, which had its fair share of destruction. She found a sword in the ground, talking to the young man who was slumped up against a tree, clearly bleeding out. On his head was a fallen tree branch, with blood clearly where it had hit his head.

"Kurt, please! Wake up! Kurt, Kurt! Please… don't be like every master of mine before me… for once, could a wielder of mine just die in peace…?"

She gripped her wand tightly, hiding out of sight of the sword. A million thoughts ran through her mind. But then she looked again… she made up her mind.

She took a few steps forward and kneeled down next to him. He wasn't breathing. She moved her head to her heart. His heart wasn't beating. Nothing at all.

…He was dead.

"Get back!" the talking sword yelled.

She only managed to throw herself back and onto her bottom in time as lightning fell from the skies, shocking the corpse. She covered her eyes for a good thirty seconds before walking forward again.

She knelt down put her head next to his chest.

Ba-dum ba-dum. Ba-dum ba-dum. She heard, much to her surprise.

…His heart was beating again. As if the storm had struck exactly to bring him back to life.

"Oh thank goodness…! Kurt, oh…!" the sword cried out, leaning up against the corpse—or perhaps recently revived man—as if meaning to hug him.

All the thoughts of erasing his memory and sending him on his way evaporated with those few words.

I… I can cure him.

Just a short interlude I thought I'd throw together, featuring some of the characters Kurt was very close to.

Now for some brief commentary on the individual sections:

Louise/Academy: I just wanted to show the fact Louise still hasn't gotten over the nightmares and is slowly coming to terms with what Kurt did.

Henrietta: Wanted to develop the fact Henrietta is attracted to Kurt and the fact that part of her is physically seeking him, especially due to that day in the rain where they were in the inn. I added this in to show more of Henrietta behind the mask that she shows to Kurt and the others, as with cultural/social change, Kurt obviously would be working with Henrietta, and their relationship will also be a pivotal section in that area.

Guiche: Wanted to give a bit of world development, as the third years would be leaving soon, so I'm setting things up for later.

Colbert: Again, a bit more world/setting development, setting up what Kurt could come back to.

Final Scene: How I handled Kurt's death. The lightning strike was a bit of a defibrillator, as Kurt's heart had stopped, but it wasn't brain dead. If I recall my brief research, you can possibly be okay if in that small window, someone revives you with one. Or if I was wrong, maaaagic lightning XD I was also setting up some characterization.

Anyways, that's everything I wanted to say. See the next chapter for the review reply stuff and whatnot!