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The Stray Girl and the Incompetent Mage

Chapter 9: The Endless Journey

...

With almost a day on horseback and not a single moment of rest, Sachiko is all but ready to pass out from tiredness. She hates horses. She hates it with a passion.

She used to like horses when she was little. Her father once bought her a small stuffed horse she played with countless hours, taking it with her wherever she went, pretending to be a knight protecting the weak and small, until one day one of the kids of the neighborhood got mad at her and ripped it off while laughing. She cried so much at the loss of her stuffed partner, but her love for the animal never disappeared, and it was her dream to learn how to mount one someday.

Now she can only laugh at that thought. Riding a horse sucks, your rear hurts like hell and your whole body gets cramps from staying too long in the same position. There isn't a position she can get into that won't end up with her losing the feeling in some part of her body, and so the only thing she's doing now is leaning completely on Louis, who looks as fresh as if he had just mounted.

He did try to tell her to sit straight, but she was complaining so much he finally gave up. The journey passed between getting in a spring where Sachiko felt her brain bumping inside her head, to peaceful trots. They already changed mounts twice, but apart from those moments, they didn't rest a single time. She feels like she's going to die. She isn't even holding to Louis, her arms hanging uselessly at her sides.

In that moment they are just trotting, Louis and Wardes engaged in small talk. She can hear their words as if through a hazy veil.

"Is Eleonore still unmarried?" Wardes asks with what appears to be mirth. Louis snorts. Sachiko has noticed he behaves in a very informal way with Wardes. When they're talking, he almost looks like a normal guy instead of a noble.

"Yes, but Cattleya wrote a letter telling me she's gotten engaged… again."

"What number is this time, third?"

"Fourth" his voice carries weariness, as if this is not the first time he has to say this. "It makes you wonder what she does to scare all the men away. My father has even placed a good dowry on her."

"Eleonore has a wild spirit. Not everyone can understand her."

"I wish she could marry you…"

Wardes laughs at this. He shakes his head. "I'm just a viscount Louis, and Eleonore is the first daughter of a duke. Besides, I'm still too young to tie the knot."

"Just admit you're glad you can't marry her. I would."

"You're being a little cruel with your sister."

"But you're the captain of the Griffin Corps now" Louis says, ignoring his last comment; "my father shouldn't have any complains if you ask for Cattleya's hand."

"I'm glad to see I have your permission to marry your sister, but I doubt your parents will ever let her go, not with her condition."

"I know" he sighs sadly; "but if she could get married, I wish it could be to you."

"Instead of trying to play matchmaker for me, shouldn't you start worrying about yourself? You're already sixteen; it's time for the future duke to have a betrothed, if not a wife still."

Louis blushes. He shakes his head vehemently. "No way! I'm too young for that kind of stuff! Besides, I don't have anyone I like…" he whispers, turning his face to the side and wrinkling his nose. Wardes shrugs.

"Your position demands that you take a wife someday. Sooner or later your parents will start drilling you to choose a bride. It will be easier for you if you find someone before they decide for you."

"Ugh…" he slouches on the horse. Because Sachiko is leaning completely on him, her body follows the movement, almost causing her to fall down the horse if not because she manages to hold to Louis in time. He looks at her with surprise. "What are you doing? Don't clench my clothes!"

"I was about to fall…" her voice is weak. She's really tired.

Louis rolls his eyes. "After a while I forgot you were there. Be more careful, alright?"

"Yes…"

"Are you alright?" Wardes asks with worry upon seeing her face; "you look a little pale…"

"I'm not used to riding horses…"

"You're not used to anything" Louis complains. Sachiko huffs, despite being very worn out.

"Excuse me, but we've been riding all day without stopping even once. Can we rest a little? I think just half an hour should be enough for me to recover…"

"No, this mission is urgent and we have to reach La Rochelle as quickly as possible" Louis says with a firm voice, anger underlying his tone. Sachiko rolls her eyes, leaning against him again.

"At this pace I will faint."

"Do it quietly then."

"What is your problem?!"

