Apologies for the long delay. I'd planned to take something like a week off of writing after the last chapter went up, which turned into two weeks, which turned into an extra once God of War: Ragnarok came out...
I'd had the first two scenes written once Ragnarok dropped, but got sidetracked entirely by the release lmao.
Henrietta de Tristain couldn't help but feel quite anxious.
It had been nearly a decade since the last time she'd seen her one true friend, and now that their reunion was so close at hand, she wondered if she should have planned things out a bit better. Henrietta dearly hoped that Louise Françoise would think the same way of her, but after all the time that had passed…
Would things still be the same?
Darrian had said little to nothing on their way to the academy, silently leading Agnès and Henrietta through the halls.
The princess had wanted to inquire about Louise's wellbeing, or circumstances, anything really, but Agnès' paranoid demeanor kept all possibility of conversation firmly at zero. Henrietta couldn't blame her, especially with the entrance Darrian had made, but the silence was only making the well of anxiety in her chest grow deeper.
"It's just up here on the left," Darrian called back in a relatively casual tone, startling Henrietta out of her musings and causing her heart to skip a beat. Thankfully she'd been trailing behind by a good few feet, so when Darrian didn't waste any time going through the door, Henrietta still had a moment to try and compose herself. "Hey, someone's here to see you."
"See me?"
Louise's voice came from beyond the door, and Henrietta couldn't help but marvel at how her voice hadn't seemed to change at all since they'd last met. She took a moment to hesitate and catch her breath, before stepping into the doorway and coming face to face with her old friend at last. With a small smile, Henrietta noted that Louise's appearance had changed just about as much as her voice, though her demeanor seemed to be somewhat more subdued as she stared quizzically at the hooded pair.
For a moment, the only sound to be heard was the click of the door as Darrian latched it shut behind them, leaving Henrietta and Louise alone in the room. Presumably, Darrian had opted to give them privacy, whereas Agnès would want to stand guard.
"Hello, Louise Françoise," Henrietta greeted warmly as she lowered her hood. Louise's eyes widened comically as she shot to her feet, seeming at a loss for words. "It's been… a very long time."
"You remembered…" Louise breathed, an expression on her face that crossed between awestruck and disbelief. A moment later, reality seemed to return to her mind, and she immediately postured herself into a polite bow. "I'm so sorry, Your Majesty, please forgive my rudeness, I didn't realize-!"
"Louise, please," Henrietta interrupted with a sigh, feeling joy and disappointment both swell in her chest. Though it was clear that Louise remembered the childhood they'd spent together, she'd still opted to maintain propriety and formality. Henrietta supposed it was only natural, given their time apart and vastly different upbringings, but she still found it to be somewhat frustrating. The princess pulled Louise up from her bow and joined their hands together, offering a warm smile. "We aren't in court, Louise Françoise, there's no need to be so… formal."
"I… I suppose…" Louise trailed off, seeming quite overwhelmed for a moment, before mustering the will to smile back. "I was just… surprised. That you would remember."
"Of course I remembered," Henrietta sighed, letting go of Louise's hands to take a seat at the table, with her old friend joining a moment later. "How could I not? With the mischief we found ourselves in, so regularly…"
"I know, it's just…" Louise cut herself off, eyes glued to the hands she had clasped in her lap. "As I grew older, I began to wonder, or fear, that… I mean, officially, I was just a royal playmate, but I always hoped that…"
Slowly, the cracks began to grow, and Louise began having an increasingly difficult time holding herself together. The more she spoke, the more her voice wavered, and even tears began appearing in her eyes.
"Louise…" Henrietta said softly, holding a hand out over the table in an unspoken invitation, which Louise gratefully accepted, and the two joined hands once more. Silence reigned in the room once more, save for the sound of Louise reigning her emotions back under control. "Louise, what happened? I remember you being so incredibly fierce, with an unshakeable confidence. But now…"
Now, it seems as though that confidence has been stolen away entirely.
