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The Stray Girl and the Incompetent Mage

Chapter 13: A Step Closer

...

Lying on Henrietta's couch, Louis can't help but blush while she chants water spells on his chest. They arrived at the palace around an hour ago, and both greetings and exchange of news had been done. Henrietta has a somber face, obviously thinking about everything he had told her since the moment they stepped inside her office.

Wales is dead.

Wardes is a traitor.

But the letter is safe.

Considering everything that had happened, just the last fact alone it's not enough to compensate the first two. It pains them both equally, but for different reasons. Henrietta feels like she had indirectly caused Wales' death by sending Wardes with them to Albion. Louis feels regret he could do nothing while Wardes killed the prince, while Wales died in his arms.

"With this you should be cured" Henrietta puts down her wand, her eyes wandering over his chest, as if she could see where else he needs to be tended. Louis nods, sitting up and reaching for his shirt. "Luckily your ribs were not really broken, or we would have needed more than spells."

"They hurt just the same" he says, but his voice is distant, as if in a dream.

Sachiko is sitting on the couch opposite them. She's been looking at the whole exchange without uttering a word. "Believe me Louis, if they had been broken, you wouldn't have been able to breath. They were only bruised, cracked at most" she says, remembering the pain of her arm the time she dueled with Guiche. If it was that kind of pain on something so delicate like the thorax, she wouldn't be able to stand it, she thinks.

"Well, it felt that way to me" he glances away, finishing with his shirt. Henrietta stands up, leaving her wand on top of the desk. She doesn't turn around, instead intently looking at the wooden surface, holding back tears. Louis looks at Sachiko for a second, before standing up and approaching the princess. "Henrietta, will you be alright?"

"I don't know" she sniffs, her body shaking slightly. She's doing her best not to cry, to be strong. "Right now I wish to be alone."

"I see. Then, we'll…"

"But I don't want you to leave" she dries her wet eyes and turns to look at him. Louis doesn't say anything, waiting for when she's ready. "Did Wales read my letter?"

"He did" she nods. Louis bites his lips, his hand unconsciously going up to the pocket of his shirt, where he keeps the wind ruby. "He…"

"Didn't love me" her voice is soft, so low he wouldn't be able to hear it if he wasn't so close. Louis quickly shakes his head.

"Henrietta, he did love you. It's for that reason…"

"No, he didn't" her voice is a little louder, and this time Sachiko can hear her. She stands up and carefully walks up to them. "If he did, he would have run away like I asked him to, he would have come to me, but instead, he… he…" she cries, burying her face on her hands. Louis doesn't know what to say. He has never been good comforting people. He doesn't need to do anything though; Sachiko does it in his place.

"That is not the case, princess" Henrietta slowly looks up, sobbing, and stares at her questioningly. "I can't say I understand his reasons, because I really can't. He asked me to tell you that he fought and died bravely, but I get the feeling that is not what he really wanted to say."

"It's the way of men. When they fight their wars they never think of what they leave behind, of the people they hurt with their decision" she lowers her head, sniffing. Sachiko smiles sadly.

"That may be the case most of the time, but maybe just not this once. The prince said he couldn't come to Tristain, because that would give Reconquista a reason to attack. And being there… surrounded by the misery of war and enemies that would hunt him down to the ends of the world… maybe there was more in his decision than the simple desire to die in glory. That's… what I think."

Henrietta doesn't say anything, her eyes returning to the floor. She bites her lips so strongly it looks like she's going to tear them open, but after a while, she relaxes. Her shoulders sag, and her whole body looks tired, like she has given everything of her and returned with nothing. She closes her eyes, and when she opens them again, gives Sachiko a small, sad smile.

"You're right. I don't understand, and I really don't want to. Reconquista would still find a way to attack Tristain, whether he came or not, that's why I asked him, but maybe… there's more to his death than what we can see. Unfortunately, we may never know…" she sighs. Louis takes the opportunity to speak up.

"Henrietta" he takes out the wind ruby from his pocket and hands it to her. Her eyes widen upon seeing it, and she takes it with shaky hands. "The prince asked me to give this to you… so you could remember him" he lies. But he sees more logic in giving it to Henrietta than keeping it for himself. Henrietta caresses the ruby with tender eyes and slides it on her ring finger. It's too big for her, but with a small chant and a wave of her wand, the band shrinks until it fits snuggly around her finger. She looks at Louis with the same gratefulness she gave Sachiko.

"Thank you."

There's a sweet ambiance left after the princess' words. That is, until Sachiko remembers something suddenly.

"Ah, princess."

"Yes, kind familiar?"

"I give this back to your highness" she takes out the water ruby and hands it to her. Henrietta looks at it for a second, before her eyes go to Louis.

"It was too small for your finger?"

"Em, yes, so I had to…"

She shakes her head, and with another wave of her wand, the band of the ring augments of size, until it looks like it can fit Louis' fingers. She grabs his right hand and slides it on his pointer finger. Louis gasps.