"If you're really that tired" Wardes says before the two can start arguing; "you can ride with me."

Louis and Sachiko turn to look at him with wide eyes, Louis unconsciously reining the horse to a stop. "What are you saying, Wardes?"

"It would be a problem if she faints. Besides, a griffin is really comfortable to ride on. She'll have more space and won't get as tired" he explains with an easy smile. Sachiko blushes, but Louis shakes his head.

"It's not necessary for you to do something like that just for an insignificant familiar."

"Do you realize I can hear everything you say, don't you?"

"She wouldn't just be bothering you, but that would also teach her bad habits. I can't have a spoiled familiar" he says with determination. Sachiko glares at him. If she could she would hit him.

Wardes simply smiles. "I don't plan to spoil your familiar Louis. I'm just worried about her. Don't forget this mission is urgent, and if she faints it will be really inconvenient for us."

"Even like that…"

"Come on" he extends a hand to Sachiko. She looks at him with a shy smile, taking it without glancing back at Louis; otherwise he might deter her with a glare. Louis fumes silently. He looks like he wants to protest. "I know you're not happy Louis, but look at it from a practical sense."

Sachiko makes herself comfortable, stretching her legs with a content hum. She bumps against Wardes' chest, since she's sitting in front of him, and looks back with apologetic eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"Don't worry. Are you more comfortable now?" she nods with a small smile. Wardes smiles back; "that's what's important."

"It is…" she glances down, her cheeks blushing. Louis clenches the reins tightly. He spurs the horse to a spring, leaving them behind in a flash; "hey Louis, wait!"

"He's angry" Wardes says, urging the griffin to follow him; "he doesn't want us to look at his face."

"He has never had a problem showing me his angry face" Sachiko comments, puzzled. The griffin is fast, so in no time they're catching up to him, but Wardes orders it to slow down, so they're leaving Louis a bit of space for himself. He sighs.

"It's my fault. You're his familiar, but I still went against his wishes. He knows I'm right though, or else he would have already said something. We should just let him alone for a moment."

"Um…" she's worried though. An angry Louis means a distressed Sachiko. She's the only one who will receive his wrath later. Well, whatever, I might as well just enjoy while I can. "Thank you for letting me ride with you even though Louis said I couldn't" she says with a bit of shyness.

"It is my pleasure. I assume this is your first time mounting a griffin, isn't it?" he asks. Sachiko nods enthusiastically.

"Mounting or seeing one" she caresses the griffin's head, and the beast makes a soft sound of contentment. "I have never before seen a griffin, to be honest."

"Well, it doesn't surprise me. Commoners don't usually come in contact with magical beasts. It can be dangerous for them."

"Is this griffin your familiar?" Wardes laughs, shaking his head.

"This griffin is a part of the corps. It belongs to me, of course, but it's not my familiar. I don't have one" Sachiko gasps, turning a little so she can see his face better.

"I thought all mages had familiars. Why don't you have one?"

"I don't have the time to care for one, and I don't really need it at the moment. And although it's true many mages have familiars, it's not the rule for everyone. Some people might find it more of a burden; others don't feel like they need them, while others may not have the means to keep one, even if they want it. It's all relative when it comes to the mage's needs and capacities."

"Then why the students in the academy summon one?"

"One thing you need to know about the Tristain Academy of Magic is that is an academy for the upper class, in rough terms" Sachiko tilts her head to the side, frowning; "a familiar is, besides a companion, a sign of status. They determine the power of a mage and, in the case of the students, helps them advance in the branches of magic they're going to specialize in the future."

"That means…"

"If you summon a wind dragon, it means you're not only powerful, but your affinity also inclines towards wind, so you would choose subjects that have wind as a primary part of the study."

"Oh…" she nods, looking at her hand with a distant expression. So it was not only because of the legends they thought Louis had the void. His affinity was directly linked with her being Gandálfr.

"Which brings us back to you" Wardes continues speaking, looking at her with a calculating expression. Sachiko suddenly feels self-conscious, with his eyes staring at her so firmly. "If a familiar determines a mage's power, what can we make of a mage who summons a human?"

