The nerve of that familiar! Sharing a room with a god was one thing, but with a commoner? Sleeping in the same bed? If word of this ever got out…
"…I will follow your commands. The one exception is when you need something. Then I will do what I must for your sake."
"How is this for my sake?!" Louise shouted.
"You may want to be careful, Zero. Talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity."
Louise stopped, rigidly turned, and looked Kirche right in the eye with all the fury she'd been building up.
"Just saying." Kirche shrugged.
"You do not want to mess with me right now, Zerbst."
"Oh? Zero threatening me? Whatever shall I do?"
Louise pulled out her wand, slowly advancing. "Musician was right. Destruction is useful."
Kirche blanched. "Um, wait. Louise! I was just joking! No, wait, don't-"
Explosions. Not what Louise wanted, but they were what she had. She supposed that maybe, just maybe she could learn to like them.
"Your fault," Tabitha muttered as Kirche was sent flying.
/Well you can tell by the way I use my walk,
I'm a woman's man, no time to talk…/
"Musician! Where is that singing coming from?"
He gave a lazy shrug. Siesta merely stared at him as the god danced across the room.
Louise sighed. "How does a man even sing with that high a pitch?"
"Practice," was The Musician's only response. He continued moving in ways that made Louise want to puke at how unrefined it was. And that was despite being the most graceful dance she'd ever seen. His dancing was like somebody using a centuries-old, beautiful, antique violin to play a bawdy tavern song.
"…Guiche came over to talk to me today."
"Oh? Did the boyo say anything interesting?"
Boyo? "He was respectful, surprisingly. He reminded me that the familiar exhibition is coming up, and we have nothing to show."
"Familiar exhibition?" Musician asked as he waved his arms like a particularly drunk turkey.
"We show off to other nobles and the Princess herself our bond as familiar and master. It's also a contest."
Musician finally stopped dancing, and the music switched to something more… not obnoxious. Louise wondered how those in the neighboring rooms were dealing with the noise. "How does one win?"
Louise sighed. "Usually, by doing something impressive. Putting on a show."
"Say no more."
"What?" Louise's skin began to crawl.
"I know exactly what we're going to do," he said with a grin.
"No no no, you don't get to decide, I'm the master, and I say-"
He went to the window and opened it. "Don't worry. I got this." He fell out, causing Siesta to scream and run over.
Siesta looked back at Louise, confused. "H-he's gone. W-what… just happened? Where did he go?"
Louise ignored her and quickly put her uniform back on. She was going to hunt her familiar down and put an end to this.
That was an entire week wasted. Musician hadn't turned up once. Now it was almost her turn at the exhibition, and he still wasn't there?
Where did he go? she wondered as she walked up the steps to the stage.
All of a sudden, lights flashed. Colors flared. And Louise knew, the moment she heard his voice, that this would be one of the worst experiences of her life.
/Make way, for Valliere
Say, hey! It's Valliere…/
Dancers in skimpy outfits waved ribbons around as she finished ascending. Louise looked out in horror, seeing the Princess. She was never going to live this down.
/Hey, clear the way, on the wooden stage,
Hey you, let us through, it's a bright new mage,
Oh come, be the first, of the crowd to meet her eye…/
Fanfare. As if she was some sort of royalty herself. Forget living this down, she'd be executed for disrespect.
/Make way! Here she comes!
Ring bells, bang the drums,
And let all the fanfare fly!
It is she! Fabulous she!
Louise Valliere…
She's got pink hair,
And a sure air
Of nobility…
Now try your best to stay calm.
Show her your noble aplomb,
Then come meet her familiar, that is me!/
And there he was, dancing his way towards, seeming completely ignorant of the redness of her cheeks. She yelped as he scooped her up and placed her on top of an ornate platform that had somehow been raised in the middle of the stage.
/For it's she, mighty is she,
Louise Valliere…
Her explosions,
Make mages run,
And cry for mommy…
She's faced the words and the scorn,
Of many mages aboard,
Who sent those fools to their lord?
Valliere!/
Dear Founder. She couldn't possibly be blushing any harder right now. He had just taken her most embarrassing shame and turned it into a brag about his master. Wait, she was now wearing a long and flowing dress when she knew she'd been wearing her uniform walking up the stairs. When did he change her clothes? How did he change her clothes?
/She's got grades as flawless as her beauty…
Of her magic, no one else can see,
That when it comes to exotic-type powers,
Has she got the skills,
and the best will,
for the strongest abilities!/
Explosions of light and noise went off around her, and she found her wand in hand, raised to the sky.
/It is she, beautiful she,
Louise Valliere…
Look at her face,
Her talent and grace,
I'm weak at the knee…/
He knelt down in front of her in adulation, his tattoos glowing an odd gold-yellow.
/Well ladies and gentlemen now,
Adjust the spectacles on your brow,
For one can only say wow!
At Valliere…/
When was it going to end?!
/She's the best with all magical theory,
Her teachers can't even prepare,
Of students her name's said with most envy…
All know of her fame
And her nickname,
The Zero and her familiar!/
He even made her unfortunate nickname sound cool! And what was with all these dancers and confetti and just how far was he going to go?!
/It is she…
It is sheeeee…!
It is she! Wonderful she,
Louise Valliere!
With her power,
As summoner,
She summoned me,
And that good people is why…
When an exhibition came by,
I couldn't help but show, all the things I know,
She would not let me, let the people see,
Her for she truly is, and I would be remiss,
Not to mention her modesty,
It's Louise Valliere!/
And just like that, it was over. The crowd was deadly silent, and Louise suddenly remembered that this was supposed to be a simple familiar exhibition. In her sudden panic, she turned to the Princess' chair, only to find Henrietta smiling. And then the Princess started clapping.
Then the next person.
Then the next.
Until the entire audience was cheering and clapping. And Louise's blush came back in full force. She turned to her familiar, not sure what to say.
He only grinned. "Told you I got this."
A/N: The genie and Musician are bros in a different life.
Also, this website is terrible where special characters are concerned. I wanted to use music note symbols to denote singing. I ended up using / to do so.
