Zeroes of Two Worlds

Chapter 3

They are greeted with the sounds of chatter and animal sounds as the two of them entered the classroom. The place looked more like a petting zoo than one for a lecture with all the familiars that have made themselves comfortable beside their summoners. Some of the familiars are thankfully more mundane with animals like birds, lizards, ferrets and bears, while the others are on the exotic with strange looking birds, a snake with a wings, and one is even is best described as a floating eyeball.

As for the classroom itself, there's not much for Jaune to comment as it is very similar to lecture rooms back in Combat School. Though the elevated rows of seats for students reminded him of those pictures of classroom of Beacon Academy.

Jaune sighed softly as he thought about his plans to get to Beacon to follow his dreams of becoming a Huntsman. Now that he found himself in another world, he couldn't even follow that dream and it didn't help that he is currently employed by a daughter of an aristocratic family.

He pulled the seat and allowed for Louise to get herself seated. He looked around where he could seat, and this elicited laughter from the other students. Louise motioned for him to take a seat by the stairs beside her table, much to his own irritation.

Jaune sighed and sat down on the steps of the stairs, which only made the other students to laugh again. It is clear that he and Louise are being ridiculed but Jaune couldn't get the context of it. Though he figured that he is ridiculed for being a human familiar, but not in regards to Louise.

He kept his mouth shut and elected to ignore the others, and waited for the class to start. It didn't take long when a plump middle-aged lady, in purple robe and a large witch hat, entered the room, prompting the class to quiet down.

"Oh my. It seems everyone had been successful with the Springtime Familiar Summoning. I, Cherveuse, always enjoy seeing new familiars that are summoned each spring." The teacher happily greeted the class as she looked around the class, examining each one of the familiars.

"My, my. You've summoned quite the... peculiar familiar, Miss Valliere." She remarked upon seeing Jaune who merely gave her a curt nod, much to her delight. The comment was fairly innocent, but this didn't stop the classroom from erupting with laughter.

"Don't go grabbing commoners off the streets just so you can make a show of summoning anything." One student remarked laughingly.

"Especially one that you have to mark with branding iron." Another student made a jab at her.

Louise, with her hair billowing in anger, stood up and made her rebuke. "How dare you insinuate that I would do such barbarism?! You all saw that Professor Colbert is there as witness and the only one to help." She then pointed at him and declared. "I performed the ceremony properly and he's the only one that appeared!"

"Don't lie! I bet you didn't even cast the Summoning properly."

The other students chuckled, and ignoring the blatant criminal accusation made against her.

"Mrs. Cherveuse! I've been slighted! Malicorn 'the Common Cold' just insulted me and slighted me."

"Common Cold? I'm Malicorn the Windward, Louise the Zero! I haven't caught a cold!"

"Your voice sounds hoa-" She is interrupted when Jaune grabbed her wrist. She angrily turned to him and hissed. "What!"

"Stop. Just sit down before the teacher gets angry." Jaune told her, his voice just loud enough so only she could hear him.

"Ha! Even your familiar agrees wi- !" Malicorn tried to speak again when he suddenly went stiff.

"That's enough you two." Professor Cherveuse chided the two of them as she whipped out her wand and pointed it at Malicorn. She gave an approving nod to Jaune, while Louise took the hint and quietly sat back on her chair. "Calling friends and classmates 'Zero' or 'Common Cold' is not acceptable. Do you understand?"

"But Mrs. Cherveuse, I'm only called that as a joke. But for Louise, it's the truth."

A few giggles broke out from amongst the class.

The teacher looked around the classroom with a severe expression, sharp contrast to her friendly look earlier. She raised her wand once again, made a short chant and waved her wand. Out of nowhere, lumps of clay appeared in the mouths of the students who were giggling earlier.

"You shall remain in that state until the end of my class."

This put a firm end to any further outbursts. Jaune gulped and glad that he intervened. Louise had a similar train of thought and is thankful for her familiar's interruption. She couldn't imagine having clay in her mouth during the entire class.

