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The Stray Girl and the Incompetent Mage
Chapter 18: Showdown at Tarbes
...
Leaving Tarbes the next morning proved to be a very uncomfortable business, at least for Sachiko.
Her relationship with Shiro is officially on the next level. They're a couple. Boyfriend and girlfriend. Sachiko knows she should be happy, and she is, but she has a feeling in her chest that prevents her from being a hundred percent satisfied with how things turned out.
Before their departure, Shiro told her he was going to stay in Tarbes until the end of the holidays, and gave her a letter he wrote to Marteau to inform him of this. That would have been fine, if not because, just before mounting Sylphid, he gave her a goodbye kiss, right in front of the whole damn village. Catcalls and hoots didn't wait to be heard, but Sachiko could barely make them out because of the rush of blood to her ears. She barely listened to Kirche and Guiche's teases throughout the trek, instead her mind running itself dry with worry.
She is, after all, a person from a different world, while Shiro already has an established life here, in Halkeginia, with family, friends and a job. While it's not like she thinks she will marry Shiro someday (they are too young and he is her first boyfriend), it's impossible for her to be with someone without thinking about their future together. And with Shiro the future looks so uncertain.
Well, maybe she shouldn't think about this now. They just begun their relationship, and there's still plenty of time to decide what will happen afterwards. Maybe they won't even work out, or maybe by then she would decide she likes her life here, or Shiro will accompany her to her world. Nobody knows and Sachiko prefers to keep the thought for later, when everything is settled and she has no other option but to make a decision.
I wonder how I'm going to break the news to Louis she finds herself wondering, before quickly shaking her head and reprimanding herself. Louis doesn't matter in all of this. He fired her, and as far as she's concerned, her intimate relationships have nothing to do with him. He wouldn't even care if he knew, she thinks sadly, although she doesn't understand why she feels that way. Maybe because, despite everything, she still cares about him and it still hurts he got rid of her so easily? Because she's the only one who considered they had something akin to friendship? She doesn't want to think about it. Pondering on it just makes her feel sadder.
The academy is coming into view, and Sachiko looks behind her, to the two dragons carrying the airplane, transporting it with the help of a giant net. If it was up to her, she would have left the airplane in Tarbes, heck, she would have stayed in Tarbes, but Mr. Colbert is in the academy, and she knows it'll be easier for him to work on it with his laboratory close by. Guiche helped with that, contacting a few of his father's acquaintances and making the feat easier.
She didn't count with Guiche's solidarity extending only so far as soon as they set foot inside the academy though.
"Come on Guiche! You know I don't have any money!" Sachiko complains, looking at the tall blond boy with plead in her eyes. It's embarrassing having to ask this guy for anything, but what else can she do now?
Guiche narrows his eyes. "I don't have to pay for anything. You wanted to bring that thing here despite knowing it has no use for us. I already did my part."
"I promise I'll pay you back… eventually" she whispers, gazing away. He snorts, folding his arms.
"It's your canoe; you have to take responsibility for it!"
"It's not a canoe, it's an airplane! And I will, but you can't expect me to produce money out of thin air, can you?"
"If it's ok with you, I will pay" a voice says from behind them. Sachiko turns around, seeing Mr. Colbert standing there, not looking at them but at the airplane with big, curious eyes. Although she wanted to show him the airplane as soon as possible, his desire to pay for her makes her embarrassed.
"You don't have to do it, Mr. Colbert…"
"Please allow me to. I imagine you want to talk to me about this… thing, anyway, no?" Sachiko nods, and once he has paid, he turns to look at her. But not before catching three figures discreetly trying to get away. "You three, stop at once" Guiche and Kirche cringe at being caught. Tabitha doesn't change her expression. "The principal wants to talk to you about your punishment for skipping classes. He's waiting in his office."
"What about Sachiko? She has been gone from the academy as well" Guiche asks in a pleading tone.
"Miss Sachiko is not a student, neither a servant. She's Mr. Vallière's familiar, so the responsibility falls completely onto him. Now stop wasting time and leave."
They walk with their heads low, and Sachiko feels just a tiny bit sorry for them. Not much though, they travelled with her knowing fully well the consequences of abandoning the academy for so many days. Once they're out of their sight, Mr. Colbert looks at her, and Sachiko quickly begins to explain.
"Remember that time, when I talked to you about my world?"
"Yes, of course" he follows her as she searches around the airplane, finally finding what she's looking for.
"One of the things I told you about it's the airplane, this…"
"Is one?" he interrupts, his voice shifting with excitement. Sachiko nods.
"I went to Tarbes, and it turns out what you told me was true. There was someone from my world in that village, and they came using this airplane" she palms the object a few times, affectionately. "I already checked it and it seems to be in perfect state, however, I can't use it."
"And you want me to help you with that" he says, already assuming why she brought it with her to the academy. Sachiko nods again, opening a small compartment on the side of the airplane and presenting it to him.
"What the airplane needs to function again is gasoline. Remember the engine you showed me the other day? It's something like that."