"Henrietta, what are you…?"

"For the ruby you gave me" she says simply, and gives him a look full of meaning. Louis can say nothing against that. He doesn't know if she understood the wind ruby was a gift for him and not her, but he prefers not to say anything, just in case. Henrietta walks away, towards the window, and looks out. "Familiar, you said that Wales wanted to fight and die bravely, didn't you?"

"Y-Yes!"

"Then, in that case, I will live bravely, for him, and everything he means to me."

And that's a promise she plans to keep, no matter the cost.

"How much time do you think it will take?"

"You mean, for the news of Reconquista's victory to spread?"

"Yes, what else?"

"Mmm, I would say a few days. It happened just this morning, so it is too soon. First they would need to organize a new government and then send word to every country of Halkeginia. After that it's the work of the crown to spread it to the nobles and them to the commoners."

"The difficult part is organizing, but after that word should get around fast. More so if you take into consideration travelers and merchants can get things going faster than the crown."

"My thoughts exactly."

"You two…" Louis turns to glare at Kirche and Guiche; "aren't you tired of discussing the same thing over and over? This has to be the millionth time you had this conversation."

"It's your fault, because you're holding back information" Kirche complains, crossing her arms. Guiche nods in agreement.

"We helped with this mission, the less you can do is tell us what the contents of the letter you had to retrieve are."

"I don't have to tell you anything, and you already know everything that is important. Besides, didn't you say you didn't need to know what the princess asked of us?" he asks Guiche.

"That was then, and this is now. And I can't help but wonder: why did the princess even asked you to do this mission? You're just Louis the Zero" he says with spite. Louis narrows his eyes and is about to open his mouth to retort something nasty, but is interrupted by Sachiko.

"Guiche, Kirche, stop being so curious. Can't you just be happy we're finally arriving at the academy?" she points forward, where the form of the academy is starting to appear. They're all on top of Sylphid. "I know you're both tired, we all are, but sincerely, if Louis didn't tell you anything from the beginning, it means he simply won't, no matter how much you beg."

"In that case, you should tell us" Guiche grins mischievously. Sachiko shakes her head. Louis looks at Kirche with a raised eyebrow.

"Aren't you going to ask Sachiko?"

"Leave me alone" she glances away, looking crestfallen. Sachiko and Guiche exchange a glance. Louis, on the other hand, has a bad feeling about this.

They arrive an hour after sunset. Sachiko is pretty tired, so she goes directly to bed as soon as she steps inside the room. Her head falls on the mattress and she closes her eyes, covering herself with the blanket. Louis looks at her with curiosity.

"Are you that tired?"

"Yes."

"I imagine you won't accompany me to Old Osmond's office."

Sachiko opens one eye to look at him. "Why do you have to go there?"

"I need to report we're back. He's the one who allowed us to go to Albion after all, so he more or less knows what the situation is."

"Oh…" Sachiko nods lightly, closing her eyes again.

"Kirche, Tabitha and Guiche also have to go."

"Do they?"

"They left the academy without permission, so they'll be punished."

"I see."

She can hear Louis saying something else, but she's too tired to understand the words, and before she knows it, the next time she opens her eyes, sun streams from the window, hitting her directly on the face. She groans to herself, rolling to the other side and preparing to sleep again.

Before she bolts up, eyes wide open. "Crap! I overslept!"

"Why are you being so noisy this early in the morning?"

"Louis!" she turns around, just to see him in front of his wardrobe, buttoning up his shirt. She blinks with surprise. "You… dressed by yourself?"

"Uh, yes, I did. Thank you for pointing out the obvious" he says with a small frown. Sachiko shakes her head.

"I-I'm not talking about that! Well, yes, actually I am, but what I mean is that you didn't wake me up to do it! Usually when I oversleep you're always there to kick me or scream at me for being a useless familiar…" her voice is full of incredulity, her eyes even more so. Louis can't help but look away in embarrassment.

"You're making me sound like a bad person…" he whispers. Sachiko raises an eyebrow and crosses her arms, making Louis' blush increase. "Ok, ok, maybe it's like that, but I just… I don't know, I thought you might be tired after everything that happened yesterday. You know, with fighting Wardes and all…" he shrugs, still not looking at her.

Sachiko is at a loss for words. "You… care about that?"

"N-Not really, it's just… um, a master needs to take care of his familiar" he sputters an excuse before shaking his head. "Never mind about that, let me see your arm" he goes to her and urges her to show him her arm. Sachiko rolls her eyes.

"It's not that b-ouch!" she winces the moment Louis' fingers touch the wound. He immediately pulls his hands away, simply examining her with his eyes. It's true; it looks a lot better considering the state it was in just two days ago, but it still needs more healing. He sighs.