"Now then, let's begin today's lesson."

Cherveuse waved her hand over the table, and a few pebbles materialized from thin air.

"For those who didn't know, my Runic name is Red Clay. Cherveuse the Red Clay, as some of you have learned earlier. This year, I will be teaching you all the magics of the Earth element." She introduced herself to the class. "So, does anyone of you know the Four Great Elements of magic?" She pointed at one of the students when no one answered. "What about you, Mister Malicorn?"

"Y-yes, Mrs. Cherveuse. The Four Elements are Fire, Water, Earth and Wind."

"Huh... It's the same with basic Dust types. I guess it makes sense if they're drawing their magic from the elements as well." Jaune thought to himself. He wished he could pull out his scroll but he didn't want to attract unnecessary attention, especially from a magic teacher who could just make things out of thing air.

"And combined with the now-lost element of Void, there are five elements in total. As everyone should already know." Cherveuse nodded, and motioned for Malicorne to return to his seat. "Out of the elements, I strongly believe Earth holds an extremely important position among them. And this isn't because my affinity is Earth, nor is it simply a personal preference."

She coughed heavily as though she's clearing her throat. Though it is clear it sounded fake like those people in movies do when they either disagree or making a point.

"The magic of Earth is very important for it governs the creation of all matter. If it wasn't for Earth magic, we wouldn't be able to produce or process the necessary metals. Raising buildings from large boulders and harvesting crops would also involve much more work. In this manner, the magic of the Earth element is intimately related to the lives of everyone."

Jaune could agree with her, despite her clear declaration of self-importance. She had shown to be able to materialize things out of thin air, which is not unlike how Dust works that create matter out of the energy in them. She, and other mages, are basically living Dust.

It is also clear to Jaune that they taught magic here more akin to science back in Remnant, which meant they have made extensive studies over their own magic. He wondered how far they have taken their magics since the teacher had indicated that they used magic to help make life easier for the general populace.

"Now, please recall that the basic magic of the Earth element is 'transmutation'." That made Jaune's eyes to widen in recognition. "While there will be students here who have already learned this in their first year, it is best to review the basics one more in order to build foundations."

The professor turned her attention to the pebbles she had made earlier. She twirled her wand over them as she whispered a spell. The pebbles began to glow brightly.

Oh how Jaune really wished he had his scroll out to record this. This is quite amazing to watch.

The light slowly dimmed away, and the pebbles had clearly changed into sparkling lumps of metal. The students looked on with awe and began voicing their excitement, at least those that could and didn't have clay in their mouth.

"I-is that g-gold, Mrs. Cherveuse!?" Kirche excitedly said as she leaned forward over her desk.

He could understand her excitement since that's literally money coming out of thin air right there. He wondered if what would it take for a mage to transmute silver, or other valuable metals, and how things would go if they have access to Dust.

"No, it isn't. It's plain brass." This doused his excitement, along with other students. "Only Square-class mages are able to transmute things to gold." She then made another cough or her own benefit. "I'm just a Triangle mage."

"Hmmm... So they have class levels just like in Oubliettes and Ogres. Though I wonder what does the shape meant. I'll have to ask Louise or the servant staff about it later." Jaune thought to himself as he listened to the lesson. He also made mental note to find a way to hide his scroll on him in order to record the lessons.

Louise, meanwhile, is impressed with the professor's ability to transmute brass but that is not unexpected for a teacher in the kingdom's prestigious academy. She is also jealous since she couldn't even cast one spell properly.

She is too distracted with her thoughts that she didn't noticed her surroundings until Jaune tapped her on her left arm.

"What?" She grunted as she glanced towards him, irritated by his interruption.

"The teacher's calling for you." Jaune whispered hastily as he meekly gestured towards the teacher.

Louise blinked and quickly looked towards Professor Cherveuse who is disapprovingly looking back at her.

"Glad you could join us once again, Miss Valliere."

"I'm sorry..." She meekly apologized.

"Now that I have your attention, perhaps I should have you demonstrate for me?"