"That's… a bit of a long story," Louise muttered in a subdued tone, casting her eyes down once more, and for a moment seemed as though she were carrying the weight of the entire world on her shoulders. "There's so much that went wrong, I don't know if I can even begin to explain it…"
"Even still, I can lend my ear," Henrietta affirmed, squeezing Louise's hand gently. "For now, forget about titles and formality, and let me try to help set your heart at ease."
Louise and Henrietta shared a long look, before the pink haired girl pulled her long time friend into a hug, losing her composure and breaking down completely in the princess' arms.
"So, what's your deal?"
Darrian stopped short and glanced at the still hooded Agnès, who was leaning against the wall with crossed arms and a small glower.
"My deal with what?" Darrian responded casually, shoving his arms in his pockets and leaning against the wall opposite from Agnès. The hooded bodyguard was silent for a moment, as if contemplating what she wanted to know first.
"You said the girl summoned you as her familiar," Agnès started, tapping a finger on her arm slowly, almost rhythmically. "If that's really true, did she at least ask your permission for the binding?"
"We skipped that part, actually," Darrian answered, prompting Agnès' eyebrows to raise in surprise. "Louise never even said anything about it to me. Right after I was summoned, she told the professor on duty that she wouldn't do it, something about it being like slavery."
"So then… you chose to stay? Even after being summoned involuntarily?" Agnès questioned with a thoughtful, almost impressed expression.
"I didn't have anywhere else to go, really," Darrian said wistfully, holding up a hand and forming a miniature Nebula Arcanum to swirl in his palm. "She gave me a place to be, something to live for. I see a lot of myself and my past problems in her, and I want to try and help her solve those problems before she turns out the way I did."
Agnès fell silent then, taking in the sight of the Arcanum's swirling energy before it disappeared.
"What kind of magic is that?" Agnès asked after a long moment. "I've never seen anything like it, or the wings from earlier. Or that… whatever you used to attach yourself to that tree."
"That doesn't surprise me," Darrian answered tiredly, shoving his hand back into his pocket. "Put simply, it's moon magic."
"M-moon magic?" Agnès snickered, putting on an amusedly incredulous face.
"The proper term would be 'Lunar Nebula', but yeah," Darrian clarified, earning another amused huff from the hooded bodyguard. "There's a bunch of ways I can categorize the stuff I can do, and it all falls into one of four basic groups. Combat, mobility, utility, and terraforming. You've seen three of those groups already."
"Yeah, I think I can guess which ones. What about that last one, though? 'Terraforming'?"
"Environmental manipulation, moving land around. Carving paths, mining out rock, digging up dirt, building structures, that sort of thing."
"Sounds useful," Agnès noted, looking like she couldn't quite wrap her head around it, though Darrian couldn't really blame her for that. The kind of magic he was capable of was entirely foreign in these lands, and fell under different rules of application. It was only natural that people wouldn't understand it right off the bat.
"So, what about you?" Darrian asked, earning a confused grunt from Agnès. "Tell me about yourself."
"What do you want to know?"
"Anything, really. You don't need to go into specifics or anything if you don't want, but I'd like to hear something, at least."
Agnès was silent for a moment, looking somewhat thoughtful before pulling her hood down and allowing Darrian a closer look at her face.
"Chevalier Agnès de Milan, captain of the Royal Musketeers," Agnès introduced, kicking off the wall and bowing slightly, though she held a little mischievous grin. "The Royal Musketeers act as Princess Henrietta's personal escort and defense force, and are entirely composed of common born soldiers."
"In a land like this, I can see that being kinda controversial," Darrian commented, though not without looking somewhat impressed by the idea.
"It was, for a time," Agnès confirmed, looking sour for a moment, before pushing it down. "We proved ourselves, however. Now, no one doubts our ability. I personally have extensive training with an arming sword and flintlock pistol, though I've practiced and can improvise with just about anything if need be."
"Impressive," Darrian praised, grinning at the blonde haired knight, who gave a little toothy smile in return before her expression softened somewhat.
"I owe it to Her Majesty," Agnès admitted, crossing her arms and leaning back against the wall once more. "If she hadn't noticed my talents, I'd probably be a no name mercenary, or dead in a ditch somewhere."