"I-I don't know…" she feels the same as when Miss Longueville was asking her. Could it be he found out too? How? She didn't mention anything, and neither did Louis.

Wardes extends a hand, and she looks at it confusedly. "I couldn't help but notice the runes on your hand" Sachiko swallows. It seems another person is going to find out soon. "I like to investigate about history, and as a captain of the griffin corps I have free access to the Royal Archive."

"Is that so…"

"I've seen these runes before" with a gesture of the head he urges her to give him her hand. Sachiko understands now why he extended his before. She daintily gives it to him. "These are the runes of the legendary familiar, Gandálfr, aren't they?"

He's asking her, not confirming it. Sachiko doesn't know if she should tell him. But he almost has it figured it out, and besides, he's a good friend of Louis. I don't think it'll cause too much damage if I tell him. She bites her lips and timidly looks up to him; "y-yes… it seems I am Gandálfr…"

"It seems? Aren't you sure?"

"How can I be? I don't know anything about Gandálfr…" she says with a small pout, glancing down; "besides, don't you think it would be weird? That I am Gandálfr while Louis can't chant anything without blowing things up?"

"Not really" she frowns. He smiles. "You see, everyone thinks Louis is weak and hopeless when it comes to magic, but I don't think that's the case. His magic just works differently from the rest, it doesn't mean he can't be powerful."

"But I'm not talking about power, it's…"

"But I am" he interrupts; "whoever summoned Gandálfr should be expected to be a powerful mage. I always believed Louis would grow to do incredible things, and you, these runes here, are the proof of that."

"Mmm…" she doesn't understand it. She's new to this world after all, and Louis has not elaborated on what the void is supposed to be, so her knowledge is limited. Besides, there is also the problem of the runes. The only time she was able to use a sword like an expert was during her duel with Guiche, but ever since then, even when practicing with Louis, they had not glow and she didn't feel the boost of energy she felt that day. Isn't that a problem if she's Gandálfr?

"I'm glad you're Louis' familiar" Sachiko's head snaps up towards him, her face showing confusion; "I might be making assumptions, but you look like a nice girl. That child is very insecure and lonely, he needs constant support, and with you by his side I think he can get better. So please, take care of him. I'm leaving him in your hands" he bows his head slightly, leaving Sachiko dumbfounded.

She wants to say something about Louis needing support, but decides to keep it to herself and simply nod. Wardes smiles before glancing back to the front, while she lowers her eyes, a small frown between her eyebrows. What kind of support would that guy need? I mean, sure, he must be lonely, considering everyone ignores him in the academy, but it doesn't look like it affects him too much. She thinks back on the first days after she was summoned. He was surprisingly cool even with his classmates bluntly jeering at him. Then she looks up at him. He looks tense, his body shaking slightly. She can't help but raise an eyebrow, wondering what's going on with him now.

He's strong; not only in character but also physically. In the few days they've been practicing together she'd noticed it. He's a good fencer, agile and precise. She can't fathom how someone like him would need support or be insecure. Ok, maybe she can, but isn't he strong enough to overcome it on his own? That's the impression she has of him, at least.

She sighs, and without thinking leans back. Her back softly hits Wardes' chest, and she immediately freezes. She forgot he was there. "I-I'm sorry…" she tries to separate, but to her immense surprise, he gently places his hands on her shoulders, stopping her.

"It's alright; you can lean on me if you want. You must be really tired" her mouth falls open. She should tell him she's fine, but the prospect of leaning against that manly chest of his is too strong. Just a taste won't hurt, would it?

"I won't bother you?" she makes sure. He shakes his head.

"Not really, just relax" satisfied with his answer, she timidly leans against him, feeling a blush spreading on her face. She lazily looks up again, and in a second her heart fills with fear.

Louis is glaring at her, his whole body trembling. Now she understands why he looks so tense.

