Author's Notes:

Hello, everyone! I'm still having trouble uploading to the website, so I'm not sure when I'll be posting chapters in the day. I've started using the app to post, though, so it has made things a little easier. Anyway, that's all I have to say right now. Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 42: Victory Day

Louise ran at Sasha as fast as she could and gave her a hug. Sasha was equally happy to see her, hugging her back, but she could tell that something bothered Louise. It was like the magic within her was turbulent and unkempt.

"I'm so glad to see you, little sister." Sasha said. "Although, I wonder why you came here."

"Hayai brought me here." Louise said, pointing at the dragon that was walking towards her.

"I see." Sasha said, intrigued by the strange beast. "However, I feel that you're troubled. Did something happen? You look exhausted."

Louise looked away, trying to hold back her tears. She picked up Saito, who was wrapped in a blanket, from Hayai's back and softly laid him on the ground. Because of the blanket, Sasha could not see the full extent of his wounds, but she could see how hurt his face and neck were. She also noticed the fire-like magic coming off of his body.

"What happened to him?" Sasha asked, immediately taking him into her house.

"We went to meet with the enemy leader to discuss ending the war, but he poisoned some of our allies and then bombed our location." Louise said. "He would have been able to survive unscathed, but he diverted all of his power to healing our friends and keeping them safe from the explosions. But he used up all of his power as the Heart of God and 'died'. Because he used all that power, he didn't have the energy left to protect himself…"

"I see. And why did your dragon decide to bring him here?" Sasha asked.

"I don't know. This dragon is…weird." Louise replied.

"I noticed. It is quite powerful, but I'm not sure what it is." Sasha said. "Regardless, I assume you want help in healing him?"

Louise nodded hopefully.

"I suppose Mariel and I may be able to accelerate his healing, but it will be months before he wakes up." Sasha said.

"Just let him live. Please." Louise replied.

"We'll keep him alive." Sasha said. "Now, about this magic coming off of his body, there is no need to worry. It's his own magic, although its nature is a mystery to me."

"Is it not just fire magic?" Louise asked.

"No. The magic is not emitting heat with the same process as fire." Sasha said. "I'll have Mariel look into it. However, as it is his own magic and not something foreign, you have nothing to fear."

"Thank god." Louise sighed.

"You need to rest, Louise." Sasha said. "You're not well, and you have more than just your own life to look after."

"I guess you're right…" Louise replied, rubbing her belly.

"You may use my bed, if you wish." Sasha said, as she laid Saito on a soft mattress that she pulled from her wall.

"Then where will you sleep?" Louise asked.

"I'll figure something out." Sasha replied.

"We can share the same bed." Louise said. It took a lot of willpower for her to say that, as sharing a bed with her sisters was something she always hated.

"Very well." Sasha said. "Go to sleep. I will tend to your husband."

"Come to think of it, we haven't had our wedding yet." Louise said as she laid down.

The thought brought her to tears, making Sasha feel terrible. Sasha finished tending to Saito, then laid down in bed behind Louise. She gave her a hug and kissed her head.

"You can cry all you want." She said, rubbing her hair. "It's okay."

Those word opened the floodgates that were Louise's tear ducts. She buried her face in Sasha's chest and let out a loud wail as she let tears flow from her eyes. For several minutes, she soaked Sasha's shirt with tears. After half an hour, she stopped as she fell asleep in Sasha's arms.

For hours, she let Louise find comfort in sleeping with her. She could see that Louise's dreams weren't troubled, and she slept quite peacefully. Despite pledging long ago to never again involve herself with human affairs, she began to feel a very strong hatred for the person that caused Louise to feel this much pain.

It was the first time in a very long time that she let her emotions influence her thoughts in such a drastic way. After all, she saw Louise as an innocent girl who was too young to be experiencing such harsh realities.

As the rather gruesome thoughts of what she wanted to do raced through her mind, she heard a knock on the door. She slowly got up and opened the door, where she saw Mariel standing, eating an apple.

"Hey, I just thought I'd tell you there's a weird dragon outside your h-" Mariel began.

She stopped when she noticed Sasha's soaked shirt and unusually angry expression.

"Were you crying?" Mariel asked.

"Don't be preposterous." Sasha said. "Louise is here. That is her dragon."

"Littlest sis is here?! Why didn't you tell me?!" Mariel asked.

"She came here for help." Sasha replied. "Her husband is..."

Mariel immediately understood the situation and walked into Sasha's house. She saw Louise sleeping on Sasha's bed. She could tell that Louise had been crying, which would explain Sasha's shirt. She then noticed Saito on another bed. She gasped when she saw his gruesome wounds.

"What happened?" She asked.

"It's the result of the human war and his selflessness." Sasha replied.

"I see." Mariel said. "This magic coming off of him is similar to the magic within that dragon outside."

"As always, your abilities to identify magic are superior to mine, older sister." Sasha replied.