"You chose to follow her, same as I did for Louise," Darrian noted, adopting a soft expression of his own.
"Not quite the same," Agnès clarified, resuming her rhythmic finger tapping from before. "Though she gave me a 'place to be', as you put it, I had already decided on my purpose in life. Her Majesty simply provided a path towards it."
It was in the dead of night that Montmorency de Montmorency decided she'd had enough of laying in bed, unable to sleep. She pushed herself out of bed with a huff, pulled on a cloak to cover her sleeping gown, and stepped out into the dimly lit hallway. In the days since Guiche's behavior had been publicly revealed, and her subsequent falling out with him, Montmorency's head had been filled with fog. She was able to keep herself focused during class, at least, but all other times, she couldn't rightly focus on anything at all.
With that lack of focus, came an inability to stop replaying the events of that day in her mind, over and over again. There was a part of Montmorency that wanted to believe that Guiche hadn't meant what he'd said at all, but that didn't change the malicious nature of the words themselves. That he'd felt the need to say them at all, even if they weren't true… Montmorency wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't heard it for herself.
Shaking her head roughly, Montmorency tried to shove the memory out of her mind. Now paying attention to her surroundings, she was mildly surprised to see a pale blue light emanating just ahead in the hall. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a miniature skull, rotating slowly in place before halting and rotating in a different direction. The skull didn't appear quite as realistic as the ones she'd seen in diagrams, but that didn't make it any less unnerving.
What was less unnerving, was the person it was hovering nearby. Sitting upon a stone railing in one of the few open sections of the wall, one knee tucked against his chest and the opposite foot dangling loose, Darrian stared out towards the moons with a melancholy expression, an empty jar in one hand and cork in the other.
For a moment, Montmorency wondered if she should try and say anything. Darrian had yet to notice her presence, and wouldn't if she simply turned around and walked away. At the same time, he was one of the people that had been wronged by Guiche's folly, and Montmorency couldn't help but feel a sense of commiseration with him. With a breath to steady herself, the blonde girl stepped over, with Darrian flicking his eyes towards her as she sat down beside him.
"Evenin'," Darrian greeted quietly, before settling his gaze on the moons once again.
"Can't sleep?" Montmorency asked just as quietly, swinging her legs over the stone so she could share the view of the moons.
"Guess not. You too?"
"Mhm."
The pair of them sat quietly for a time, long enough for Montmorency to question why she'd approached like this without knowing what to say. The possibilities ran rampant through her mind, but she couldn't put any of the concepts into words, not in a way she could be truly satisfied with. More than that, taking in the sight of the moons, she was almost annoyed to remember how much she would have enjoyed this exact situation a week before.
"I'm sorry about the other day," Montmorency finally said, earning a curious glance from Darrian.
"What for?" Darrian asked, quirking an eyebrow at the blonde girl. "As I recall, you were trying to stick up for me."
"Even still," Montmorency pushed on as if Darrian hadn't said anything. "What he said to you was cruel, all the more so because of his lineage. You should not have had to take that from him."
The two fell silent as Darrian contemplated his response. A moment later, Montmorency realized she was staring, and awkwardly cast her gaze back to the moons.
"Miss… Montmorency, was it?" Darrian inquired slowly, drawing the blonde girl's attention as he sounded her name out, as if to commit it to memory. When she nodded her confirmation, he shifted his posture to face her more fully. "I do agree with what you've just said, and I appreciate it, but… you don't need to try and make amends on his behalf. Making things right, with either of us, is his responsibility. Especially when his cruelty affected you more than me."
"Two timing is one thing, making a mockery of someone's death is entirely another, especially when-!"
"Guiche didn't cause their deaths, nor the wound in my heart that resulted," Darrian cut in bluntly. "All he did to me was rub salt in the wound, in an act of pettiness. Contrast that with you, and that other girl, both of whom he toyed with for weeks, possibly months."
Montmorency held his gaze for a moment, not really sure what she was feeling, before sighing and pulling her knees up to her chest as she gave up on the argument entirely.