"Eh? Me?" Louise blinked.

"Yes. Try changing these pebbles into a metal of your choice." The professor gestured to a new set of pebbles on the table.

Louise started to fidget as if she's uncomfortable about what she is being asked to do, much to Jaune's confusion.

"Is there something to matter, Miss Valliere?" The teacher called her up again, similarly confused about Louise's reaction.

"Ummm..." Kirche raised a hand to get the teacher's attention.

"Yes?"

"I think it would be better if you didn't let her." Kirche carefully suggested.

"And why is that?" Cherveuse asked, not quite understanding what her student is trying to say.

"It's dangerous." Kirche answered plainly, and majority of the students nodded in agreement.

"Dangerous? How would that be dangerous?"

"Is this the first time you're teaching Louise, professor?" Kirche asked with a tone of concern.

"It is." Cherveuse nodded. "But I hear that she's a hard worker." She remarked before looking back at Louise. "Now, Miss Valliere. I implore you to try it. There's nothing to worry about. You won't be able to do anything if you always dread about making mistakes."

"Don't do it, Louise!" Kirche cried out, her face looking pale.

Now this is just ridiculous for Jaune. "What are they exactly worried about with Louise doing what seem to be a simple spell?"

Louise, angered by Kirche's comments, stood up. "I'll do it."

Cherveuse smiled at her and motioned for Louise to come down to the table. Louise briskly walked down to the teacher's table. She also looked nervous as she stood next to the table.

"Now, Miss Valliere. You have to vividly visualize the kind of metal that you wish to transmute these pebbles into." The professor gently instructed her.

Louise gave a cute little nod and took out her wand. She began waving her wand as she started chanting in runic tongue.

Jaune looked on with anticipation, feeling a little awed by Louise's spellcasting. He also noticed the other students, especially those down the front, have already made themselves scarce and hid under their tables.

"Uh oh."

He looked back towards the teacher's table as Louise, with her eyes closed, uttered the last phased and flourished her wand towards the pebbles.

Jaune closed his eyes and turned his face away, while protecting his head with his arms, as the pebbles flashed brightly and then exploded.

Louise and Cherveuse caught the full blast of the explosion and were thrown against the blackboard. The other students screamed along with their frightened familiars.

Chaos ensued.

Kirche's salamander woke up from its sleep and stood up on its hind legs before breathing a jet of flame into the air. A lion with wings roared as it took flight and smashed through a nearby window. Through the broke window, a giant snake slithered in and swallowed a nearby raven.

The classroom is in pandemonium.

Jaune ducked his head as a familiar flew above him. He quickly made his way down to check on the Louise and the teacher. Both are still unconscious when he got to them. He kneeled down next to Louise and checked if she's still breathing.

Louise looked like a mess with tears and soot all over her uniform and skirt, revealing her underneath. He ignored that as he looked her over for any wounds or other injuries.

"Louise, are you alright?" Jaune asked as he repeatedly tapped Louise on her cheeks. Louise softly groaned and slowly opened her eyes. "Good. You're awake. I'll go check up on the teacher."

Jaune left her sight and left Louise wondering what just happened. She then remembered what happened and silently groaned in embarrassment and frustration. She failed her spell. Again.

"That's why I told you not to let her do it!" Kirche cried out in frustration as she pointed at Louise.

"Jeez, Valliere! Save us the trouble and just quit school already!" Another student shouted.

"Lucky! My Lucky got eaten by a snake!" A student screamed in panic.

Jaune checked the teacher if she's alright or injured but she seemed alright. Her dress must have been made from sturdy material since it didn't got damaged by the explosion. That or she must have placed enchantments on it.

Louise slowly rose from the floor, amidst the cries of her classmates. She pulled out a clean handkerchief from her skirt before wiping the soot off her face.

"It looked like I messed up a little." She said non-chalantly, putting on a stoic look.

Her classmates clearly didn't appreciated her comment and voiced their own thoughts.

"A little?! That's nor just a little! Louise the Zero!"

