Everything hurt... At least, it should have hurt. Was it all just in his mind? What did it all mean? There was a phantom pain every now and then, for wounds that should've been hurting like hell... but everything else was more or less gone. It was all extremely confusing, and yet at the same time... it was reassuring.
Somewhere around him, voices could be heard from all around. There was what sounded like German in the beginning... But then there was also the muffled strands of what sounded like French. Yes, it was French, but it was different... It didn't sound like the French he had heard all across Normandy. It was something different, but he just couldn't pinpoint what it was.
All he could do was simply wait and attempt to push out from the dark blot that flooded over him and his mind... And each time he did so, the feeling of light became more apparent.
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There was something about speaking with Colbert that was oddly calming, even in the most frightening of situations. When he had entered Louise's room, she'd half expected some sort of mention of her own mother and what he would have to report to her, but instead... she had gotten a conciliatory lecture from the bumbling old man, and was left in relative peace as soon as he had left.
Well, there was relative peace in the room... but her nerves were still shot to pieces. Deep in the back of her mind, the thoughts put at bay by Colbert's soft words kept on creeping back up from within... tugging at whatever inner stability she had within her mind.
If he had sat in silence for a few more minutes, she probably would've finally broken down... though a frantic knock coming from her door forced her out of her depression, and to put on some sort of straight face and see whoever was there.
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From the moment the Field Marshal had begun to grunt, Holke, Neuhaus, and Lang merely thought it to be some sort of sound coming from the outside. However, as soon as Rommel himself had broken out of the mental chains of a coma, they were all immediately shocked into silence before immediately rushing over to his side.
First glances proved to show that the man himself was definitely tired from the ordeal he had been through, but almost immediately he shooed off any helpful arms that came his way, thanking them for trying to help but saying that he needed to get up on his own. Thus the process began of trying to fulfill anything that he had requested for, which was not a lot, as tried to at least put on his old Afrika Korps Tunic.
The amount of questions he had asked though were also very reserved. He had asked what was going on, where they were, and how Daniel was doing. The first question's answer was rather obvious, but for the second question... No one could answer that. All they could really do was ask the man who ran the place, and so the Field Marshal immediately sent Neuhaus to go fetch the man. The third question however, was answered only by a look in the direction of where Daniel rested... In a state of complete comatose. The effect it had on Rommel was obvious, for his face looked as if it had become drained of the new found life that was present just before.
What had touched the Field Marshal? No one had honestly known. Perhaps it was the soldierly comradery that one would have, or maybe the feeling that an officer feels towards men he cared about. Perhaps it was the fact that the young driver was simply another innocent, forced into the front seat driving to and from hell, all for a war that was long lost. Whatever it was, no one would ever know but the Field Marshal himself, for his face did not betray any sort of feelings that were ever present within his soul. All he could simply do was continue dressing, and hope for the best.
It was not long after, that Rommel had finally dressed, though in his worn, though pressed, Afrika Korps clothing and had pinned his decorations onto it. This affair was more or less unimportant, though he did seem to stare a bit too long at his Knight's Cross, as if he were contemplating something. He did this all with complete silence while all 3 of them waited for Neuhaus to return with the old man who ran the Academy.
It was not yet 5 minutes since Rommel had finished dressing when the sound of boots clacking on the floor began to be heard, albeit faintly at first. Standing up and placing himself directly behind the right side of the Field Marshal, Lang quickly pressed his still somewhat messy uniform while Holke scrambled to make himself look somewhat presentable, given the same amount of grime that his uniform possessed.
On the 30th second, a knock came from the door, and in came Neuhaus, one man with an extremely long white beard, another who's bald head rivalled that of Alfred Jodl's head, a bespectacled woman with oddly green hair, and a small young girl with an extremely vibrant head of pink hair.
One cue, as Neuhaus presented them all, the 3 men clicked the heals of their boots and gave a quick bow to their hosts. Not a second later, the meeting began.
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So, this is the man incharge of these soldiers. Colbert thought to himself as he analyzed the man in front of him.
From the onlook, the somewhat short man in front of him didn't seem anything remarkable, for he wearing a sandy beige tunic that looks like it had seen better days, much like the expression he held on his face. Still though, the man clearly was decorated, given the medals that were pinned onto the bottom left side of the tunic, and around his neck, as well as the bar of ribbons on his left breast-pocket. However, the gaze that perforated from the man's eyes... they were obviously very much full of energy and already analyzing him and the others while Osmond introduced them all.
Introductions aside, it was now the turn of those who were summoned to introduce themselves. Of course, Colbert and Osmond already met Lang, Neuhaus, and Holke, but the comatose man, they did not know, as well as their commanding officer.
"Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel." The man said in Germanian. There was another odd thing... for as much of a serious figure as he seemed, he possessed a hint of a rather lazy lisp within his accent, whether natural or perhaps hidden.
"It is a pleasure to be of your acquaintance, He'rr..."
"Rommel will be fine." It was clear that introductions were not on the man's mind, given how quick he answered that, and it was clear Osmond saw that too, given the glance he had given to Colbert.