I'm going to get killed…

The moment their eyes meet, Louis whips his head back to the front and spurs the horse to run faster. He can't believe her nerve. Not only disobeying him when he explicitly said he didn't want her to ride with Wardes, but then going as far as touching him, leaning against him, blushing… looking at him with such l-l-lusty-y e-eyes…

He kicks the sides of the horse again. He doesn't worry that he's leaving his companions behind. A griffin is faster than a horse and they can catch up to him if Wardes wants it, but he knows he won't, because he has always been very respectful of his privacy and knows when he doesn't want company. It leaves him more time alone to rage over his familiar's behavior.

Doesn't she know how to be ashamed? Can't she understand that she has no place riding alongside a captain of the Imperial Guard? Or that she's not only embarrassing herself but also him. Granted, Wardes insisted, but decorum dictates she knows her place and politely refused his offer. Getting so close to him and then behaving like that, with shyness as if she's trying to seduce him, makes him incredibly angry. Wardes is one of the few people whose opinion of him still matters, and that she's acting like that makes him worried that he's going to think he doesn't know how to control his familiar.

But it would take more than just that for Wardes' opinion of you to be tainted. He knows that, deep down. After all, he has known Wardes since he was a little kid. As far as he can remember, he had always been there, acting like a big brother to him.

Wardes lost his mother at a young age. Louis didn't remember the woman at all, he was too small when she passed away, but he heard some stories, how she became delusional the last years of her life and died in an accident, during a party by falling down the stairs. Nobody really talked about the incident, and he knew by the way Wardes' eyes would become distant every time she was mentioned that it still pained him deeply.

A few years later it was his father who perished in battle. After that Wardes inherited his father's title and left for the capital to make a name for himself. Fortunately, Henrietta's father had a great impression of his father, and so allowed him entrance in the Griffin corps like an apprentice. From then on, he rarely returned to his lands, letting them in the care of his steward. Louis would often write to him, asking him how he was doing and when he would come visit, but his letters became more and more sporadic as the time passed, until they no longer contacted each other.

It was not because Louis forgot about him or was it on purpose, like it was with Henrietta, but he would often receive Wardes' replies weeks, if not months later, apologizing because he didn't have time to write back since he was very busy with the griffin knights. He never took it personally, and decided to stop writing until he finally went back home so as not to bother him.

When he was a child, Wardes would always go to La Vallière to play with him, whenever he wasn't training with his mother or studying with Eleonore, and those moments were some of the happiest of his childhood. He wanted Wardes to be a real part of his family, but the one time he suggested such thing to his father he received an immediate negative. After all, even if he was powerful, Wardes was still nothing but a mere viscount, not good enough to marry the daughter of a duke.

Louis disliked that, and he was quick to let his father know he didn't agree with him, but he would have none of it. In the end, even though Wardes is a powerful mage, they are very much alike. Where he has status and political power, Wardes doesn't. He has a family that, for better or worse, has faith in him and support him despite his lack of magical power, whereas Wardes is alone in the world. He managed to rise on his own, using his abilities and now he's the captain of the Griffin Corps, and Louis admires him for that. It gives him hope that, someday, he will be able to sort out his problems and reach as far as him.

He is his role model and for that very reason he doesn't want him to think badly of him because of his familiar. He chances another look at them. Sachiko's face is blushed, like it has been since the moment she mounted the griffin. He clenches the reins, his lips curling up in anger. What a nice thing she's making those expressions just when she's next to Wardes. And when she's with him the only thing she does is look down and pale, like he's going to hunt her down or something.

What an annoying woman! He thinks before spurring on the horse again.

Night is already falling by the moment Wardes announces they're arriving at La Rochelle. Louis has calmed down considerably, but he's still a few meters ahead of them, not that it bothers Sachiko. She doesn't want him close, especially remembering the way he glared at her earlier.

It confuses her they're supposedly arriving at the port city but she can still see mountains all around them. In fact, there are more mountains now that there were a few hours ago. Shouldn't we go to the sea? Although… maybe it's on the other side of the mountains? She turns a little to ask Wardes, when her stomach growls at full intensity. She blushes.

