Hi It's been a while, hasn't it? Another one of my famous breaks. I've been working on Yuudai's side story more than I should have been doing. So sorry about that. On the bright side, it seems to be doing well. How about you all? Are you all doing well?
Thank you all for your patience, following and favoriting. Without further adieu, let's start.
Chapter 25: Henrietta's New Lady
"I honestly can't remember the last time I was in this palace." Wales states floating next to Yuudai.
"I can. It was when came here right after your death." Yuudai tells him. "Quite a while back it seems."
Louise frowns at her familiar. "Are you quite done talking to your imaginary friend, dog?" She questions. Currently she is upset with Yuudai for ditching her when she was about to dish out his punishment. It was morning time when she found him and the two were already called to princess Henrietta, so she wasn't able to do anything to him.
"Louise Françoise was so much nicer at my castle." Wales comments. The black haired boy nods in agreement.
"No I am not. After all, my so-called imaginary friend isn't trying to treat me like the red headed step child." Yuudai retorts.
Louise tilts her head. "I haven't heard of that term before." She says trying to be angry. She can't be angry if he is saying things that may or may not be a jab at Kirche.
The black haired teen sighs. "I think that is because you've been focused on your lacking magic ability." Yuudai notices Wales has went back into the ring and they have arrived in front of the door to the princess. Or shall they say, queen.
"Remember to show some respect to her even more now that she is queen." Louise tells him.
"I'll try to keep that in mind." He replies adding a little sarcasm in. Louise knocks on the door firmly then waits.
"Come in." Henrietta tells them from inside the room. The two walk in opening the door finding the new queen is standing across the room crossing it quickly. "It's so nice to see you again Louise Françoise and Yuudai!" She half exclaims.
"It's always a pleasure to see me." Yuudai states jokingly having Louise slap him in the back of the head.
"It our pleasure your majesty." Louise says sincerely.
Yuudai rolls his eyes and Henrietta sighs. "Please don't call me that in private. I hear that title so much that the prospect bores me more than being princess." The queen tells her.
"Then I shall call you princess still." Louise relents.
The queen looks to Yuudai remembering that he is now one with Wales. Kind of messes with her head since she loves someone that is in someone else. Very odd thoughts about the situation.
"Well before anything else, I want to reward the two of you for saving everyone in Tarbes." Henrietta says.
Yuudai holds up a hand. "Sorry, but when I came in blasting dragons and Blanc doing whatever she did, we had no intention of receiving more than a thanks." He informs her.
Louise nods in agreement. "For once, he is right."
Henrietta smiles. "Well I may not be able to award land to you Louise Françoise, I am awarding your familiar a peer's title." She announces to the two. This strikes both of them as if a dragon hit them with its tail with all its strength.
"So...that means I can be called...a Lord?" He asks getting a nod from the new queen. Yuudai looks to his side to see Wales gaping at Yuudai. "Lord of Albion?"
"No." All three people state. Yuudai laughs at the three nos.
"Now, since I can't give you any land, will you keep the Founder's Prayer Book and become my Court Lady?" Henrietta asks. Louise's eyes widen even more, if that's possible, unable to speak. "But that means you can't tell anyone else you are a user of Void magic." (Before you say I got this conversation wrong, I know. I'm doing it my way.)
This brings Louise to speak again. "You mean the lost element?" She asks remembering that only the user of Void magic can use any spell from the Prayer Book. "So...I can use magic after all. To think it was Void magic though."
Yuudai slowly walks to the giant conference table taking a seat. Suddenly he feels a strange sensation. The feeling that Louise is saying something that could put themselves in more danger than they already are.
"You'd think she would learn that saying stupid things gets her in bad situations by now." Yuudai mutters to himself.
"I have one more request young Lord." Henrietta says to Yuudai testing out how it would sound. It made Yuudai subconsciously smirk for a moment.
'Why does that mutt get the title of a peer?!' Louise cries out in her mind.