"It's because you kept using it yesterday instead of letting it rest, otherwise, it might not be hurting you so much now" he says, delicately rolling down the sleeve of the parka and standing.

"It's not like we had much option" Sachiko responds in a whisper.

Louis doesn't answer. He looks at himself in the mirror and fixes his hair. Sachiko stares at him for a moment, before letting out a sigh. Along with the princess, he must be one of the most affected after what happened yesterday. She would ask, but she's afraid she might hurt him unnecessarily, so she simply stays quiet. If he wants to talk about it, he will do it on his own.

"Well, let's go eat breakfast."

She nods and follows him, using her fingers to brush her hair. Her hair is straight, curling a little on the ends, so it's easy to brush and never really gets tangled.

When they arrive at the dining hall, Sachiko stands behind Louis after pulling out a chair for him, but he doesn't grab fork and knife, instead fidgeting like he's nervous. This causes Sachiko to wonder if he's fine.

"Um, Louis?" she asks with concern. He stiffens, shakes his head, and looks at her from the corner of his eye.

"Ehm, you… y-you can sit on the table."

"Huh?" she stares at him. Is he serious or is this her imagination?

"You heard me, didn't you? Just sit already!" he commands impatiently, staring at the front again, his face flushed. Sachiko blinks, but does as he says with haste, worried he might take it back if she doesn't hurry. Being on the table is so weird. She's used to seeing everything so far away from her place behind Louis. Staring directly at the culinary wonders displayed in front of her is making her mouth watery. She swallows, impatient to taste some of the food already.

This is great, but… why is Louis letting me eat on the table now? Is it just for today or it will be something regular from now on? She can't help but wonder the reason behind Louis' actions. He told her he had let her sleep more because of what happened yesterday but, what is his reason to let her sit on the table now?

"H-Hey, why are you looking at me like that?" Sachiko blinks at the question, having not even realized she'd been staring at him; and rapidly gazes away.

"Sorry. It's just… you're letting me eat on the table now?" she asks, shifting nervously in her seat.

"Ehm… yes" Louis also gazes away. "I mean, it's because you… you did a good job there in Albion, so… a reward must be bestowed" he says it fast, trying to act indifferently.

"Ah… it's because of that…" she nods to herself. Sounds reasonable.

"Yes. It is expected, after all" he assures her firmly. In that moment, a fat boy called Malicorne approaches them, and upon seeing Sachiko sitting on the table, frowns. He crosses his arms and speaks to Louis.

"Hey Louis, what is your familiar doing here? She's on my seat!"

Louis rolls his eyes. "Shut up and just go get another chair."

"Are you kidding? This is a table for nobles! Hey familiar, fuck off!" he yells at Sachiko. Louis' eyebrows twitch. He stands up abruptly, taking the other two by surprise.

"Don't you dare speak to her like that! She may be a familiar, but she's also a woman, so I suggest to mind your language, especially when I'm nearby" he declares in a hostile tone. Sachiko's eyes are wide open; surprised that Louis is defending her like that. Malicorne, however, is not amused.

"Especially when you're nearby? And what are you going to do? Challenge me to a duel?" he laughs, looking down on him. Other people are gazing curiously at the scene by then, so Malicorne takes the opportunity to further humiliate Louis. "Louis the Zero wants to fight for the sake of his familiar, isn't this touching? To think a love story would be born from such a situation, this sure is perturbing" he says, still laughing.

Louis immediately blushes a deep crimson color from rage and shame, while the students around them start laughing as well. He doesn't know what to retort, but he knows he has to retort something, less his honor be tainted even more than what already is. He opens his mouth to counter Malicorne's words, when suddenly Sachiko stands up and grabs the boy by his shirt. He's a little taller than her, so she drags him down to her eye level and bares her teeth.

"What'd you say, fatty?" she asks dangerously. She had been listening quietly all this time, knowing better than to meddle on Louis' discussion, but after hearing about their 'perturbing love story' she can't control herself anymore. She is sure to give Malicorne a piece of her mind, along with all the other idiots who dared laugh at Louis.

Malicorne's eyes are wide as saucers. Her grip is strong and it's difficult to breath from the pressure she puts in it. He suddenly remembers three weeks ago, when she so easily defeated Guiche on a duel, and grows scared from her fury.

"N-nothing, I'm sorry!" he cries out, trembling. All the other students stare in awe, Louis included.

"I'm sorry, what?" she asks, still menacingly.

"I'm sorry, ma'am!"

Sachiko releases him and Malicorne runs off, searching for a chair. She looks around, putting her hands on her hips. "Anyone else has something to say?" nobody speaks, hastily returning their attention to their food. Sachiko scoffs. "I didn't think so."

She sits down again, before seeing Louis looking at her with surprise. "What?" she asks, tilting her head to the side innocently. Louis blinks, before sitting too.