"Your success is always Zero!"

"Why are you even here?!"

To say the least, Jaune quickly learned how Louise earned the nickname "The Zero" and he could see why.

The Headmaster's Office is located on the topmost floor of the main tower at the center of the academy. Lord Osmond, the current headmaster of the most prestigious magic academy in the Tristain, is found sitting on his large chair with his elbows propped on his elegantly made desk.

Today seemed quite and no issues had arisen that required his attention. So far, there's nothing that he needed to do since most of his paperworks are already taken cared of.

This made him unbearably bored out of his mind, and he had nothing to occupy his mind. He pulled open a drawer of his desk, and reached in to find something he needed to pass the time. He murmured happily as he took out his favorite smoking pipe, it is a elegant looking pipe with its polished white surface and decorative carvings. He then procured some crushed leaves and placed it into the chamber bowl.

With a flick of his finger, a spark ignited the leaves before giving it a few draws. He leaned back on his chair to relax as he began to feel the soothing sensation making its way across his body.

Seated by a smaller desk in his office, his young secretary is hard at work writing down on the documents with her quill. Without even a glance, she picked up her wand and flicked it towards the headmaster's direction.

The pipe floated off Osmond's hand which only made the headmaster to sigh as he ran his hand over his long white beard. "Is it fun to take the few pleasures of an old man, Miss Longuevile?"

"Managing your health is part of my job, Old Osmond." Her secretary simply replied as the pipe landed gently landed on her table. She then flicked her wand again to snuff the embers within the pipe.

Lord Osmond stood up from his chair with a heavy sigh and made his way towards the calm and collected Miss Longueville. He then stood behind his secretary's chair, and closed his eyes as though reminiscing. "Things have been quiet these passing days. If this goes on for too long, it's going to be problematic to find things to do."

The wrinkles etched on his face were only hints of the history of his life. No one truly knew how old he is with the other people guessing his age between a hundred to even three hundred. But no one knew his true age except for himself, though some had questioned if he even knew his own age.

"Headmaster Osmond." Miss Longueville spoke up without interrupting her own work as she scribbled away on the parchment.

"What is it, Miss Longueville?"

"Please stop saying that you have nothing to do and using it as an excuse to touch my posterior."

Osmond stood stiffly as he removed his hand from her back, and began walking around his office like a tottering old fool.

"Please refrain from pretending to be senile whenever you got caught." Longueville calmly added, having grown used to his antics.

Osmond sighed deeply as he made his way to the large window behind his seat. He looked down to the academy grounds, watching the staff doing their tasks and the familiars flocking around the ground.

"It's been quiet since the familiar summoning ceremony yesterday."

"Except for that one incident with Miss Valliere's familiar." Longueville noted.

The old man nodded grimly as he recalled the emergency that happened. It was quite a harrowing tale and Lady Bernadotte didn't found anything that could have caused such a reaction. Professor Colbert is still occupied with his investigation on the matter.

Recent reports had shown the young man alive and well when he arrived with Miss Valliere for breakfast. So at least there's no further problem on that front, now they just need to find the cause.

"He is quite the strange familiar even beyond him being a human. He seemed to carry himself as a warrior but he looked inexperienced. It makes one wonder about his origins." Osmond mused loudly.

"It is strange to see a human being summoned as a familiar." Longueville commented plainly as she continued with her work.

"Truly strange indeed." Osmond uttered and then heard a soft squeak down by his feet. He leaned down and extended his hand down to the floor, already knowing what it is. A white mouse jumped onto his hand as he stood back up.

"Ah, Motsognir. My old friend." He greeted as he fished some nuts from his pocket and offered it to his mouse familiar.

"Chuchu." The mouse chittered, apparently pleased by the offering. It then chittered some more, probably bargaining with its master.

"You want more?" The mouse chittered again, and Osmond nodded. "Very well. But first..." He leaned down a little. "I would have to ask for your report, Motsognir."

"Chuchu." The mouse chittered in response.