"I'll look into that further." Mariel replied. "It seems that he will live, so we should have nothing to worry about."

"Let's just hope that this doesn't take a toll on Louise." Sasha said, rubbing Louise's head.

Louise slept for several more hours. By the time she woke up, it had already been more than 15 hours. The sun was lowering in the sky for a second time since she arrived. Despite the amount of time, Mariel and Sasha remained by her side the entire time.

When Mariel saw Louise's eyes crack open she immediately gave her a hug. It took Louise a few moments to grasp that it was Mariel, after which she tightly hugged her back.

"It's been too long, older sister." Louise said.

"I'm just glad you're okay." Mariel replied. "Don't worry about Saito. He'll be just fine. How is the war in your world?"

"We are winning." Louise said. "In fact, it might be over now."

"Congratulations. And what will you leaders do with that country?" Sasha asked.

"Well, I will have to go and discuss that with them, but I don't want to leave Saito alone." Louise said.

"We'll take care of him." Sasha said. "Remember, you represent a country now. You have certain responsibilities."

"You're right, I suppose." Louise said.

She got up and walked towards Saito. She stared down at him and kissed his forehead.

"Please take care of him." She said to Mariel and Sasha.

"No need to worry." They said.

Louise smiled and gave them one last hug before walking outside to Hayai. The dragon had spent the entire time outside, staring at the mountain that Louise met Mariel in.

"Come on, let's go back." She told him.

Louise opened a world door to Tristania and walked through it. Rather hesitantly, Hayai followed her, still transfixed by the mountain. When she arrived, she was swarmed by doctors, who did not know of Saito's location anymore.

"Where is Lord Hiraga?" One of them asked.

"He is in good care. I cannot tell you of his location." Louise replied as she walked towards the outside of the city with her dragon.

"Ma'am, I am sorry, but we must know of his location. He needs urgent care." They said.

"I am a Queen. Trust my word, please." She replied in a voice that made them understand that she was serious.

She had Hayai take her to the allied army as quickly as possible. Within a few seconds, she could see them resting outside of Germania's capital. Because it was dark and Hayai had black fur, no one noticed her walking through the army.

She found the large tent where Wales and the other most likely stayed in. She walked inside on Hayai's back and, sure enough, they were all sitting around a table drinking and discussing what to do with Germania.

"Hello." She said, getting off of the dragon before they noticed her.

"Louise?!" Shion exclaimed. "You left Saito alone?"

"Not quite. I can't tell you where he is." Louise replied, sitting on a chair. "He is in good hands."

"I see." Henrietta said. "So what did you come here for?"

"I am a Queen, and since Saito is in no condition to be here, I will represent him." Louise replied. "Please tell me what has been happening."

"The Germanian people are tired and have given up on fighting the war." Alex said. "We're going to take the capital once the sun rises. Once that happens, the war is officially over."

"I see. And how will we deal with Germania once it is over?" Louise asked.

"We will most likely split the country between us like our treaty stated." Charlotte replied. "Once the Germanians elect a new leader, we will negotiate with him about helping what's left of Germania recover."

"Very well." Louise said. "I assume those responsible for the war will be executed?"

"It is only natural." Josette said.

"Well, I guess we can relax for a little bit." Wales said as he leaned back in his chair.

"A toast to winning the war." Vittorio said, raising a glass of wine.

They all raised their glasses and drank the wine, happy that the war was finally over. That night, they all, including Louise, joked about their adventures during the war, although she refrained from talking about what she did in the time before her arrival in the war.

She joked that she was simply unaware that a war was going on, so she went abroad to see the world. Alex and Shion knew what she meant by 'abroad', but didn't give up Louise's secret. Soon, after drinking quite a bit, all of the other leaders apart from Louise and Shion, who were unusually good at holding their drink, fell asleep.

"How is he?" Shion asked.

"Alive." Louise replied.

"Will he wake up before your child is born?" Shion asked.

"It doesn't look that way." Louise said. "He will wake up one day though. I can't wait to see him awake again."

"I'm sorry." Shion said.

"It's okay. As long as he's alive, I'll be okay." Louise replied. "What about you? Are you and Alex going to have a baby?"

Shion spit out her wine from the shock of the sudden question.

"Not at all!" She replied. "Not yet anyway."

"Well, you two seem like you really like each other, that's all." Louise replied, laughing at Shion's reaction.

"So when will the baby be born?" Shion asked.

"Between in about six to nine months." Louise replied.

"Isn't that unusually long?" Shion asked.

"I can't really properly explain why it's so long." Louise said. "It's fine though. The baby's healthy."

"I'm glad." Shion responded. "Are you ready to rule a large country like the one you're about to acquire?"

"To be honest, I'll definitely need help, but I think I can manage. How about you?" Louise said.

"Well, Alex seems quite confident, so I have no choice but to put my trust in him." Shion replied. "The sun rises quite soon, so it's not like it's a long way away, is it?"