"We didn't stop even once to eat" the viscount says apologetically. He takes something out of a pouch at his side. "I'm sorry about that, but we wanted to get to La Rochelle as fast as possible."

"I-I know that, so it's ok" she takes what he's offering her: dry meat. They had been feeding on that for the entire day, much to Sachiko's surprise, who thought since Louis is so spoiled he would complain about the measly meal. Instead he dutifully ate small bites throughout the trek. She munches the piece of meat, trying to hide a wince of distaste. It's not that the meat tastes bad, but she just wants something real to eat already. But she won't complain if Louis and Wardes don't.

I miss Shiro… she thinks back on the young man in the academy. By this time of the day he should be preparing dinner. She barely had the time to tell him she would be gone for a few days, and to tell Marteau that so he wouldn't worry. He looked a bit sad, but didn't ask any questions and just answered with a smile he would do that. Does he miss me too? I want this mission to be over soon.

She's not happy about going to a country at war. She's a little scared, actually, but it isn't like she could have said no, especially taking into consideration the objective of this mission is gaining entrance to the Royal Archive, ultimately something for her sake and that Louis is doing for her.

With that in mind, she looks at him again, and wonders what in the world she can contribute to this mission, useless as she is. Even Louis can do more than her, the supposed Gandálfr. Well, at least we have Wardes, before he came, she had been seriously worried about just the two of them going to Albion, but with him around she feels a little safer. He is a powerful mage after all. According to Louis anyway.

She's thinking of this stuff when suddenly a bunch of torches illuminate the night sky from the top of a cliff. She looks at them with a frown, and in the next second a cloud of arrows fly in their direction, first towards Louis since he's in the front.

"Louis, watch out!" she screams with fear. Louis halts his horse on instinct after hearing her, but just when the arrows are about to reach him, a gush of wind spreads them away. Wardes has his rapier high up. It seems he uses it as a wand. His eyes are narrowed in concentration.

"An ambush" he says. Sachiko doesn't hear him. She jumps down of the griffin and runs towards Louis; "wait, it's dangerous!"

"Are you alright?" she asks Louis when she's next to him. He looks at her with big eyes, his mouth open with surprise.

"Y-Yes, I am, but you…"

"Thank God" she sighs with relief, before reaching out for Derflinger. Her runes glow, and the tiredness of the day fades away. She looks at her hand in disbelief. They're glowing. Why? All this time they didn't, and now…

"I feel so lonely partner, is it too much asking you take me out once in a while?"

"Let's talk about this in another moment" shaking her head and dismissing both Derflinger and the runes, she concentrates in the task at hand. Her eyes survey the cliff, searching for the archers, but they're protected by the shadows of the early night. Wardes doesn't take long to approach them.

"They're probably thieves or bandits. Be careful" he tells Sachiko. She nods, taking a defensive stance. For a second time they hear the sound of hundreds of arrows piercing the sky but…

Something impressive happens. The arrows stop midair, being completely visible in the night sky. Next, screams are heard from the cliffs. A gust of wind drags the ambushers down, rolling all the way to the ground. Sachiko winces involuntarily.

"These are wind spells" Wardes says, seeing the arrows being scattered away from them. A figure appears against the backdrop of the moons. It's a dragon. Sachiko gulps and raises Derflinger higher, but Louis puts a hand on her shoulder. He's no longer mounting the horse.

"Relax, I know who it is" he frowns as they look at the dragon landing. Despite being afraid, Sachiko can't help but gasp. This is the first time she has ever seen a dragon. It's not very big, its scales a soft light-blue and its wings reaching no more than a few meters. Curiosity quickly replaces awe, and she wonders who's mounting it if Louis knows it.

From the dragon, to Sachiko's immense surprise, Kirche jumps down, flipping her hair and wearing a charming smile.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" she says, putting her hands on her hips. Sachiko can only look at her with her mouth open. Louis fumes, walking up to her with an angry look.

"What do you mean 'sorry to keep you waiting'? Why are you even here in the first place?" he asks in a hard tone, crossing his arms. Kirche huffs.