Osmond nodded as the mouse spoke to him. "I see. White... Plain White too... Hmmm..."

"Miss Longueville should really stick to black, it fits her better. Wouldn't you agree, my cute Motsognir." Osmond remarked as he gave more nuts to his familiar. The mouse eagerly accepted and began chewing on its reward.

"Hic!" Miss Longueville gasped and closed her legs, her face burning red. Her eyebrows then twitched in anger as she stood up from her seat. "Headmaster Osmond."

"What is it?" Osmond asked, sounding innocent.

"If you do that again, I'll have to report you to the Palace." She warned him.

"Kah!" Longueville jumped in surprised as Osmond suddenly turned towards her, looking at her with angry wide eyes. Something she didn't expect a frail old man could do. "Do you think I will be the Headmaster of this Academy if I was scared of the Palace all the time?!"

She didn't respond as she still processing what she had just seen.

"Don't get all prissy just because someone peeked at your underwear. At this rate, you'll never get married!" He then sighed. "Aaah... To be young."

"That does it!" Longueville angrily thought and wordlessly knocked her boss down to the floor. She began kicking him as she vented her righteous anger at him.

"Ow. Sorry. Ow. I won't do it anymore. Really!"

Old Osmond covered his head and cowered before his furious secretary. Longueville ignored his pleas and continued to kick him

"Ack! How can you-! Treat an old man-! This way! Ow! Ouch!"

An explosion suddenly rumbled into the room, interrupting their "moment" as they looked around for what cause it. They soon saw smoke coming from outside the main window.

"It's Miss Valliere, isn't it?" Osmond asked calmly as though he wasn't just getting kicked around.

Longueville looked down on him, her foot still on his back, and nodded. "It looks like it."

Osmond sighed and shook his head. "Could you please take care of it, and make sure that the injured get treated?"

Longueville nodded again as she removed her foot off his back. She straightened the wrinkles of her skirt and then exited the office.

Osmond stood up without issue, calmly picked up his smoking pipe, and made his way back towards his window. He watched the smoke rising up from the bottom of the Earth Tower.

He sighed again as he lit up his smoke once again. He took a long draw before blowing off smoke from his bearded mouth. "What a troublesome day."

Things have calmed down since someone from the Headmaster's office arrived on the scene and took control of the situation. Professor Cherveuse had been taken to the infirmary while the servants and other teachers helped coral the familiars that had gone on a rampage in the classroom and out into the academy grounds.

Jaune and Louise had just returned from a private meeting in the Headmaster's Office, and had been given some clemency in regards to the damage. Jaune also learned that this isn't the first time Louise's spell had caused an explosion and damaged facilities.

As punishment, they were given brooms, dustpans and some barrels before they were left to their task to clean the room without the use of magic. Though in Louise's case, she couldn't even use magic without creating an even greater mess.

Jaune sighed as he dropped some of the last pieces of broken furniture into the barrel. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and looked around the room. Most of the broken pieces had been picked off but there are still things that needed cleaning.

They are still patches of soot and dust that needed cleaning which should have been Louise's task. But he could see that Louise silently swept at one area of the classroom. He shook his head and called out to her.

"Miss Valliere, could you also sweep the dust off the other area. We need to get this done or we'll miss lunch."

Louise didn't respond and continued to sweep that one area aimlessly. And Jaune huffed before returning to work and picking up debris. The silence was broken when Louise spoke up for the first time since the accident.

"Are... Are you going to say anything?" Louise asked as her voice started to tremble.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Jaune turned to look at her, but Louise kept her back towards him.

"Aren't you going to laugh like the others? Your master being useless. You're master being a Zero." Louise ranted and her voiced became trembled further.

"No. No, I won't. So will you please calm down, Miss." Jaune responded and placed a hand on her shoulder. His touch caused a reaction from Louise who forcibly shrugged his hand off her shoulder. She then around and glared at him with tears on her eyes.

"You're lying! You're laughing at me!" Louise angrily accused him.