"It isn't fair…" Montmorency mumbled, burying her face in her knees. "Was I not good enough? I tried so hard to make things right, I just…"
"It isn't your fault," Darrian said softly as the blonde girl trailed off with a sniffle. "Remember what I said before? It's all just a game to him."
Montmorency remained silent, keeping her errant emotions under control. She had no desire to break down in front of a near stranger, even if it was someone that would understand. She was certainly tempted to, though, if only to have someone to lean on…
No, that's enough of that.
Wiping at her eyes, Montmorency mentally shook such thoughts from her head. She wouldn't allow herself to be so easy in a moment of weakness, not with someone she barely knew. Perhaps, with time…
"I thank you for your kindness," Montmorency said with a mix of politeness and genuine gratitude, clearing her mind of errant thoughts for the second time. Swinging her legs back over the railing, the blonde girl offered her hand to Darrian, who took it in his own with a gentle shake. "Good night."
"'Night."
Montmorency stood and made back for her room, noting that her head had cleared of fog somewhat. She didn't quite know what to make of Darrian just yet, but for a moment, she allowed herself the belief that something good may yet come from the experience she'd shared with him. Contemplating this, Montmorency turned back to steal another glance at her classmate's familiar, only to find that Tabitha had poached the spot she'd just been in at his side.
The blonde girl could only stare for a moment, feeling a little tightness in her chest, before turning and continuing down the hall once more.
Or perhaps not…
At long last, the Familiar Exhibition was underway, taking place in the same field that had hosted the Summoning Ritual a few weeks prior. A large wooden platform had been erected in the center of the field to act as a stage, with a variety of seating arrangements had been placed surrounding that stage, separating students by year.
Despite the cool spring breeze, Louise couldn't help but feel like she was overheating somewhat, with the way she was sweating. She knew deep down that it was simply nerves, but that didn't make the overwhelming sense of dread go away. It certainly didn't help that Darrian was fidgeting as well, seemingly unable to keep his own nerves under wraps.
Louise shook her head and tried to put it out of her mind. Princess Henrietta's arrival had shaken her somewhat, even if their reunion had gone better than Louise could have ever hoped. The Princess had snuck out and performed a more public appearance the next day, stirring up a clamor amongst the students and staff at the academy. Now, she was seated under the only canopy in the audience, towards the rear of the faculty section.
"Remind me why this is a required thing?" Darrian whispered, drawing Louise's attention away from a generic performance featuring a relatively plain looking dog. It was well over an hour into the Exhibition, and the vast majority of performances had been relatively undercooked in terms of grandiosity. Louise supposed it was to be expected, as this year's familiar crop had been lackluster. The only act to really stand out so far was Tabitha, but even her performance was subdued, and she relied mostly on the presence of her dragon. Despite not actually doing anything for a performance, the crowd had been sufficiently impressed regardless.
"Tradition," Louise answered, fidgeting with the hem of her skirt. "I'm not sure why the entire academy needs to be present, but it's supposed to be a demonstration of our ability to bond with our familiars."
Darrian grunted in acknowledgement, and the pair of them fell silent as they continued to wait patiently for their turn on stage. It was almost torture, having to wait so long. The Exhibition was running on an alphabetical rotation, which placed Louise and Darrian near the end of the waiting list, something that didn't help with either of their nerves one bit. By the time they were finally called up to the stage for their turn, Louise felt like she was ready to explode, or possibly have a stroke. Not necessarily in that order.
And then it was time. Louise was called up to the stage by Professor Colbert, with Darrian in tow. In the weeks since the Summoning, word had spread pretty quickly about her familiar, so there weren't really any odd or curious looks at his presence. The number of bored and disinterested looks was of note though, and a far cry from the looks of fear over Louise's imminent spellcasting. It was almost mind boggling how much the ridicule against her had died down once Kirche had been made to realize what damage she was doing.
Louise couldn't help but feel glee and terror at the same time. She was confident in the display she and Darrian had come up with, but there was always the worry in the back of her mind that it wouldn't amount to anything serious. Just as Colbert gave her the go ahead to begin the performance, Louise cast a quick glance at Princess Henrietta, and earned a smile of encouragement from her oldest friend. Taking one last deep breath to center herself, Louise sent her own smile of determination in return.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Louise began, taking a moment to look around at the enormous audience. "My name is Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière, and this is my familiar, Darrian."