"Nothing, just… it keeps surprising me how strong you are" for a girl is the comment he doesn't make, but that both know is implicated. Sachiko blushes and looks away, feeling embarrassed, and Louis can't help but feel bad for saying that, even though it is the truth. He wants to thank her, but finds it difficult due to his mixed feelings.

He's glad Sachiko had stood for him, but at the same time, can't help but feel his pride a bit hurt for having a girl defending him. Not only that, but he also failed miserably when he tried to do just that for her. That hurt his pride even more. He sighs when the prayer starts, and decides to leave his gloomy thoughts for later. Now is time to eat.

That was a really nice meal Sachiko thinks while entering the classroom. She's pretty satisfied and now just feels like dozing off for the rest of the class. She sits on the floor and closes her eyes, but soon feels someone shaking her shoulders.

"Hey, wake up" she opens her eyes and sees Louis, who has already separated from her and sat down on his chair. She groans questioningly. "Why don't you seat with me? You've always wanted to see the class, right?" he asks, and Sachiko immediately feels all the drowsiness disappearing from her body.

"Y-you're serious?" Louis nods, and she stands up, now a little excited. "Is this a reward as well?"

"Naturally" Sachiko smiles and rests her elbows on the table. Some kids look at her with curious expressions, but none of them feels the necessity to point out she's sitting in a place she isn't supposed to. Most of them had seen the scene from this morning with Malicorne, so even if there is someone who doesn't like her being there, they won't say anything.

"Hey Kirche, are you sure you're fine?"

"Yes, we heard Old Osmond gave you detention for not coming to classes for three days."

"Did something happen?"

Kirche huffs, ignoring her admirers, a cheek resting on her hand. Sachiko looks at the scene curiously. It's true that Kirche, Tabitha and Guiche were punished for skipping classes without notice, so it's obvious it would make their classmates wonder the reason for that. Even quiet Tabitha is being asked by a few classmates, but the girl dutifully ignores them, concentrated on her book. Sachiko wonders how Guiche is doing. He's in another class after all. A second later she frowns, asking herself why she cares about Guiche.

To her immense surprise, even Louis gets surrounded by curious students.

"Louis, you were absent three days too, right?"

"Yes, what did you do?"

"Why are you the only one who wasn't given detention?"

"You went somewhere with Kirche and Tabitha?"

Louis shakes his head. "You guys should only care about yourselves. I was just running some errands for my family in Tristania, with the Headmaster's permission."

"Then what about Kirche and Tabitha?" a girl asks with a frown.

"That's right! Were they with you? And Guiche too?"

"I don't know about them. You should ask them instead of bothering me" he sounds jaded, and his tone is a little harsh. The students frown, feeling offended.

"Well, it's just Louis the Zero."

"It's not like he could have done anything impressive."

"Running errands is the only thing he can do."

Sachiko frowns; angry they're badmouthing Louis so cheekily. She wants to say something to them, but another person beats her to it.

"Is that the only thing you can do? Complain like children when you don't obtain what you want?" the girl has curly blond hair and freckles, and a red ribbon on top of her head. Sachiko knows her by face: Montmorency, Guiche's ex-girlfriend. She crosses her arms and looks at the other students sternly. "Leave Louis alone. You already got your answers, so go pester someone else."

The students complain, but they scatter elsewhere. Montmorency sighs and looks at Louis.

"Really, this happens because you don't know how to lie properly."

"I wasn't lying" Louis snaps back. Montmorency quirks an eyebrow.

"So you were really running errands these past three days?"

"You know what? What I do or stop doing is none of your business, so I don't need to give you or anyone else explanations for my behavior or what I do in my free time."

"I was just trying to help! You don't need to get all defensive like that!" she yells with a blush, before her eyes meet Sachiko's. For a moment she looks like she wants to say something, but quickly shakes her head and speaks to Louis again. "It makes one wonder though, that not only you, but Kirche, Tabitha and Guiche as well disappeared the same day and for the same amount of time."

"So you want to know where Guiche disappeared to, no?" Montmorency gasps.

"No! I don't care about that cheater anymore! Am I not allowed to care about you?"

"Now, when I coincidentally disappear from the academy at the same moment than Guiche?"

"Ugh, you're impossible!" she stomps away, frustrated, her hair bellowing out behind her as she complains loudly to no one in particular. Louis rolls his eyes, before he feels Sachiko staring at him.

"What?" he's a little embarrassed that she's looking at him. Sachiko blinks, shaking her head.

"Nothing, just… this is the first time I've seen the two of you talking… but it sounds like you know each other well. Are you friends?"

"With Montmorency?" Sachiko nods. Louis snorts. "Not at all. We've just known each other since we were little."

"Oh, so she's a childhood friend?"

"Ehm, no… she's actually my-"

The teacher enters in that moment, so Sachiko can't hear the end of it. Being able to see the class for the first time, she soon forgets their talk about Montmorency.