"Is this the way you thank me after saving you from those guys?" she points with her thumb behind her, where the ambushers are grunting and rolling in pain due to their injuries after falling from the cliff. Louis growls.

"Answer my question."

"Alright, alright; I saw you guys leaving the academy this morning, so I woke Tabitha up and followed you all the way here" she nonchalantly says while gesturing to Tabitha, who's reading on top of the dragon and still wearing her pajamas. Louis' eyebrows twitch.

"Well then, go back! We're on a secret mission given to us by her highness!" he exclaims. Kirche's eyebrows rise in surprise.

"Secret mission?" she asks with amusement. It's then that Louis realizes his blunder. He curses under his breath, and Kirche laughs at him; "you should have told me before! How was I supposed to know? Anyway, we're already here so feeling a little thankful towards us shouldn't be a problem, right?" he keeps glaring at her, so she sighs; "as I thought. Whatever, it's not like I actually came here to help you."

"Then why did you come?"

"Because…" she looks at Sachiko, who's still looking astounded at the dragon; "someone really wanted to meet you, Sachiko dear."

"Huh?" she finally wakes up and looks at her. Kirche points to the dragon again, who finally puts down its wings, revealing a figure they couldn't see before. Sachiko feels her stomach falling to her feet. "What are you doing here?!"

"Am I not allowed to be here?" Guiche dares ask as he jumps from the dragon. He gives her a brilliant smile. Sachiko feels a headache forming already.

"Oh, not you too" Louis spits the words like a curse. Guiche huffs in annoyance.

"I didn't come here for you."

"Nor for me, please tell me you didn't come here for me" Sachiko begs with a tremulous voice. Guiche looks heartbroken.

"Hey! What's wrong with that?"

"Argh!"

"He just tagged along out of nowhere. We couldn't get rid of him, and so had to take him with us if we didn't want to lose trail of you" Kirche explains, crossing her arms. Louis raises an eyebrow.

"Stalker" he murmurs. Kirche blushes.

"I-I am not a stalker!"

"Yeah right, tell that to someone who believes you."

"I'm serious!"

"Ehm, Louis" Wardes intervenes, taking a step forward with the griffin. Kirche and Guiche turn to look at him, and both let out sounds of surprise upon seeing him.

"Could you be… a griffin knight?" Guiche asks; his eyes big and full of admiration. Kirche is looking him up and down in a similar way Sachiko did that morning. Again, Louis feels annoyance.

Wardes smiles; "I am the captain of the griffin knights, actually."

"I knew it! It's such an honor meeting you! My name is Guiche Armand Roquelaure de Gramont, fourth son of General Gramont! I hope to one day become part of the Imperial Guards as well!"

"And I am Kirche Augusta Frederica Anhalt von Zerbst" Kirche steps up with a seductive smile, leaning on the griffin. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"I am Jean-Jacques Francis de Wardes. The pleasure is mine. Are they friends of yours, Louis?"

"They're classmates, please ignore them" he says, trying really hard to contain himself. If he thought Sachiko was making a fool of herself, that is nothing compared to the two of them. He looks at Kirche with irritation. The moment she sees a good-looking guy, her mind wanders, and while he normally doesn't care and even thinks of it as a relief, he hates it that she has now set her eyes on his big brother. "Zerbst, get away from Wardes."

"Why? Jealous?" she has a mocking smile. He rolls his eyes. Now she's going to try to seduce him to get a reaction out of him. Better if he starts ignoring her, Wardes will take care of her himself. He turns to Guiche.

"You can't stay here. Go back to the academy."

"But we already came all the way here, and if it's a mission from her highness, I'll be more than happy to help!"

"No! Go back now!"

"It shouldn't be a problem" Wardes interrupts. Louis looks at him with surprise. "They're already here, and they helped us. Besides, they already know about the mission, and if they're your classmates then I think we can trust them, just a little."

"But…"

"Thank you!" Guiche bursts out in happiness. Kirche sighs, resting her chin on her hands and looking up at him with rounded, sparkling eyes.

"Thanks. By the way, you're really manly. Do you know what passion looks like?"

