Eyy, welcome back to my fantasy land.
This is being cross posted on and AO3.
To the guest on FF that posted a comment asking why Darrian would "spill out everything without any sort of filter to people he has literally never met? Despite being in completely unknown territory? Doesn't quite feel real. Rather, seems like it's forced in order to garner sympathy points and make clear 'bad guys'."
The answer is: exposition. Unfortunately, I'm an amateur writer, cobbling together what pretty much amounts to general fantasies and fragments of little things I think about here and there. So, yeah, it doesn't feel real because I'm not skilled enough as a writer to do actually good exposition rofl
The sun slowly crept over the horizon.
Darrian's eyes opened slowly, blearily taking in the sight of the dormitory in the dawn's light. Pushing himself up from the moderately comfortable pile of hay, Darrian twisted a few times to stretch his back and wake up somewhat. It wasn't too difficult, considering how little sleep he'd managed to achieve. Despite how exhausted he'd been upon his arrival, the turmoil in his mind kept him from getting any real rest. With a sigh, Darrian wandered over to Louise's bed.
"Hey," Darrian said softly, shaking Louise's shoulder lightly. "Up time."
Louise mewled cutely, rolling over to get away from him, and Darrian couldn't help but smile gently as he reached over to shake her shoulder a little more firmly.
"Come on, it's time to get up. Time to face the day."
"Mmh… wha?" Louise slurred, opening her eyes slowly and pushing herself up into a sitting position.
"You asked me to wake you up at dawn, remember?" Darrian reminded her, moving towards the door. "I'm gonna step outside so you have a chance to get dressed."
"Aye aye, cap'n…" Louise mumbled with a yawn. Darrian stopped cold in his tracks, turning to stare at the waking girl with wide eyes.
"What… did you just say?" Darrian questioned, staring at Louise with a look of shock and a bead of sweat dripping down his forehead.
"What?" Louise stared back blankly, before her eyes shot open as realization and bewilderment set in. "Wait, no-"
Louise cut herself off with a strangled sound, and for a moment, all the two could do was stare at each other with wide eyes.
"Louise, how do you know that phrase?" Darrian asked slowly, staring at Louise intently as the shock drained out of his face. The girl was silent for a moment, looking very much like she'd rather be anywhere else.
"I- I heard it, while I was dreaming," Louise answered quietly, looking like she wasn't able to fully believe it herself.
"While you were dreaming?" Darrian quoted with a look of disbelief. Louise nodded quickly, staring back at him with wide eyes. With his mind racing, Darrian dropped himself into a chair, staring into space as Louise fidgeted across from him with her own look of utter confusion. "Do you remember anything else? Did you see anything?"
"There was," Louise started, screwing her eyes shut as she tried to keep hold of the dream. "A clearing, in a forest. There were people there, you and… five others? Or six, I think… One of them said something about you 'calling the shots', and something about a… Terraria?"
Louise opened her eyes again, feeling very much ready to be ridiculed for such a strange dream, despite Darrian's reaction to the phrase she'd used without thinking.
"Terraria…" Darrian breathed, leaning back in his seat, tapping his foot lightly in a show of restlessness. "That's the name of the world where the battle took place."
"The… world?" Louise quoted confusedly, earning a curt nod from her summon. "You mean… a world that… isn't this one?"
"That's right," Darrian confirmed with a sigh, raking a hand through his hair as he stood and made for the door. "Go on and get dressed, we can talk about this in more detail later."
"Okay…" Louise said quietly as Darrian disappeared out the door, not moving from her bed until the door clicked shut behind him. For a few long moments, Louise stared at the door, her mind swirling with a variety of emotions she couldn't comprehend.
With a sigh, she pushed herself out of bed, trying to ignore the all too familiar feeling of tightness in the back of her throat.
Now dressed in her school attire and noble's mantle, Louise stepped out of her dormitory. Closing the door shut behind her, she turned to face Darrian with a small sigh. The two of them just stared at one another, unable to find the right words to fill the silence.