Upon being called out, Darrian put a single foot forward and leaned into a formal bow, crossing one arm over his waist. Some members of the audience straightened up to get a better look at him.
"Those of you with keen eyes will notice that Darrian is human, something unheard of in Halkeginia's long history of tradition. We are still uncertain how I was able to call upon him, or what it may imply, but we're making the most of it. We're certainly making the rules up as we go along."
The last line was told with a relatively dry tone, something that earned a few chuckles from the wider audience. Louise smiled at that, enjoying the first bit of positive reception. By now, the disinterest in the crowd was beginning to fade away.
"I'm sure many of you have heard the rumors, if not seen for yourselves, that Darrian is capable of magic ability in a way that's totally distinct from our own practices. I thought it'd be fun to give you all a peek into what he's capable of. Shall we?"
Louise looked up with a ready smile, which Darrian returned along with a nod of confirmation. Though not quite excited, many in the crowd had shed their boredom altogether, and seemed genuinely interested in what was to come. None of the other students that had come before her had bothered with such a vocal introduction, something that likely played a part in the general boredom of the audience up to then.
Taking a deep breath of his own, Darrian held out both of his hands, and formed a pair of distinctly opposite looking rods. In one hand was a rod with a golden haft, bearing a series of blue orbs that sprouted from the end, an item he'd referred to as the Stardust Cell Staff. In his other hand was a rod that took the shape of a small mace, in which the head bore a strong fiery motif - the Flamelash.
Passing the Flamelash to Louise, Darrian waved the Stardust Cell Staff in the air and called into existence five bright blue orbs, each one with a golden center that radiated with energy. That alone had many eyebrows raising in wonder, and Louise could only smile smugly, knowing that this was just the beginning. As the blue orbs slowly orbited around Darrian, the rod he'd used to summon them disappeared, immediately replaced by the colorful Meowmere sword. There were a few snickers in the crowd, as was expected of the sword's silly appearance.
With a quick nod to Louise to prepare herself, Darrian gave Meowmere a few swings, launching exactly five of the silly cat head projectiles to bounce around the field. The crowd erupted with sounds of amusement and wonder as the cat heads meowed and left their rainbow trails, with each bounce producing a puff of rainbow smoke. Knowing that the cat heads would disappear if left alone, Darrian sent each Cell out to grab one before they vanished, and set them to widely orbit above the stage.
Things were still for a moment, save for the orbiting of the cat heads, which Darrian quickly began speeding up to form a rainbow halo. Meowmere disappeared from Darrian's grip, quickly replaced by a bright blue rod that appeared to be an opposite motif from the Flamelash - the Ice Rod. Darrian and Louise shared a quick glance as the halo of rainbow trails began to converge on the center of the stage above their heads.
Taking a few steps from one another, Darrian began firing shots of ice at the cat heads, with Louise aiming fireballs at the Cells that held them. Another moment later, the Cells were burning brightly, ready to burst. Darrian sent them back out towards the edges of the field at precise points, before letting them go. Each Cell detonated harmlessly in explosions of golden energy, high above the audience, and blowing the cat heads into millions of tiny rainbow crystalline fragments that gently snowed down upon the enamored crowd.
Nearly the entire audience had risen from their seats, hands outstretched to try and catch whatever bits of crystalline they could, and even Princess Henrietta had stepped out from under her canopy to get a better look. Darrian nudged Louise and nodded in the direction of the Princess, and Louise was thrilled to see her oldest friend with such an air of wonder about her.
It made her happy enough she almost felt like crying. She didn't though. That would be an unseemly way to end what felt like a victorious performance.
There weren't many performances left to go through after Louise and Darrian finished theirs. Kirche was one of the last to go, and tried to combine hers and Flame's fire together to create a larger and more impressive torrent of flame. It certainly captivated the audience, but nowhere near the way it had from Louise and Darrian's demonstration.