When the class is over, Sachiko stretches, letting out a happy hum. The class was fun, being the first time she could actually see what the teachers were doing. Louis palms a sheath of papers in his hands, neatly straightening them on the desk. He's always so prim and proper when it comes to schoolwork, the complete opposite to her, who barely could keep an eye open during lessons.

"You are very thoughtful in everything you do" she comments almost unconsciously. Louis stiffens, losing grip of the papers as they fall all over the desk and the floor. "Ah, I'm sorry!"

"No! I-I…" he crouches and starts to gather the papers. Sachiko does the same, but on the other side. "I was distracted, you surprised me" he says this as he blushes. When they recover all the papers, they sit down again, Sachiko handing her share to him, and he starts rearranging them.

"I'm sorry" he shakes his head, doing his best not to look at her. Sachiko has noticed since this morning, but something very weird is going on with Louis. She carefully stands up, drawing Louis' attention. "I need to go to the bathroom" she says.

"Ah… ok" he looks away, slowing the movements of his hands. Sachiko waits, because he looks like he wants to say something else, but he doesn't, so she simply shrugs and walks away. When she's out of the classroom, Louis slams his head against the desk. "What's going on with me?"

"That should be my question" his head snaps up just too see Kirche sitting on Sachiko's chair. He purses his lips with irritation.

"What do you want?"

"This morning I saw a group of girls surrounding Guiche. They were asking why didn't he come to classes for three days, and he was about to blabber about the mission. Luckily, I could stop him from saying anything unnecessary, but it's just amazing how careless he can be."

"Huh, do you want me to congratulate you then?" Kirche scoffs, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

"I was just reporting back, since it was your mission but you were not careful to tell Guiche to keep his mouth shut."

"He should know better. I am not his nanny" he answers in the same tone, his eyes traveling to the door of the classroom. Kirche follows his eyes. Her fingers clench the material of her shirt.

"Missing her already?" she asks derisively. Louis blinks, looking at her with his mouth open.

"Huh?"

"Don't play dumb, I'm talking about Sachiko" this manages to make Louis blush. He frowns, crossing his arms as well.

"Why would I miss her? She just went to the bathroom. Besides, it's not like there's a reason for me to miss her or anything."

"Is that so…" her eyes narrow. This makes Louis feel annoyed.

"Say what you want to say already Zerbst. I know you didn't come to talk to me only to tell me about Guiche" she rolls her eyes, but she looks more tired than annoyed.

"Just be careful, ok?" Louis frowns, not understanding. "You are playing with fire, my dear, and that is not your field" she stands up, giving him a few pats on the cheek. "A cute little boy like you should stick with simple things. There's no need for you to complicate your existence even more."

"Don't touch me" he slaps her hand away. Kirche simply grins, turning around and returning to her seat. Louis frowns, thinking about her words. Just what was she trying to say, exactly? His mind comes up with an answer almost instantly, but he quickly dismisses it, finding it ridiculous. The new teacher enters the classroom, so he returns his attention to the front.

Sachiko doesn't come back to class.

There's a small shed between the main and fire towers. When Sachiko enters, a musty smell fills her lungs. She pinches her nose with a grimace.

"Sorry about the smell. You might get used to it soon, I think" Mr. Colbert says, leaving his folders in a near desk. Around him, she can see shelves full of flasks and other miscellaneous stuff. There are also bookshelves, with many different books arranged in them, and cages with birds, lizards, and other creatures she has never seen before.

"It's ok… nothing I can't bear" she says, not really paying attention as she eyes everything with curiosity. Just when she was returning from the bathroom, she came across Mr. Colbert, who asked her to follow him to his lab because he had found something that could help her go back to her world. "So… about this thing…"

"Yes, of course" he searches for a book in his bookshelf, before taking out a small tome. "You see, when you told us you came from a different world, I started to investigate immediately. The hints are few and I wouldn't be exaggerating to say it's a near impossible thing to do, but spending sleepless nights bear their results."

"Oh, you didn't have to worry so much" she feels bad that he has spent so much time searching for her sake, but Mr. Colbert shrugs, giving her a bright smile.

"Come on, don't make that face, there's nothing I enjoy more than investigating, especially something as fascinating as this" he opens the book and hands it to her. Sachiko simply stares at it before giving it back. "Oh, you didn't…?"

"I don't know how to read" she says bluntly. Mr. Colbert blushes.

"Oh, of course, you're from a different world, silly of me" he laughs awkwardly before clearing his throat. "Well, basically, this is not really a book but a written record of a traveler I came across around ten years ago. I knew it wasn't the first time I heard of someone coming from a different world, but I couldn't remember where exactly I read about it, so I started looking through all my books, one by one."

"Heh. That must have been hard" Sachiko says, looking at the bookshelves and desk, stacked with books beyond their capacity. Mr. Colbert nods.