Unfortunately for them both, Neither Louise nor Darrian were the first to speak.
"Good morning, little Zero," came the voice of Louise's ever annoying rival, Kirche von Zerbst, causing the pink haired girl to sag in annoyance. Turning to face the smug redhead, Louise noted absently that Tabitha was also present. While she held her staff in one hand, her other was strangely bereft of her usual reading material.
"What do you want, Zerbst," Louise asked tiredly, rubbing her temple in frustration. Today was going to be terrible, she already knew.
"Oh, no need to be so hostile," Kirche responded with a pompous tone, grinning condescendingly at Louise, who responded with a withering stare. "And here, I just came to check up on you! It must be so embarrassing to put up this charade."
"Charade? What are you on about now?" Louise questioned with a raised eyebrow. Her confusion was just genuine enough to throw Kirche off for a moment, but she recovered quickly.
"With your 'familiar', of course," Kirche answered imperiously with air quotes, though amusingly, she only used a single finger on each hand. Louise remained confused, staring back at the redhead with a blank, if somewhat annoyed expression. When there was no immediate answer, Kirche swapped her attention to Darrian, who had been aloof in the background up to that point. "Tell me, commoner, how much is little Louise paying you for this role?"
"She's… not," Darrian responded with a mildly confused tone, once again throwing Kirche off balance.
"That can't be right…" Kirche mumbled to herself, crossing her arms and turning away from the pair with a contemplative expression. "Little Louise the 'Zero' has never cast a single spell in all her life, there's no way she'd be able to summon a familiar on the first try!"
Darrian sent an inquisitive look at Louise, whose face was now buried in her hands in a mixture of embarrassment and shame. Before either of them could say anything, Kirche snapped her fingers with a look of realization as she turned to face the pair once more.
"Favors!" Kirche exclaimed, grinning widely. "If she's not paying you, then she must be doing you some kind of service! Right? Don't be shy, you can share every detail with me!"
Kirche pushed up close to Darrian, who took a half step back out of both confusion and discomfort, looking bewildered as he swapped his attention between her and Louise. After a moment of silence and awkward staring from an overly excited Kirche, Darrian's expression hardened.
"No," Darrian bit out, prompting a confused 'eh?' from Kirche. "No, you're not pulling me into whatever problem it is that you have with Louise. She brought me here, and that's the end of it."
Darrian glared coldly at the redhead for a moment before stepping around her, shooting an apologetic look towards a thoroughly embarrassed Louise, who returned the look with a little grateful smile. Just as he reached the far side of the group, Tabitha turned and reached out, taking one of his hands with her empty one. Darrian stopped cold for the second time that morning, but this time kept his gaze forward, staring down the empty corridor.
"It hurts," Tabitha said simply.
"...it does," Darrian confirmed lowly with a mildly pained tone in his voice.
"I understand."
"Do you?" Darrian asked quietly.
Tabitha responded by tightening her grip on his hand, prompting him to turn and look back at her. Darrian's eyes widened as, just for a moment, the look on Tabitha's face mirrored the swirl of emotion he felt in his heart.
It hurts.
Darrian's expression softened, and his fingers curled around Tabitha's hand.
"...I believe you."
After a long moment, Darrian pulled his hand from Tabitha's grip, leaving the blue haired girl to stare at his back as he continued on down the hall alone.
Behind her, Kirche and Louise shared a confused look, neither of them understanding the turn of events.
"What just happened?" Kirche asked, bewildered.
"I have no idea," Louise responded in a dry tone. "Tabitha? Is there something you need to say?"
Tabitha turned and looked back at Kirche and Louise with her usual blank and emotionless expression, leaving the pair of girls to wonder what it was she'd shown Darrian while her back had been turned.
"...I already did," Tabitha said, before turning and walking away, leaving the rivals to share another confused look.
