Author's Notes:

Yet again, this chapter was late. On the upside, we got past 100,000 words! Thanks for motivating me to go this far guys! I really enjoyed the experience, and I never thought I'd get to 100,000 words so quickly. Thanks a lot!. Anyway, thanks for listening to my excuses. Enjoy chapter 31!

Chapter 31: Mariel

Louise was cold and tired. She had been walking towards a large mountain for 36 hours, meaning she only had 12 hours to return to Sasha. Because that would clearly be impossible, she decided to make a small camp at the base of the mountain.

Using what she had been taught by Saito and Sasha over the past few months, she decided to try and make a small shelter for herself. However, the area she was in consisted tall pine trees. The branches were far out of reach and, by Sasha's orders, she was prohibited from using magic to assist herself. Feeling quite helpless, she decided to venture higher up the mountain in search of a cave where she could be safe from the weather.

For several more hours, she went higher up the mountain in search of a cave. Eventually, when snow had begun to fall heavily onto the forest, she found a deep cave. Realizing that she had no other option but to stay there, she laid down on the ground inside of the cave and soon fell asleep.

She dreamt of living with Saito and a little girl in their palace. However, she couldn't quite make out the details of the girl. As she lived happily in her dream until suddenly, the scenery changed to a cold pine forest that was lit up in fire.

She saw thousands of strangely dressed men dying in the fire. In the trees, she saw a being with a glowing orange tail and glowing orange eyes. It looked very sad and depressed. Suddenly, it looked in her direction, at which point she woke up.

As she opened her eyes, she realized that she was in an unfamiliar environment. She was laying on a thatch bed in a small room with stone walls and a stone roof. Not knowing where she was, she pulled a small dagger from underneath her cloak, and then got up to explore the area.

A door on the side of the room led into a hallway, at the end of which was a larger room with wooden furnishings. On one of the wooden chairs sat a woman. Louise couldn't tell what her age might be. All she could see was that she had long, silky, black hair that had a slightly purple hue.

Louise decided to sneak up behind the person, holding her dagger in her hand just in case. As she was about one foot away, the person yawned and then spoke directly to Louise.

"How are you? Did you sleep well?" She asked.

"I suppose." Louise replied, jumping back in fear. "Who are you?"

"Oh, that's not important." The person replied.

She stood up and turned around to look at Louise. She was slightly taller than Saito. Her face looked young, with smooth skin and bright, emerald colored eyes. She emitted an aura of happiness and warmth, and seemed to glow as if she were some divine being. She went to a small box in the room, from which she took a tea set and cakes. She laid them out on the table, then beckoned for Louise to sit with her.

"You must be hungry." She said.

Louise didn't argue, even if she wanted to.

"What's your name?" The woman asked.

"Louise de la Valliére." Louise replied as she took one of the cakes. "What is yours?"

"Mariel de la Forêt." She replied. "Pleased to meet you."

"Why do you live inside a mountain?" Louise asked.

"I only live here during the winter." Mariel replied. "The heart of this mountain keeps the inside warm."

"Heart?" Louise asked.

"I'll explain later. I do have questions for you, however." Mariel said. "Why did you come to this mountain? If that weren't enough, what is a human doing in this place?"

"Oh. You are an Elf?" Louise asked.

"Indeed." Mariel said, brushing aside her hair to reveal her ears, which were more swept back than a normal Elf's.

"Me and my fiancé came here a little more than a month ago." Louise said.

"Are you of royal decent in the human world?" Mariel asked, taking notice of the crown on Louise's head.

"I was recently made a Queen. I am also the crown princess of Tristain." Louise replied.

"Ahh, Tristain!" Mariel exclaimed. "I haven't been there since it was founded! How is it?!"

"Well, it was fine for the time being when we came to this kingdom, but a large country went to war with it shortly after we arrived here." Louise explained. "When he heard of the war, he went to fight, but he never told me."

"What a brave man!" Mariel said. "So humans are still capable of such noble deeds! All to save his pregnant wife! If only I could find a man like that!"

"How did you know I was-?" Louise began.

"I can see it with these old eyes of mine." Mariel said.

Louise noticed that her emerald eyes did seem to glow, but she thought it was an effect of the several lamps in the room.

"You can see it?" Louise asked.

"Yep. Clear as day." Mariel said. "It's quite the strange baby too. Is your fiancé completely human?"

"You're awfully observant." Louise said, taking another cake. "He was entirely human, but certain things changed him."

"It must be quite the drastic change to have a baby that looks like that." Mariel said.

"How are you seeing the baby? It hasn't even formed yet?" Louise asked.

"Like I said, these old eyes of mine can see many things." Mariel said. "I assume you must have had a strange dream when you came here."

"Y-Yes." Louise said.

"I figured." Mariel said. "So, back to my first question. Why did you come here?"

"I am training under a person named Sasha. I want to be able to stand by my fiancé rather than behind him, always relying on his strength." Louise said. "As part of her training, Sasha said I had to run to this mountain and back to her in 48 hours, but I've already failed."