"I suppose not." Louise replied. "You should sleep a little."

"I should say the same to you. You're the one carrying another life within you." Shion said as she got up to go to her own tent.

Louise, unable to sleep, decided to stay awake and wait for the time to march upon the city. Hours felt like years as she waited for the sun to rise. Eventually, she noticed changing from pitch black to dark blue. A few minutes, she saw the first sliver of sun light.

About an hour later, the sun was in full view in the sky. Soon, Wales emerged from the tent that he and the other leaders fell asleep in. Shion, too, seemed to appear out of nowhere next to Louise. As Wales and the others prepared to leave, Louise stared at the city of Vindobona several kilometers away.

"Ready to go?" Wales said to Louise and Shion.

They both nodded, with Louise getting on the back of Hayai, who had walked away from Wales's tent and sat behind her. A few minutes later, they began moving toward the city. Even though it was within sight, there were quite a few hills in the way, so it took them a few hours to arrive.

Once they arrived, they were shocked to see smoke coming from the city. No enemy soldiers confronted them at the city limits, but the sounds of rioting could be heard inside.

"Orders, sir?" One of Wales's generals asked.

"March into the city." Wales said. "Louise, you may act independently if you wish."

Louise nodded. She had Hayai run into the city, where she saw several buildings damaged or on fire. She saw several citizens and soldiers running through the streets. Confused, she had Hayai pick up one person with one of his tails.

"What's going on here?" She asked.

"Don't you know?!" The man said. "We've been fighting this war for some tin pot dictator! Our families are dying! It's time for the royal family to be brought down! Or are you one of their dogs?!"

She tossed the man aside and looked up at the royal palace. In an instant she appeared behind its walls.

"Hayai, stay out here. I'll deal with the royal family." Louise said.

The dragon let her off of its back and sat down, looking at the gate in case any guards arrived. Louise quickly made her way inside the palace. Using her void powers, she quickly located the royal family. They were deep underground in a bunker made of metal.

She calmly walked down to the bunker's location, where she was met by a large iron door. Concentrating her magic at the tip of her wand, she began cutting a hole in the door. In only a few seconds, the door had a large hole carved into it. Inside, Louise saw Albrecht's family. His wife and two young sons were huddled in a corner.

This was her perfect chance at taking revenge against Albrecht. He took away the person who mattered most to her, so she would take away the people he loved most. Despite her desire to hurt them, however, she laid her wand on the ground to make them feel at ease.

"I'm not going to hurt you." She said. "You're innocent, correct?"

Albrecht's wife nodded in fear, holding her two boys close to herself.

"I'm going to help you escape. I'm from the allied armies of Gallia, Romalia, Albion, and Tristain." Louise said. "My name is Queen Louise de la Valliére. I am the current fiancé of King Hiraga. It is a pleasure to meet you."

This polite greeting put Albrecht wife at ease.

"Thank you. How will you get us out of here?" She asked.

Louise closed her eyes for a few seconds, then pointed her wand at one of the walls. A large ball of light shot from her wand and hit the wall. Rather than exploding when it hit the wall, it tunneled through the ground for quite a distance before simply dissipating.

"Follow me." Louise said.

She led through the tunnel for several minutes until she reached its end. She then looked up and launched a similar spell upwards, opening a hole to the surface. Using her great strength, she tossed each of them to the surface without harming them.

When their eyes adjusted to the light, they saw Wales and the other leaders looking down at a map. It took them a while to notice the woman and two children sitting next to them with confused expressions.

"Who are you?" Shion said, reaching for a dagger under her clothes.

"Relax, they're Albrecht wife and children." Louise said after jumping from the hole in the ground. "They're innocent, so make sure they stay safe."

"Very well." Wales said. He looked at one of his guards, who nodded and took them away. The guard made especially sure to treat the children with great care.

"I assume you saw the city." Vittorio asked Louise.

"Yes. There are riots because word reached the city about the kind of leader Albrecht was. They want a change in government." Louise said. "Seize the city without killing anyone. We can claim victory if we do."

Wales nodded and walked outside to speak to a group of generals who were awaiting orders..

"Seize the city as quickly as possible." He said.

"No casualties." Josette said.

"As you wish." The generals said.

Thousands of allied soldiers swarmed the city, assuring citizens that they were there to usurp the tyrannical royal family. To their surprise, the citizens cheered them on, allowing for a fast capture of the city.

Outside the city, Louise and the other leaders waited for a signal that everything was successful. After several hours, a flare was shot into the air which then exploded into fireworks, the signal that the allies had captured Vindobona and, as a byproduct, claimed their victory.

Louise fell onto her knees from happiness and exhaustion, only capable of mustering the energy to say three words.

"Finally, it's over."

Author's Notes:

Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Again, I'm having tech issues and I'm still trying to fix them, so bear with me. Thanks for reading! See you tomorrow (?)