The teen boy stands up. "What would that be Henrietta?"
"Well I asked you already, but this time I want it to be a more permanent thing." She starts. "Louise has decided that she wants to do everything in my name and is now my Court Lady, so since I don't think it's a good idea to have her using that magic, I want you to protect my best friend with your power." Henrietta requests.
Yuudai places his hand against his chest where his heart is. "I'll protect her to the very extent of my power."
She smiles seeing the rune on his hand. "So this is the Gandalfr rune. The Gandalfr always protected Brimier while he had to charge his attacks." She says offhandedly.
Yuudai nods. "I see. Luckily for Blanc here, she has the best Gandalfr that could have ever existed." Yuudai brags jokingly.
"Maybe if you keep telling yourself that you'll be halfway decent one day." Louise jabs smirking. 'I finally got a jab at him!'
"Is that how you thought of your magical training?" Yuudai retorts making Louise's hair cover her eyes.
"Look who's walking back today." She states insinuating him being forced to walk to the academy.
Henrietta sweat drops nervously laughing. "I see you two certainly get along."
Later
The two have started to walk out of the castle after talking with Henrietta for fun for a while. Yuudai sighs putting his hands in his pockets. "I think you forgot that we arrived on horse, so I can easily just get back quicker and go to sleep or stay here for the night." He says pulling out the bag of gold he still has from Viscount. "I can't believe I still have gold left. You'd think there wasn't much. I guess he assumed I'd give the gold back."
"I don't care right now." Louise admits. "Right now I only care about helping her majesty."
Yuudai becomes seriously. "It seems like we are to be chained to the academy to me." He states.
She looks over to her familiar. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that in the east is a portal where a man came through into this world unwillingly and it no doubt can happen again. And I promised to protect you which means staying here until Henrietta calls for you to do something." He explains. "I don't want to return to my world, but if I can prevent others from being forced here then I'm all for it."
"You're not leaving my side again, so forget about it." Louise orders him.
Yuudai stops staring Louise in the eyes. She stops too making eye contact still. "Give me one good reason that I should forget about preventing the people of my world from being ripped away from their family."
Louise tries to think of something. Anything. However, nothing good comes up. "You don't need a good reason, you only need orders from me to follow."
Yuudai frowns. "You can ride back to the academy with those words in your head. Because those words have left me with no respect for you anymore." He states going back to walking into a crowd.
Her head is drooping in guilt. She lost the respect of the one person she actually had a crush on. The one person that was ready to fight tens of thousands of soldiers for her to escape. That thought punches her straight in her heart. Shattering her pride enough for her to apologize to him. She lifts her head to look for him finding him missing.
She panics immediately running into the crowd. The crowd seems to be the ending of the city wide celebration for the win in Tarbes. She tries to get through, but she accidentally bumps into a man holding some sake (Alcohol!). The sake falls to the ground. She tries to keep on going, but he grabs her arm.
"Hey miss, you should apologize for bumping into a person in the street." The man, who seems to be a mercenary, says to her.
Another mercenary sees her outfit. "A noble, huh?"
The man holding her arm doesn't let go. "These days nobles, mercenaries and salesmen are equal, put aside rank, so why don't you have a drink with me as an apology?"
"Let go of me you brute!" Louise demands.
"What did you just call me?!" The mercenary exclaims angrily. "Who do you think attacked the armies in Tarbes? Not the 'Holy Woman', it was us soldiers!" He goes to grab her hair, but his hand is stop by a hand clasping his wrist. The mercenary turns to see a black haired teen glaring at him. "Leave-"
Yuudai punches the guy in the nose knocking him to the ground earning a bloody nose while letting go of Louise. "First of all, you may have been at that battle, but I was there killing enemy after enemy after enemy." He states placing his foot on the guy's chest. The mercenary tries to get words out, but one look into Yuudai's eyes told him that he shouldn't speak. "Second of all, speak of Henrietta again like that and I'll gut you like a pig." He continues. "And finally, attempt to hurt the one I am tasked in protecting and I'll break your wrist." He finishes never looking anywhere except in his eyes. "Do I make myself clear?"