Later that morning, Darrian and Louise were sitting at a table in the Vestri courtyard. Darrian's maid friend, Siesta, had brought them tea and sandwiches. The pair had been silent since their arrival, neither of them summoning the courage to begin conversation, despite realizing there was probably a lot they still needed to talk about.
After what felt like an eternity, Darrian spoke up and broke the silence.
"I can imagine… that this isn't how you would have wanted me to find out."
Louise looked up from her tea with a mildly confused expression. Darrian was staring down at his half eaten sandwich, looking every bit as apprehensive as Louise felt.
Truly, it hadn't been a good morning for either of them so far.
"Find out about what?" Louise asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Your magic problem," Darrian clarified in a low voice, earning a small grimace from Louise.
"...oh. Right." Louise set her tea down with a small huff, wishing desperately that this didn't have to come up so soon. "It's as you heard. I've never successfully cast a single spell in my whole life, and every single one results in an explosion. Since my success rate at casting is zero percent, my classmates have taken to calling me 'Louise the Zero'."
"Brutal," Darrian muttered with an expression of sympathy. "I can't imagine what that must be like."
Louise studied his face for a moment, searching for any signs of deception, and wasn't sure how to react when she didn't find any.
"Well, at least it isn't entirely true anymore," Darrian commented, leaning back in his chair as Louise shot him another confused look. "You summoned me, right? It did kinda blow up, but you still brought me here. That has to count for something."
"Maybe, but I'm not really sure what it helps," Louise sighed, leaning down and resting her head on one hand. "It doesn't say anything about my alignment. The summoning was my last hope for that, and now I don't have any leads."
"Alignment?" Darrian quoted. "Is that related to your magic system?"
"Yes, it is," Louise answered glumly. "Every mage is aligned to one of the four elements, water, earth, fire, and wind. Though you'd be able to use spells from every element, your aligned element will be leagues easier to cast."
"And if you couldn't figure it out from practice, your familiar would clue you in to which element you'd be aligned to?"
"That's correct. That Zerbst summoning a fire salamander clearly displays her as a fire mage, for example."
"Well, I can see why summoning me wouldn't exactly be beneficial," Darrian commented, leaning down to match Louise's posture. "Especially if people will just think I'm a paid actor or something."
"Honestly, it's not my classmates I'm worried about," Louise admitted. "They're annoying, sure, but what worries me is how my family will react. They've been against me trying to learn magic from the start, because of my explosion problem. After this, they'll probably push to have me drop out and focus on marital duty instead…"
"And that's something you don't want to do," Darrian noted.
"Of course not," Louise bit out, her emotions steadily rising. "All I want, all I've ever wanted, is to live up to their expectations. I'm the daughter of a duke, I'm supposed to be able to serve my family and country with distinction and pride, and I just… can't!"
Louise's energy fizzled out, and she slumped over once more, hiding her face behind her hands. The back of her throat tightened up again, and she was forced to take a few moments to cool herself down before her tears began to flow once more.
"I can just imagine Mother's look of disapproval," Louise mumbled mostly to herself, setting her chin down on the table. She appreciated that Darrian wasn't trying to make fun of her, but she also wasn't really in the mood to care if he was actually listening. "My eldest sister, Eleonore, would probably be furious with me. Demanding that I give up on this 'foolishness', or whatever, and start pinching my cheeks. Or pulling my ears. Or hair. Ugh."
"That doesn't sound like something an older sister should do," Darrian commented, sounding somewhat put off by Louise's description. Louise huffed in response, and said nothing. "I'm being serious. Being strict is one thing, but getting physical is entirely another."
"It doesn't matter," Louise muttered, laying her head down on its side so she could face away from Darrian. "It's not like any of this is working out, anyway. My grades are fine, but I'll never be able to serve my country the way I am now. So they're probably right to treat me the way they do."