"Sounds like something Sasha would do." Mariel said.

"You know her?" Louise asked.

"Of course. She is my little sister, after all." Mariel said.

"You're her sister?!" Louise exclaimed. "I guess you do have the same eyes. And you kind of look alike too."

"Sasha never intended for you to return in 48 hours." Mariel said. "She knows I come here in the winter, so she probably wanted you to see me."

"Why would she want me to see you?" Louise asked.

"What kind of training are you doing, exactly?" Mariel asked in return.

"Right now, Sasha wants me to strengthen my body." Louise replied.

"And after that?" Mariel asked.

"She's going to help me control my magic." Louise said.

"The only magic Sasha can use is nature magic, although she doesn't have particularly great control over her own reserves of power." Mariel said. "Is she teaching you about nature magic?"

"Not exactly." Louise said. "She's teaching me to use Void magic."

"You can use void magic?" Mariel asked. "No wonder she sent you here. Your body definitely needs strengthening to be able to control it like 'he' could."

"He? You mean Brimir?" Louise asked.

"I mean the devil." Mariel replied, disgusted to hear Brimir's name spoken. "However, strengthening your body to such a level cannot be done through simply running or lifting heavy things, although that has surely helped you thus far."

"How else can I do it?" Louise asked.

"Through magic, of course." Mariel said. "I will help you, so don't worry. You'll be really strong in no time!"

Mariel laughed heartily, making Louise feel somewhat afraid. However, deep down, she knew that Mariel was right. No amount of physical exercise would ever get a normal human to Saito's level. Magic was, indeed, the only way. Besides, as much as she would hate to admit it, Louise took a liking to Mariel. She reminded her of a strange mix of Cattleya and Éléonore, although whether that was a good thing or not, she was not sure.

In Charlotte's Palace

Saito hugged Henrietta and Agnés tightly in his arms. Finally letting go, he noticed how well disguised they were in plebian clothes. Had he not been familiar with them, he would have never known who they were.

"Thank god you're alive." Saito said, as he sat on the ground feeling exhausted.

"It's good to see you too, Saito." Henrietta said.

Saito looked up and noticed that Agnés had an abdominal wound wrapped in bandages.

"What happened?" He asked.

"On our escape from the Palace, one of Germania's soldiers who stormed the palace pointed their weapon at me." Agnés said. "There was a bang and then I felt pain in my stomach. We managed to evade them and survive."

Saito walked up to her and put his hand over the wound. His eyes, tail, and the runes on his arm began to glow. Steam rose from Agnés' wound. After a few minutes, he moved his hand away and asked her to remove her bandages. When she did, she was shocked to see that her wound was completely healed. She looked back up to thank Saito, but he had fallen onto the ground from exhaustion.

"Sorry." He said. "I know you just got here, but I really need to rest."

"Don't worry about that." Henrietta said.

Refusing for them to help him, he slowly got up and made his way to a room that was set aside for him. He dropped onto the bed and looked up at the ceiling.

"How long do you think this war will last, Derf?" He said.

"Who knows?" Derf replied. "It depends on how long it takes to kill Albrecht, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. I could do it myself, but there's no way I could get past all of his defenses if they have weapons from my world." Saito said. "If they were using swords and mages, it wouldn't be difficult. How the hell did Albrecht even know how to build these weapons?"

"Someone from your world must have told them at some point." Derf replied.

"I need this to end quickly." Saito told him, looking at his hands. "There's already too much blood on my hands. I don't want to be a father who has to tell their kid that he killed so many people."

"It has to be done." Derf replied. "Not only for your family, but for the rest of your friends."

"I know." Saito said. "But didn't those thousands of soldiers have family and friends they thought were important enough to die for?"

"For their sake, you have to end this war quickly." Derf replied.

"I don't even know how I'm supposed to do that…" Saito said, slowly falling asleep.

"I'm sure it'll come to you, Partner. Sleep well." Derf said.

Saito soon fell asleep. The events over the past month had stressed him out so much that he was unable to sleep during that time. This was the first time he had the opportunity to get proper rest.

However, almost immediately, he woke up in front of the giant monster that slept inside of him, Gandalfr. He was staring down at Saito, as if expecting him to say something. His prediction was proven right moments later.

"What should I do?" Saito asked.

"Do what you must." Gandalfr replied. "Your wife is working hard, so you should as well."

"What do you mean?" Saito asked.

"As we speak, the girl is working hard so that she will no longer have to rely on your strength. She wants to be there to support you, rather than being a burden." Gandalfr said.

"How the hell could you possibly know that?" Saito replied.

"Part of me dwells inside her for the time being. Thanks to you, of course." Gandalfr said.

When Saito realized what he meant, he turned bright red. "So you can watch over her?" Saito asked.

"If need be, yes." Gandalfr replied, stretching his limbs as he looked down at Saito.