The mercenary nods refusing to speak in case his pride gets the best of him. Yuudai takes his foot off backing away a few steps. The man gets up and walks away quickly with his friends following quickly behind. Louise stares in shock. How often does he get that upset?
"Do I need to drag you or can you walk on your own?" Yuudai questions Louise breaking her out of her thoughts.
"I can walk on my own." She says quietly not wanting to upset him more. "First I want to...apologize for earlier."
Yuudai raises an eyebrow. "Do you mean it or is this another joke?"
She only sighs. "I mean it. It was wrong and I went overboard. I just...I want to keep you by my side just in case the academy is attacked." She admits adding the last part so that she doesn't seem love stricken.
"I may still have lost respect for you, I know that you've been stressed out lately by everything. I accept your apology Blanc. Who knows, maybe you'll earn my respect back by the end of the night." Yuudai says giving her a small smile.
This turns her heart into a melting pot. Sadly her head makes her think it's nothing. She nods following behind him. Eventually she leaves her mind as her eyes catch sight of a beautiful jewelry cart from the lines of festival carts. She stops causing Yuudai to stop as well. He spots where her sight has landed.
He laughs good naturally. "Want to see what they have?"
She nods leading the way to cart. The man running the cart rubs his hands. "Ah, a noble! You can see that everything here is rare goods." He holds up a piece of jewelry. "See this? This is made of wrought gold." He says. Yuudai slides over to look.
"You have caught my interest my dear salesman." Yuudai says with a glint in his eyes.
Louise ignores them though finding a pure white pendant carved into the shape of a shell. Out of all the big jewels there, which she knows are all just cheap crystal, this one has caught her attention. She points at it.
"Do you want that one?" The salesman asks.
"Yes." She answers.
"For you, that'll be four ecus." He tells her sweetly.
Yuudai loses interest in all the jewelry seeing nothing that interests him. "She's a broke little noble." He tells the man. The teen pulls out four gold coins placing them down. "Will that work?"
The salesman gapes at the coin. The man can't tell whether or not to be more surprised by the gold, the boy has the money or the fact a commoner just called a noble out without getting punished immediately. "Y-yeah. This will definitely work."
Once the pendant is in her hands, she looks at it happily. After all, Yuudai bought her something after what she said seemingly without a second thought. She can't remember if he ever bought her something or not so it is special to her. Louise puts the pendant around her neck liking the way it feels.
"It looks beautiful on you miss." The salesman compliments.
She turns to Yuudai to get him to see, but his attention is elsewhere. Right across the street. In a green can is something he couldn't have ever hoped to see again (Comedic purpose time!). A Mountain Dew! She pulls on his sleeve only to see him disappear in a burst of speed. She looks across the street to see him buying a strange can.
"How did you get this?" Yuudai asks the merchant excitedly.
The man strokes her fairly long beard. "Well I got it from a traveler along with three more cans a day ago." He answers.
Yuudai slams down five gold coins. "Give them to me!" He orders as the merchant's eyes turn into money signs. A minute later he is carrying a can and the other three in his pockets. He looks at Louise seeing her deadpan at him. "What?" He asks. She can't stop herself from the laugh that shoots through her coming out her mouth.
End
And that's a wrap! I finally finished the new chapter! Can you believe it? I can't.
And I checked the view count. It's over thirteen thousand! Unbelievable! I have never had such an enormous viewing!
How was this? I know it might be strange to read after so long, but I hope it's good. Yuudai even got his Mountain Dew again! And no. It will not be a plot point. That'd be stupid.
Without anything else to say, thanks for reading, favoriting, following, reviewing and have a great day/night/morning!