"And just yesterday night I finally found it. Here, this traveler talks about his visit to the village of Tarbes, where the townspeople told them of their sacred 'Dragon's Raiment' an object brought sixty years ago by a man claiming to be from a different world."

"A man… from a different world?" Sachiko's eyes widen.

"Exactly. He mounted this 'Dragon's Raiment' and came to Tristain from the east. However, for some reason not even the man could, or would, explain, he never went back to his own world, instead staying in the village and forming a family there. After that, it seems he worked hard his whole life so he could pay square mages to put a permanent spell on this dragon, and build a shed for it. Apparently, not everyone believed his dragon could actually fly, and of course, no one believed he came from a different world" he closes the book and looks at Sachiko with a smile. "Quite the story, don't you think?"

"Um, it is…" Sachiko is not really listening, she's thinking about this man and 'Dragon's Raiment' deeply. Could this be real? Could this man really be from my world? And what is this Dragon's Raiment? "Is the man still in the village?" her heart is beating fast. It might not be much, but it's something. This could be the first step to finding a way back to her world.

Colbert shakes his head sadly. "No, he passed away thirteen years ago. But his family still lives in the village, and the dragon is there too" he puts the book away before giving Sachiko a meaningful look. "If it interests you, we could go to Tarbes and ask about him and the dragon."

"We… could we really do that?" she has to tell her heart to stop beating so fast, it's making it difficult for her to concentrate on what Colbert is saying, but she can't help it. She feels like she could fly off in that very moment.

"Yes, of course we could. The village is not far, just three days on horse. But…" he taps his lips with his fingers, looking at the floor, "I'd have to ask Old Osmond for permission to leave the academy… and I have work to do…"

"Oh…" she could just go by herself, she thinks, but the prospect of doing such a long trek alone doesn't make her feel safe. "Then… how long would it take?"

"At least ten days" Sachiko deflates upon hearing this.

"I see" she looks around, before her eyes fall on a strange object lying on a table. She approaches it slowly, squinting to get a better look at it. "Is this… some kind of machine?"

"Oh, it has caught your interest, I see!" Mr. Colbert quickly goes to her side and grabs the machine. He places it on top of the desk in front of her. "It's a little thing I've been working on for a while. Do you want to see how it works?"

Although surprised at the sudden rush of excitement from the teacher, Sachiko nods; ever the curious one. Her answer makes Colbert smile, and he gets to work immediately, arranging the necessary things. Once everything is ready, he straightens and clears his throat.

"Look carefully Sachiko. What you do with this is: first, you vaporize the oil" he steps repeatedly in some bellows. "The oil will ascend in the tube" he takes out his wand and puts it on a hole he has opened. He recites an incantation and some explosions are heard. "The explosions will move the piston up and down. The power is transferred to the crank which spins the wheel, and…" a little box on one side gets open, and a toy snake pops out, entering and exiting the box over and over. "The little snake comes to greet us! Isn't it exciting?"

"A-A snake, why a snake?" Sachiko shakes her head. That isn't the important part. "It's amazing! Mr. Colbert, what you have here is an engine!"

"An engine?" he asks, stopping his movements. Sachiko nods.

"It's used in my world for… um, ships and carriages… so you don't need to use horses or… whatever you use for flying ships…" she wishes she could explain better, but her knowledge is pretty limited. To her surprise, Colbert nods vehemently.

"Yes! That's exactly what you can use it for! In this case it just makes the snake come out, but it can be used for so many other things! And I used magic to activate it, but if we could find a way to make a flint, even commoners could use it! Imagine the possibilities!" he exclaims enthusiastically, completely gone. But suddenly, he deflates, his shoulders sagging. "At least that's what I wanted to explain to my students the other day, when I presented it to them…"

"They… didn't like it?"

"We can do all of those things with magic, and there's not really a reason to develop it more just for the commoners" he explains sadly. "This came to me when I was thinking of a way to use fire magic in everyday life. Everyone believes fire magic can only be used in the battlefield, but just destroying things it's a little sad, don't you think? As a fire mage, it makes me feel that way at least."

"I'm sorry to hear that" Sachiko says sincerely. Mr. Colbert sighs, looking at her with a small smile.

"But thanks to you I feel a little better. So you say they use this 'engine' in your world, right?"

"Yes, we do, for a lot of things actually."

"Would you care to tell me more about your world?" Sachiko blinks.

"You… want to know about my world?"

"Of course, why else would I be asking?" he laughs lightly, and Sachiko smiles.

"I would love to! Ah, but I'm not really knowledgeable about these things… so I might not be of much help."

"It's alright; just listening to you will be enough."

Sachiko feels a sudden warmness in her chest. It's the first time someone has asked her to tell them about her place of origin. Even if they didn't know she was from another world, they usually didn't ask or commented anything when she told them she wasn't from Halkeginia. Not even Louis, who was the first to know she came from a different world.