Shortly after the Zerbst's performance, the presentation section of the Familiar Exhibition came to an end. Headmaster Osmond took to the stage and gave a short but rousing speech about the importance of bonds, not just between Master and Familiar, but between allies and friends as well. The Exhibition was meant to be more of a test of that bond than anything else, with the competitive aspect acting merely as a motivator to get the young mages to try harder. Of course, every competition needs a winner, which brought the Exhibition to its award ceremony.
Princess Henrietta joined much of the academy's upper management on the stage, ready to award medals to the three top performing students. There had been a few moments of deliberation before the ceremony started, with many of the better performers being given honorable mentions, before reaching the announcement for top three.
"In third place is Kirche von Zerbst, and her salamander, Flame," Professor Colbert announced. Kirche didn't seem too surprised by this, and stepped up to the stage amidst a wave of applause, for once not playing up too much to the attention. She bowed briefly to the Princess before receiving her bronze medal, then waved and smiled to the audience as she took her place next to the Headmaster, with Flame laying down at her feet and warbling happily.
"In second place is Tabitha d'Orleans, and her dragon, Sylphiid," Colbert called, and another round of applause broke out. Tabitha stepped up to the stage and received her silver medal, and took a place next to Kirche, stoic as ever. Sylphiid circled around to the back of the stage and stepped up with her front paws, but stopped there, sitting down in an awkward looking position and laying her head so it just barely poked out from behind the small crowd of faculty members.
"And finally, the winner of this year's Familiar Exhibition," Professor Colbert started before pausing, allowing for a moment of anticipation. Louise couldn't help but hold her breath. She and Darrian were the only ones to truly outdo Tabitha's performance, and she'd come in second place. Regardless of the logic, there was still a lingering sense of dread mixed with the anticipation and sheer hope-
"Louise de la Vallière, and Darrian!"
Louise shot to her feet like a rocket, with Darrian following a moment later. Grandiose applause had broken out amongst the crowd, but it felt entirely different now that it was all around her, and it almost felt like her feet were glued to the ground. After a gentle nudge from Darrian, the two stepped up to the stage to receive their medal.
"Very well done," Henrietta praised with a warm smile as she handed the gold medal to Louise, who bowed politely before accepting it with an equally warm smile of her own, before turning and taking her place near Tabitha and Kirche. Darrian breezed right past for a moment to offer pets to Sylphiid, leaving Louise to stare at the medal in her hands and appreciate her victory.
My victory?
It was a long time coming, and she felt it was truly deserved, but it didn't quite sit right with her to just call it hers. She pondered on it for a moment before Darrian stepped up beside her and laid a hand gently around her shoulder. Louise smiled up at him for a moment as she thought about the last few weeks, and the person who'd made such a big impact on her life.
Darrian, whose influence had pulled her out of the pit that was being the laughing stock of the academy, and the mental darkness that had stemmed from it. She'd gained confidence, finally made friends, and reconnected with her oldest friend. For the first time in a long time, Louise felt like she could start living up to her family's legacy.
"Our victory," Louise said simply, offering Darrian half of the cord on the medal so they could hold it up together, the both of them grinning triumphantly. Winning the Exhibition wasn't much in the grand scheme of things, but Louise found she didn't much care. It was a victory, one that she'd earned through effort, and through the support of someone who cared for her. Whatever came next, Louise knew she'd be ready to take it on.
And then there was an explosion at the central tower of the academy.
Not a whole lot to say here.
-Henrietta and Louise reunite, short but sweet imo.
-Agnes and Darrian interact. Agnes doesn't usually appear until much later, but I never quite understood why
-Darrian and Montmorency have a moment. I'd planned to have this happen after the Guiche thing in chapter 3, but before Darrian and Tabitha have their moment, but it just didn't work out that way.
-Finally, the familiar exhibition! I'm proud of how Louise and Darrian's presentation turned out. I feel like I could have worked the balance out so Louise could do a bit more, but I still like the way it ended up.
-The award ceremony felt a bit dry and lengthy to me, but I did feel the need to include it as it currently is, just for the sake of wrapping things up.
"Not a whole lot to say" my ass lmao