Louise couldn't help but feel numb. She was mildly regretful of saying any of it out loud, fearful that she was complaining to someone who not only had nothing to do with it, but had probably just been through something worse anyway. Closing her eyes, Louise mentally prepared herself to head back to her room and complete her letter to Mother, and finally admit defeat.
That was, at least, until she was hoisted out of her seat. With a yelp of surprise, Louise found herself being carried bridal style by Darrian.
"Wh-wh-what are you doing!?" Louise yelped, looking around with embarrassment at the other students in the courtyard, who were now staring at the two of them with mild interest.
"Quiet," Darrian commanded softly yet firmly as a pair of spectral wings unfurled from his back, ending whatever resistance Louise had planned to put up. She stared in awe at Darrian's wings for a moment, until he shifted her slightly so as to carry her more favorably on one side, leaving his other arm free to move around.
And then they ascended. Louise yelped again as they took off, screwing her eyes shut and clinging to Darrian for dear life.
Every time their ascent slowed, Darrian's free arm shot out, and a wooden platform appeared from nowhere for him to latch onto with a bright orange chain, renewing their ascent once more. Not that Louise was able to see any of it, for how freaked out she was.
After what felt like an eternity, the two of them came to a stop. When Louise finally dared to open her eyes, she was awestruck at just how high up they were. Now safely perched on a wooden platform that defied gravity, the pair of them were easily above the cloud line.
Tentatively, Darrian let Louise down from his grip, letting her hold on as she found her footing. With a single cautious step towards the edge, Louise couldn't help but peer down towards the ground.
The academy is so far down, I can barely see it from up here!
"Louise," Darrian called softly, drawing her attention back to him with a somber expression. "I can tell that I'm not the only one of us that's hurting. It's clear to me now that… you didn't have the support you really needed, growing up."
Despite the wonder of the sudden change in scenery, Louise couldn't help but choke up hearing him say that. She wanted to deny it, but the tightness in the back of her throat closed off her ability to speak. So instead, she just pursed her lips and nodded, earning a small grimace from Darrian.
"You've been surrounded by a family that won't support you, peers who refuse to accept you, and I can see the weight and doubt that it's all been forcing on you."
Darrian's voice cracked then, and whatever stoicism had been holding him together was replaced with a sorrow that Louise was all too familiar with.
"I know the Summoning was really important to you, and I know I'm probably not what you wanted, but… I'm here now."
Louise couldn't help but hunch her shoulders, balling her hands into fists as she desperately tried to keep a lid on her emotions.
"You aren't alone anymore."
And just like that, she cracked. Louise threw her arms around Darrian, burying her face in his chest to stifle the sound of her sobbing. He wrapped his arms around her, laying his chin on the top of her head and screwing his eyes shut, letting his own tears fall for the first time since he arrived in this world.
The two of them said little after their heart to heart moment, simply appreciating the view of the world from on high. Once they descended, Darrian chose to take things more slowly, and Louise enjoyed the ride down much more than the ascent. She'd directed him towards a particular side of the castle and, with a bit of guesswork, was able to let them directly into her bedroom through the window.
With a little sigh, Darrian stepped out of Louise's room, leaving her to work on a letter to her family. As he turned away, he was met face to face with Kirche and Tabitha, the former of whom seemed quite serious compared to before.
"...Déjà vu," Darrian muttered, sharing a soft look with Tabitha for a moment before setting his attention on the redheaded Zerbst with a pointed expression. "Can I help you with something?"
"You can tell me what happened in the courtyard," Kirche suggested in a matter of fact tone, crossing her arms with mild annoyance.
"And why would I want to do that," Darrian responded flatly, shoving his hands in his pockets as he glared at the redhead.
"Why wouldn't you? You were awfully vocal with Guiche last night," Kirche noted, narrowing her eyes at Darrian.
"I was also too exhausted to think straight," Darrian retorted in a deadpan tone. "Besides that, what makes you think you're entitled to know?"