"What? Where is this coming from? Just calm down..." Jaune tried dissuading her as he a raised a hand towards her.

"Don't you dare touch me!" Louise slapped her hand away from her. She turned around and stomped her way towards the door before slamming it behind her upon leaving the room.

Jaune sighed and scratched the back of his head as he stared helplessly at the door.

"That went well..."

He looked around the classroom and groaned as he is now left to do all the cleanup now. Maybe he could ask some of the servant staff for help.

It is already noon when he finally finished cleaning up the classroom. He was surprised that Louise was waiting for him outside the Earth Tower. They didn't spoke with each other except for Louise giving him some orders.

Classes resumed after lunch with Professor Cherveuse having regained consciousness and recovered from the accident. She continued with her lessons as normal with the exception of her avoiding eye contact with Louise.

Jaune noticed this since everyone else is busy with their lessons, but at least he managed to hide his scroll to record the lesson.

The day had passed without further incident with the exception of the jabs made against Louise. Louise remained stoic through it all, far different from her outburst earlier back in the classroom. Jaune was made to wait for Louise outside the dining hall during dinner, but dinner ended relatively quickly when Louise exited the dining hall.

He accompanied Louise back to her dorm and then helped her dress for the night. He is then dismissed by Louise as she took a seat at her desk for a night study.

Glad to be done for the day, Jaune took the opportunity to grab some spare clothes from his bag before leaving the room. He made his way down to the tower and headed for the servants quarters.

"Thanks for lettings me join you all for dinner." Jaune greeted as he sat down on the table with a plate of food.

"Haha! You're always welcome to join us on the table!" Chef Marteau replied jovially,

"Yeah! Us servants have to stick together in this school of nobles!" One of the maids greeted.

"I'm glad that you could join us tonight, Jaune." Siesta greeted him.

"So Jaune, could you confirm some rumors that were going about?" One of the servants asked as they ate.

"Hmm? What rumor?" Jaune looked a little confused.

"About you being hired by the Valliere girl to be her familiar?" The servant asked again.

"Or that you were bought from slavers from Germania?" Another piped in and was elbowed for the trouble. "What?"

"Woah! Slow down!" Jaune raised a hand, spoon and fork in hand, before answering. "No I'm not hired or bought some slavers." He grimaced at the last part. "I was summoned here through a portal while I was out in the forest."

"So you're really a familiar..." One said in awe and surprise.

"I've never heard about a human being a familiar, even with my tenure in this academy." Marteau remarked.

"So I've heard." Jaune shrugged as he ate.

"Speaking of familiars, I heard that you were hurt during rune marking. What happened?"

Jaune hissed as he recalled that incident. "No one really knew as far as I know. It's just that something unexpected happened during the process, and it was really painful." He emphasized to make a point. "But I haven't asked any of the teachers about it yet. I think it was Professor... Co.. Colbert who was supervising that, and I haven't seen him yet.'

"Ah him. He has been cooped up in the library since the ceremony. Last I saw him, he's in the forbidden section where only the teachers can enter." Siesta informed him.

"I see. Well I could wait until his class..." He blinked as he tried to recall what element is he. "Ah... What's the professor's element?"

"Fire. His class will open in a few days from now. Though it depends if he will be available and let his deputy handle his lessons."

"Thanks." Jaune nodded. "Oh! Does anyone of you know about what does being a Triangle or a Square mage mean?"

"It just means they're really powerful."

"While that's the basic premise." Chef Marteau interjected, having learned more about nobles than the others. "It means they can use more elements at once, or stack one element to make them stronger. It starts with Dot, then Line, then Triangle, and finally Square."

"Is there a Pentagon? I recall from the summoning that Miss Valliere referred to the Pentagon of Elemental Powers at one point." Jaune asked.

The chef shook his head. "No, there's no Pentagon. Don't you have mages back where you came from?"

"Not really. We have huntsmen and huntresses with their semblances that are like magic here." Jaune replied with a shrug.

"That's a strange name for mages." Siesta commented.