"Oh, for the love of…" Louis buries his face on his hands. In just a few minutes the situation has gotten much more irritating. When he looks up he sees from the corner of his eye at Guiche trying to get close to Sachiko, while she does her best to get away.

"Oh, come on, just forget about it. That was ages ago!"

"Two weeks! And it's not enough time to forget you tried to kill me!"

"How much more time do you need?"

"There's not enough time in the world for me to forgive you! Stop insisting and leave me alone!"

"And you stop being so headstrong!"

"Talks the guy who sends me roses every single day of the week!"

"I would stop sending them to you if you just accepted them!"

"Never! And don't you have a girlfriend already? Monmon was her name, no?"

"…"

"Oh, that's right, she dumped you. I don't want to have anything to do with a guy like you! If you're looking for a replacement, better set your eyes on someone else!"

"Her name is Montmorency, and it was your fault she dumped me! And what are you talking about? You're making it sound like I'm actually interested in you!"

"Are you not? After the roses and the stalking?!"

"Before you make yourself weird ideas, let me tell you that-!"

"That's enough" Louis cuts them off, approaching them and glaring at Guiche. The other boy simply looks at him with a combination of irritation and fear. "Guiche, why don't you do something useful and go interrogate those guys over there? And please, stop bothering my familiar."

"This has nothing to do with you, and if you're interested then you should g-augh!" he kneels down in pain after Louis loses his patience and stomps on his foot. He then proceeds to kick Guiche so he starts moving. "Alright, I get it! No need to resort to violence!" he yells as he gets away from the fickle blonde. Louis snorts, before turning his eyes to Sachiko. She's sheathing Derflinger, her lips in a small pout and her eyes downcast. He clears his throat, making her look at him.

"He sends you roses every day of the week?" she blushes, before shaking her head.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"If he bothers you too much, just tell me. I'll put him in his place" Sachiko sighs, trying to give him a reassuring smile.

"Thanks, but I can take care of myself, and it's not something that really affects me" Louis frowns at this. He doesn't think it's a small thing. He will have a talk with Guiche later. That about him paying so much attention to Sachiko really bothers him. Better to make it stop as soon as possible.

"But I… just…" they hear Kirche's voice, cutting through the air with an offended tone. They turn to look at her. She's gesturing with her hands, unable to find the proper words. Wardes sighs.

"I'm sorry for having laughed at you. You are really pretty, but I'm not interested in that kind of thing for the moment" he responds, doing his best to sound polite. Kirche keeps rambling for a little bit, before finally sighing in defeat. She rapidly recovers though, and straightens her back while proudly walking away from him.

"Whatever, you don't know what you're missing" she says haughtily. Louis and Sachiko follow her with the eyes until she mounts the dragon again. Sachiko then tries to approach Wardes, but a hand on her wrist stops her before she can take a single step. She looks at Louis, who has a stern expression.

"You" he says slowly. Sachiko suddenly feels a shiver run up her spine. His hold on her wrist intensifies, and he quickly drags her to their horse; "are coming with me now. No more bothering Wardes with your unnecessary presence" he lifts his chin, making Sachiko frown.

"I wasn't bothering him. We were having quite a pleasant conversation, just so you know" she responds in the same tone, liberating her wrist from his grasp. She gropes it slightly, and Louis snorts, turning to look at her.

"Yeah right. If that's what you want to think. Anyway, you're not riding with him anymore, so come already" he orders. Sachiko narrows her eyes even more, and is opening her mouth to retort something, when Wardes suddenly speaks up.

"Alright everybody. Mr. Gramont says they are only robbers. There's no need to worry, we can continue our journey" with that, he orders his griffin to walk on, barely looking for Sachiko before seeing her with Louis and concluding they've made up. Sachiko pouts, since that means she has to go with Louis now. With a defeated sigh, she turns to her master and rides up with him the rest of the way.

A/N: I really wanted to include more things in this chapter, but it was getting too long, so I'll leave them for later. Does Wardes actually have a familiar? Also, Guiche is not in love with Sachiko, he's just weird.