"Oh, please," Kirche huffed, trying to wave away the argument. "Little Louise is my rival, not my enemy. I just want to make sure nothing's happened to her."
"Really now?" Darrian took a half step towards Kirche, who seemed unfazed until she saw the hell on his face. "You could have fooled me, with the whole 'Zero' thing. That isn't rivalry, Zerbst. Rivals push each other to become better, yet all I've seen you do is actively sabotage her already dwindling confidence."
"That's not… She's a grown girl, she should be able to take it!" Kirche said quickly with a panicked expression, taking a step back away from Darrian.
"She's human," Darrian snapped. "Humans aren't built to deal with that kind of torment, torment that you've been inciting every person around her to partake in! And now you have the nerve to try and act worried over her well being? Get real."
Silence reigned in the hall as Kirche stared at Darrian with a shocked expression. Darrian stared back with an angry expression for a moment before softening up.
"If you actually care about Louise, even as a rival, then now would be a good time to maybe dial some things back a bit," Darrian said with a somber expression.
"I've… not been treating her very well, have I?" Kirche asked softly, casting her gaze down at the floor. Tabitha tugged at Kirche's sleeve a bit, and the two of them shared a quiet look with one another.
"Be better," Tabitha said so quietly that it was almost inaudible. Darrian was a bit pleased to see that Kirche seemed genuinely remorseful over her actions.
"Just cut her some slack, okay?"
Despite a few stray thoughts of doubt, Louise's determination to turn things around had been renewed. As she wrote her letter to Mother, trying carefully to relay information as impartially as possible, Louise pondered how she might try to move forward. It hadn't been what she'd been hoping for deep down, but the Summoning had indeed borne fruit, and now it was up to Louise to figure out how to make use of it.
With Darrian's help, of course.
Louise couldn't help but smile. It was a pleasant feeling, to know that someone was finally, truly on her side. With a quick stretch and yawn, she moved to lay down over the top of her blankets, deciding that the morning's dramatics had warranted a short nap.
"Hey, Darrian, what do you think of this house?" Terrence asked, proudly presenting a large, misshapen block of wood with a door on it.
"It's the stupidest house I've ever seen," Darrian quipped without skipping a beat.
"Hey hey, don't judge!" Terrence laughed, waving a copper pickaxe around comically. Darrian made a show of rolling his eyes while failing to contain his own laughter.
Louise couldn't help but smile at the interaction as the pair continued working on their construction efforts. It was an odd sight, watching fragments of wood and stone simply appear from nowhere.
Taking a look around, Louise noted absently that a crude little village had popped up in the clearing from before.
"I'm back!" called a new voice, and Louise turned to see the blonde boy, Ian, emerge from the mouth of a nearby cave.
"Anything exciting down there?" Darrian asked, taking a break from his building. In response, Ian held up a dark gray orb with a string poking out of one side.
"I found bombs!" Ian said excitedly.
"Very nice," Darrian commented with a thumbs up. "That'll get us a demolitionist for our town, and then we can buy even more explosives. Should help out in the Corruption."
"Can we use them for mining?" Terence asked, resting his pickaxe on his shoulder.
"That we can," Darrian confirmed, taking a bomb from the blonde boy. "I'll keep this one in my inventory for right now. We'll need at least one, and a merchant in our town before the demolitionist will spawn. The cost will add up pretty quickly, though, so we'll just stick to using them in the Corruption."
The more Louise listened in, the more confused she became. Words like inventory and spawn, in the context that Darrian used them, made zero sense to Louise. She supposed that she would just have to keep watching and hope the answers would come to her eventually.
As the trio set off towards the cave that Ian had emerged from, Louise became aware that this was the second time she'd seen into Darrian's past. A pit formed in her stomach, and she came to the sobering realization that, if this continued…
Louise was going to have to watch all of Darrian's friends die, the same way he had.
"Time to face the day" is something my dad would say to me when waking me up in the morning.