Well, it's not like I would be able to tell them much anyway, but still… she sits down and talks with Colbert. She's so entertained with this she completely forgets about Louis, and that he's probably waiting for her in the classroom.

"Hold it better! It's about to fall!"

"I'm trying! Come on Shiro, you help too!"

"I'm helping!"

"Hey, you!" the voice is heard behind them. Both Shiro and the maid jump in surprise, letting the old big kettle fall to the ground with a sonorous clank. They wince, before turning to see Louis approaching them with quick steps.

"Mr. Vallière" Shiro bows respectfully, and the maid does the same, ignoring the rude way he called for him. Louis barely pays attention to that, his eyes focused on the man.

"Have you seen Sa-my familiar?" he corrects, blushing a little at the blunder. Shiro blinks, before raising an eyebrow.

"No… actually, I didn't know you returned from your trip" he admits. Louis clicks his tongue, folding his arms.

"Yesterday night. If you didn't know that then it's useless asking you. I've just wasted my time" without saying anything else, he turns around and leaves, briskly walking away until he's out of their sight. The maid looks at Shiro.

"That's strange; Mr. Vallière is usually more polite. I wonder if there's something troubling him. He looked kind of shaken."

"Um" Shiro is not really wondering about that. He's thinking about Sachiko, and that she still hasn't come by to say she's back. "We shouldn't worry about that. Come on Siesta, let's get this thing outside" he grabs one edge of the kettle and picks it up. The maid named Siesta, with short dark hair and freckles scattered on her nose and cheeks, nods and does the same.

In another part of the academy, Louis passes a hand through his hair while looking around. Classes had been over for a while, and since then he had been running around the academy searching for Sachiko, to no avail. She didn't even appear for lunch, and if not even that servant had seen her that only is bad news.

Come on, we're inside the academy, what do you think could happen to her? Sincerely, nothing, he just felt anxious, that's all. Feeling tired by then, he gave up and decided to go back to his room. She had to go there at some point, no? He'll just wait for her there.

He was just closing the door when he heard something tapping on his window. He opened it and let a small owl enter with a piece of paper attached to its leg. He took it and after giving the owl a few pats on the head, it flew off. Looking at the piece of paper in his hands, for some reason he felt like a bucket of cold water was thrown at him.

It was an official document from Henrietta, appointing him as a court member.

Sachiko returned a little after dinner. She was surprised she spent the whole day with Mr. Colbert, only talking about her world and the man's interest for it. He was a researcher after all, so he absorbed all the information greedily, throwing question after question at her with a curiosity that far exceeded her own. It truly amazed her.

"That was a long trip to the bathroom" Louis says as soon as she enters. He's sitting on his desk, his arms crossed. Sachiko blushes.

"Oh, I'm sorry; I completely forgot to tell you! Mr. Colbert intercepted me and-!"

"Fine, you don't need to explain anything, it's not like I care" he interrupts brusquely, standing up and walking up to her. "Did you eat already?"

"Yes, with Mr. Colbert in his lab."

"Good" he nods. He wanted to yell at her for not telling him she would take so long to come back, but after thinking about it a little, he decided not to. He didn't want her to make herself weird ideas, and besides, he wasn't going to admit she actually made him worry. Not that he was worried or anything… "I received this from Henrietta today" he takes out the document from his pocket and shows it to Sachiko. She only looks at it with a blank look, making Louis roll his eyes. "Thanks to you, now I'm officially a court member."

"Ah… is that good or bad?"

"Ugh, it's good for you because that means now I get to enter the Royal Archive, but bad for me because…" he groans, going back to his desk. "Couldn't Henrietta find another way? She knows I hate the court!"

"So you can finally search for a way back to my world?" Sachiko asks, excited. Louis glares at her, annoyed at her enthusiasm and a little… hurt. Does she really want to leave so badly?

"Yes, but wipe that smile off your face" Sachiko puffs her cheeks, offended, and takes out her tongue at him. Louis feels his heart skip a beat at her cute expression. "I can only go to the capital the days of void, and for a few hours. Like this, it might take more time than what you expect to actually find something."

"It's better than nothing. Besides…" she plays with her fingers, suddenly looking bashful. Louis frowns.

"What?"

"Well, you see, today, with Mr. Colbert…" she explains what the teacher told her, unable to hold back her excitement as she speaks. When she's finished, she smiles brightly. "So, now we're a bit closer to our goal!"

"…" he doesn't say anything, instead turning around and going to his wardrobe. Sachiko blinks, surprised, but he doesn't look at her. He takes out the sleeping robe and begins to unbutton his shirt. After a while, he stops and finally meets her eyes. "Sachiko…"

"Ah! I'm sorry!" she quickly begins moving, helping him get undressed; "I was distracted, now I'll-!"

"No!" he pushes her away, covering his chest protectively; "I just wanted you to stop looking at me! And don't undress me! I can do it alone! I'm not a child, damn it!" he steps away and continues, before once again glaring at her, his face flushed red; "and stop staring! It's creeping me out!"