"Because they're not. They're the defenders of humanity that travels across the four kingdoms to protect the lands." Jaune informed them which surprised everyone who were listening.

"Ooohh... So are they like knights? Fighting against evil men and monsters." One excitedly said.

Jaune nodded. "Something like that. The Last King of Vale established academies across the Four Kingdoms after his victory at the end of the Great War. The academies trained Huntsmen and Huntresses to be the protectors of the people."

"That's a very noble calling. Your king is very wise." Chef Marteau remarked approvingly with a nod.

"Wait. Why is he the Last King?"

"No one really knew why but the Last King dissolved the monarchies of the Four Kingdoms and established a ruling Council in each kingdom to govern them." Jaune told them what he knew from his history lesson.

"So you don't have nobles in your lands?" A servant asked in awe and Jaune nodded. "That's so great to hear. Your kingdom must be a great place to live in without nobles making things hard for us commoners."

"It's alright I guess." He really doubted they would want to live in Remnant with all the Grimm dominating the rest of the world, but they didn't need to know that. "Though from what I heard from my father, he always complained about the Council mismanaging resources and corruption scandals."

"But... How could that happen? You don't even have nobles there." The servant sounded dejected.

"I guess people are just people." Jaune helplessly shrugged, and the servant didn't respond.

"Don't mind him, Jaune. He's just excited at the prospect of a kingdom without nobles." Chef Marteau assured him.

"Sorry." Jaune meekly replied.

The chef dismissively waved a hand and said. "There's nothing to be sorry about."

They changed topics and the staff gossiped about other things while Jaune listened to them as he ate.

Jaune felt refreshed after a decent bath and a change of clothes. He also washed his clothes and hanged them with the clothes of the other servants, and he could retrieve them in the afternoon.

He reached the door and opened it using the key he had been given to use. The room is dark except for the moonlight that filtered through the curtains of the window.

"She must be asleep." He thought as he quietly entered the room and carefully closed the door behind him.

He walked up to bed, and then kneeled beside it to check on Louise.

She's sound asleep and she seemed to be having a good dream. Her face calm and beautiful like a doll that is carefully sculpted, complete opposite of how she usually looked throughout the day with her stern demeanor.

After the incident earlier, he could understand why she is the way she is. She is just like him, struggling to achieve their dreams but their situations prevented them from doing so. But he couldn't really stand her attitude especially when she accused him of things he didn't do.

Jaune sighed softly and quietly said. "What am I going to do with you?"

He slowly stood up and began to make his way towards his bed when he heard a whimper behind him. He scrunch his eyebrows and listened carefully. He heard another whimper, so Jaune turned around to see where it came from.

He could see Louise scrunching her face and started to stir. He heard another whimper again, confirming it is her, and quickly kneeled down beside her bed.

"Please... Don't leave me..." Tears started dripping from her frightened eyes. "I'll do better... Please..."

Louise started breathing heavily and stirred even more. Jaune acted as he recognized that she is having a nightmare. He took off his shoes and carefully climbed on to bed. He hugged her close and Louise quickly latched on to him in desperation. He gently moved her head over his chest and began to comfort her.

"Shh.. Shh.. Shh...It's alright, Louise. I'm here. I'm here." He softly caressed the back of her head, combing his hand over her soft hair. It is the same thing he had done with his sister when she had a nightmare.

"I'll be good... I'll be a mage... Don't leave me..."' Louise cried into his chest.

"I'm here, Louise. I won't leave you..." He whispered to her, assuring her.

"Promise?" Louise tenderly asked, sounding hopeful.

"I promise." An Arc never breaks his promise.

This assurance calmed Louise as her breath started to settle down. She then breath softly and is more relaxed while in his embrace. Jaune sighed softly and gave Louise one last hug, which Louise seemed to appreciate, and started to sleep as well.

Nightmares washed away into the darkness, and the two lost souls slept through the night under moonlight's embrace.

A/N: Feel free to share your feelings in the reviews. Have a tissue as well. Next chapters will be dealing with a certain womanizer.