"Of course... now, I understand that you and your men are interested as to why you all are present with this Academy."
"Yes, that would be very nice to know..." Impatience was clearly a trait of the man.
"Well then..." Osmond turned towards Louise, "Louise, please meet your new familiar."
"What."
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Was this hell? Was he truly dead, and he was to pay for his sins with this such punishment? How... in all that was holy, could a Field Marshal of the Third Reich be summoned into an entirely different world that lacked technology past the 18th century, to serve a young girl with pink hair. He had no problem with the girl, she seemed nice enough, though obviously she was very nervous given by the sudden flinches her body gave off when someone made a simple move or gesture. No... it was to be stranded here, away from those he cared about, those he sought to save. His wife, his children... everything, all because of some magical summoning? No, this was something entirely disagreeable. He needed to get back to Germany, he couldn't abandon her in her time of need.
"I cannot do this... I will not agree to it. Me and my men must get back to our country. We are in the middle of a war for heaven's sake!" Now he was angry, and there was no stopping to any rage shown by the Desert Fox.
"Sir, you must understand... we cannot simply send you and your men back. It- it has never even been attempted before since no familiar has ever been sent back to their homeworld. If we were to even try, it would take a lot of time and research to come up with such a spell! I understand your duty, but at the present moment we cannot do anything. If you would still like to, we can provide you and your men with anything necessary to at least help all of you provide for yourselves... it is the least we can do." The old man was obviously very much shocked with dealing with Rommel's temper... and Rommel knew that very well, so he was not going to let up on the attack... at least, he wouldn't if realization hadn't come to bare fruit.
What if they really could not ever go back? What would truly become of him and his men? What could 5 soldiers of the Wehrmacht do within a world that doesn't even know what a steam engine is. It is not like they had any true practical skills to apply other than drilling men or possibly doing manual labor, and even that probably wouldn't pay well.
There was another choice as brought up by the man known as Osmond. They could become the familiar(s) or the little girl with the pink hair, and in that time, he and his fellow colleagues could find a way to send them all back to Germany, back to the frontlines... To hell on Earth. Still, it required that they serve the girl like servants, and that was not going to happen.
For as much as he wanted to make a decision then and there as well, he still had to speak with his men about, so after quickly shunning away the... Wizards... He turned to his men to discuss their fortunes.
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The day just kept on getting worse and worse for Louise. Her hopes had been somewhat lifted when she had learned that the leader of the men she had summoned had awoken from his own coma, but was immediately put into worse spirits when she heard his answer, and judging by the fire that burned within his eyes and the harsh tone he spoke with, it was clear that he was having none of it as well.
Her own familiar... The one that she had summoned, outright refusing to sign the contract, even when his own apparent future was at risk. He clearly still had some hope within him, and he wasn't going to let up. Still, it came as a surprise to her that he would still talk it over with his own men. If he was their leader, wouldn't his own decision be supreme over their own opinions? Wherever they came from, their culture was certainly different than that of the Tristanian military.
Maybe that was his reason for hope... A return to the life that he had lived before he was summoned. How anyone could possibly wish that after their own very bloody entrance into the courtyard was even more unimaginable. Still, these were different men from a different world, and they did mention at one point that they were fighting a war, so maybe he yearned for peacetime life?
Whatever it truly meant, it didn't really matter as soon, the door to the medical ward opened, and the man with the pitch black uniform motioned them in to hear the verdict, or well, they only let Louise in the room while shutting the door on the rest of the group.
All alone within the room, fear nearly took hold of Louise, but the menacing short man known as Rommel was not seen standing at attention in front of her, looking down on her like she was common trash. Instead, he was sat down within a chair beside a table with the other 2 conscious members of his group, with an empty chair right in front of him.
Thespectacled man motioned for her to sit down, and not wanting to face any wrath he could unleash, she obliged to follow. Soon, she found herself sitting face to face with Rommel, his face no longer seething with anger but instead seemingly resigned to the realizations and logic of the situation. Still, despite the apparent relaxed state he was in, he was quick to make his point, and that he did.
"We shall agree to become your familiar and work with you... But there shall be some ground rules set between us young lady."
The look on Rommel's face soon hardened, and Louise resigned herself to accept whatever came her way, lest it force her to face the wrath of a man who could make her mother look like an amateur when full of anger.
* Notes:
1. This chapter was hell to write for the last few months... And my dad having covid did not help matters any when trying to write, but at least it is done.
2. Through all the sources I have scoured (and I mean a lot), I have not found any mention to the first name of Major Neuhaus, though the man certainly did exist in real life and was present with Rommel during the strafing. And yes, he did crack hsi Pelvis.
3. Earlier mistakes in the previous chapters in regards to Daniel are the fact that I have mixed up his rank. Karl Daniel, the driver of Erwin Rommel, was not ranked as a Corporal, but as a Staff Sergeant, or Oberfeldwebel, in the Wehrmacht. Unlike Neuhaus, I was only able to find his name due to being able to find his gravestone online and matching the death date to that of which was reported the night after the car was strafed.