"Sorry!" she quickly turns around, also blushing, but more from getting worked up than from embarrassment. She frowns as she hears the rustling of fabric on skin. "Um, Louis, what is this?"

"What do you mean?" he sounds hostile, but it's because he's very frustrated with himself. Why does it affect him so much that Sachiko looks at him undressing now?

"You… don't want me to dress you up anymore?"

He swallows, because he had just been thinking about that. He shakes his head, before remembering she isn't looking at him. "I figure making you dress and undress me might be a little too much, so from now on, I'll do it by myself" he answers, trying to sound smooth.

"But, what about nobles don't dressing by themselves when there are servants available?"

"Do you want to keep dressing me up?" he finally asks with irritation. Sachiko shakes her head.

"No! I'm happy with this! Thank you!"

"Good! I'm finished now, you can look" she does, seeing he dressed in his sleeping robe. He walks to the wardrobe again and takes out something from one of the drawers, before handing it to her. Sachiko takes it reflexively, looking at the object with interest. It's one of his shirts. "I wanted to use it today, but I found this" he unfolds it and shows her one part of the shirt, stitched back together with white thread. It's so smooth and light you wouldn't be able to see it unless you knew it was there, and yet, Louis had somehow see it. Sachiko swallows. "Care to tell me why this is here?"

"I… ripped the shirt by accident while I was washing…" she admits and closes her eyes, waiting for Louis to snap at her. But he only sighs, making Sachiko open her eyes and look at him, shocked.

"I thought so. You should have told me."

"I was afraid… you would get angry…"

"Well, it bothers me you were not sincere" he says, crossing his arms; "but at least you had the decency to try and fix it instead of simply throwing it away" Sachiko sweat drops. If only he knew… "However, I can't use this anymore, so now it's yours."

"Huh?" Sachiko blinks. Louis looks away, blushing.

"You heard me. I won't use something that's been patched up, especially when I have others. But it's not damaged enough to justify getting rid of it. You could… use it as pajamas, I don't know" he sits on his bed and looks at her, as if waiting for her to say something.

Sachiko simply stares. "Use your… shirt as pajamas…" and she starts blushing. Louis groans.

"Don't say it like that! You make it sound dirty!"

"Y-Yeah, but…"

"Argh, if that's how you want to be, then give it back! I'll throw it away!" he stands up and tries to take the shirt from her hands, but she protectively hugs it to her chest, getting away.

"No! I will use it! Let me use it!"

"Then stop complaining already!" he huffs in irritation and finally enters his bed, covering himself with the blankets and snapping his fingers to turn the light off.

"Hey! I need to change!"

"Just go to sleep already!"

Rolling her eyes, Sachiko sits on her mattress and begins to undress, making sure he isn't looking. She trembles when the cool material of the shirt touches her bare skin. To think one day I would do this, wearing your boyfriend's shirt it's a legendary thing I've only seen in manga! I'm so happy to be alive! She wipes a single tear from her eye with a smile. Well, Louis is not my boyfriend, so it's not the same, but it's still the shirt of a good-looking guy! Ah, it smells so nice…! Eh?

She struggles with the buttons around her chest, but after a while gives up, realizing it's impossible to close it. Ahhh, I guess it's not surprising. Louis is pretty slim after all; and while it isn't like she has the biggest chest-size, she isn't exactly small either; around a C-Cup.

Shrugging, she leaves it open and lies down.

"Hey…" Louis' voice breaks the silence of the night just when she's about to fall asleep.

"Yes?" she asks, turning on her side.

"I've been thinking… always sleeping on the floor is a little extreme, don't you think?" he asks in a strange tone. Sachiko frowns.

"It is, yes, but I have nowhere else to sleep, do I?" she doesn't want to sound reprimanding, but it's the truth. She looks at Louis, though she can't see him since he's hiding under the covers. "Why are you bringing this up?"

"Ah" he fidgets and shakes his head. "No, for nothing, just… just…" his voice is trembling. Sachiko sits up, her eyes open. Perhaps, he's going to let her sleep on the bed? Yeah right. He's being nice now, but that would be just ridiculous… she wants to laugh at her own silliness. When Louis keeps stuttering, however, she begins to get worried.

"Um, Louis, are you alright?" she asks in a caring tone. The boy shakes his head vehemently, and turns around so his back is facing her.

"Y-yeah! Just… forget I said anything!"

Sachiko blinks. You didn't even say anything… she lies down again, and finally lets sleep take her over.

At the same time, Louis is repeating in his mind over and over that letting a girl you have feelings for sleep with you in your bed is not proper, familiar or not, so his heart would finally stop bugging him with the idea.

A/N: Because I realized it might be a little confusing, I'll clarify it: Shiro IS Siesta's genderbent version, the Siesta here is another character who fills a minor role. Sorry about that.