Saito felt much better, knowing that at the very least, Louise was still safe. Because he was in a better mood, he decided to tease Gandalfr.

"So, did you ever have someone you liked?" He asked.

"What kind of preposterous question is that?" Gandalfr replied.

"Come on. You've been alive for a while. I'm sure there was a special someone." Saito said. "I mean, you're a male, so that means that there has to be a female somewhere, right?"

"You're a funny one, boy." Gandalfr said. "I have no knowledge of any females of my kind. In fact, the only ones of my kind that I am aware of are myself and my brothers."

"Can't you remember your parents at all?" Saito asked.

"I'm not even sure if I have parents. My brothers have no clue either about how we came to be." Gandalfr replied.

"Would you prefer to have parents?" Saito asked.

Gandalfr was silent for a few moments, then laid on the ground, curling his tail around himself.

"Go and sleep, boy." He said.

Saito thought that he sensed hurt in his voice, but chose to leave him be. He closed his eyes and fell truly asleep.

In Mariel's mountain

Mariel led Louise deeper into the mountain. For hours, they walked continuously until they eventually reached a small room. Inside was a metal table, a bookshelf filled with books written in a variety of languages, as well as several bottles of strange looking liquids.

"What is this place?" Louise asked.

"This is the room where the devil would conduct his experiments on Sasha and I." Mariel said.

"He did it to you too?" Louise asked.

"Yes. I was the first one he tried to conduct experiments on, but he deemed me unfit for what he intended, so he cast me aside." Mariel explained.

"So what are we doing here?" Louise asked, trying her best to avoid prying into Mariel's past.

"As I told you before, we're going to use magic to make your body stronger." Mariel said.

"How?" Louise asked.

"We're going to mimic the operations that the devil did on Sasha and I." Mariel said as she gathered several books and liquids from the bookshelf and cabinets in the room.

"What?! What if that kills me?!" Louise asked.

"Well, it will hurt, but it won't kill you." Mariel said. "The devil's experiments were crude and incomplete. I have revised them, smoothed them out, strengthened them, and perfected them in the thousands of years since his death."

"I don't know about this…" Louise said. "I mean, I hardly know you."

"If it is a matter of trust, would you like me to bring my little sister here to verify my identity?" Mariel asked.

Louie was silent for a little while, then nodded her head. Mariel smiled and left the room. She was gone for about 3 hours. During this time, Louise thought about how Saito might be doing in the war, but she quickly stopped thinking about it, as it made her feel fear. When Mariel came back, Louise was rather surprised to see her dragging Sasha roughly into the room.

"Let go of me, older sister." Sasha said, irritated but calm.

"I'm just happy to see my little sis!" Mariel replied.

Eventually, after teasing her a little more, Mariel let go of Sasha. She looked back at Louise, her face beaming with happiness.

"I told you she was my little sister, didn't I?" Mariel said.

"I'm only two years younger." Sasha said.

"Two and a half years." Mariel said. "Either way, now I've proven that you can trust me, right?"

"I suppose." Louise said. "Sasha, did you plan this?"

Sasha simply turned away, which Louise took as a yes.

"How long will this take?" Louise asked.

"Anywhere from 12 to 72 hours." Mariel replied.

"72 hours of pain…" Louise said to herself.

"I can give you a medicine that will make you sleep, but it will only last for twelve hours, so I suggest you use it later in the procedure." Mariel said. "Of course, if you're lucky, you might pass out during the procedure. Cross your fingers."

Louise was hesitant to do what Mariel asked of her. After all, she had experienced several hours of torture under Cromwell. However, the thought of protecting Saito for once instead of him protecting her gave her the confidence to comply.

As directed, she removed her clothes and laid down on the cold metal table. Sasha sat next to her and held her hand.

"What are you doing?" Louise asked.

"Neither my sister or myself had someone there for us when this happened, so I will be here for you." She said. She looked away, clearly embarrassed.

"Thank you, Sasha." Louise said.

Mariel rubbed a strange, light pink gel on Louise's body. Her body seemed to quickly absorb it, which hurt slightly. After this, Mariel put several sharp needles into various points on Louise's body. The needles themselves didn't hurt because they were thing and very sharp. When the hundreds of needles were all in their respective position, she put her hands over her body. At first, nothing happened. Suddenly, however, Louise felt a sharp and intense pain everywhere on her body, making her scream.

This pain would continued off and on, but not for 72 hours as Mariel said, but for the next 144 hours. However, as Mariel said, Louise became unconscious after the third hour. Sasha looked at her unconscious face with sadness and concern.

"You're a strong girl." She said. "Your husband will be proud."

Author's Notes:

Welp, this came out much later than expected. I'm sorry. Life just didn't want you guys to get a chapter yesterday. It was also quite a bit shorter than expected, but I'm happy with how it came out. Anyways, leave a review or send a PM guys! It helps me know what to add or remove to the story. If you want to make a difference, please let me know what you like and dislike. See you next time!