"Um" he leans in, smelling the contents. "Whatever it is, it's very flammable" he says, taking out a small tube from a pocket and collecting a bit of the substance that was left behind on the bottom.
"Very flammable, so I would recommend not letting any spark close to it. This quantity shouldn't be dangerous, but still…"
"You never know" Sachiko nods. "Well, with this sample I should be able to make more with alchemy. Are you sure we can make this 'airplane' work again with this 'gasoline'?"
"Yes, absolutely."
"Great. In that case, I better start working right now!" he puts away the tube and begins walking back to his laboratory, but Sachiko stops him before he goes far. "Yes, Sachiko?"
"About the money…" she starts, gazing away and blushing slightly. Colbert, foreseeing where this conversation is going, quickly shakes his head.
"You don't need to worry about that, Sachiko. You're giving me the opportunity to investigate about this airplane of yours, so it's only natural I would pay for its transport."
"Still, I should…"
"I will pay for it" another voice interrupts, one Sachiko hasn't heard in three weeks, if not a little more. She turns to look at Louis, who is walking towards them with long, awfully confident strides, but his frown betrays another darker, not so nice emotion. She unconsciously takes a step back and gulps.
He stops in front of them, but at a distance, around a meter back.
"Like I was telling Sachiko, Mr. Vallière, I…"
"She's my familiar, please let me take care of her expenses" Louis insists. At this, Colbert doesn't seem to have anything else to argue, and with a shrug, says goodbye to Sachiko and continues towards his laboratory. Sachiko stays behind, even though she would rather accompany the other man. But she can't. This is the moment the two of them had been waiting for almost a month.
Time for explanations.
"So you're back" Louis begins, his eyes boring on her in a way that makes Sachiko feel bashful. She turns her head around, looking for a way to avoid his intense gaze.
"I am" she responds in the same tone.
"That thing there…" he gestures with a hand towards the airplane.
"Ah, it's a long story. It's actually… from my world…"
"Really?" he looks skeptical, but gives another glance to it. Sachiko nods. "You went looking for this with Kirche and company?"
"Um, not really, it was more like a coincidence…"
"Ah."
A silence starts between them but before it can become suffocating, Sachiko sighs. "I am not your familiar anymore, so you don't have to…"
"Don't be ridiculous. There's no way you can stop being my familiar."
Sachiko frowns. "That's not what you said three weeks ago."
"I was angry and let my emotions take the better of me. The point is, as long as you are in this world, you are still my familiar. Now let's go back to our room" he turns around, but instead of walking, waits for her. He doesn't look surprised when she doesn't approach, and sighs. "Alright, what do you want?"
At this the girl raises her eyebrows, genuinely taken aback. "What do I want? Shouldn't you be asking that to yourself? You threw me out of your life and now you want me to get back in, just like that?"
"My question remains the same."
"Louis, it's been three weeks. Why didn't you talk to me sooner?"
"Of which two you were away. How do you want me to talk to you when you're not here?"
"I was here, before I decided to leave because you obviously weren't coming to look for me."
"But I am here now, no?" she gives him a look, and he rolls his eyes. "Fine, I get it, you want an explanation, right?"
"That would be nice, yes."
"Then explain something to me first, what were you doing with that servant in my room?" he counters, crossing his arms and glaring at her. His question makes Sachiko frown in confusion.
"What you ask… we were kissing, I thought it was pretty obvious" Louis narrows his eyes, resisting the urge to walk up to her and shake her so she would start saying something intelligent.
"Why?"
She blushes. Her eyes dart to the side, avoiding his. "N-None of your business."
His fists clench at his sides, and the gnashing of teeth is almost audible. "It is my business, first, because you did it in my room, and second, because you are my familiar. You didn't even inform me you were leaving the academy. How can you be so irresponsible not to…?"
"Oh, can't you shut up already? Louis, you fired me, remember?!" her calm demeanor it's slowly disappearing, being replaced by irritation, the same that's increasing on the other boy at her tone. "If you're angry because it happened in your room, then fine, I'll apologize! But don't make this thing only about me! The kiss was completely unplanned, but you blew it out of proportion and kicked me out! Do you know how I felt, once I knew I was alone? Can you make yourself an idea?" her eyes are blurry, her body tense. Louis doesn't say anything, and that makes her feel worse. "You really don't know…"
"I tried… to look for you days later, but you were gone so…" he tries to justify his actions, but Sachiko shakes her head. "Ugh, I told you already, I was angry! What's so difficult to understand about that?!"
"I waited for you Louis; I waited for you for days. If firing me was only a reaction of the moment I would have understand it, but even days later you didn't go back for me. So I think the only one who has to explain anything here it's you" the look she gives him makes him feel ashamed. He looks away, not wanting to feel judged under those dark eyes. "Why did it bother you that I kissed Shiro so much?"
As if he's going to tell her. He bites his lips, running his brain ragged for a suitable answer, but nothing comes to mind. Sachiko waits, her patience starting to run thin.
"Louis, you…"
"It's not him… specifically…" he begins uncertainly. Sachiko looks at him, making him nervous. "You are my familiar so you can't… play with someone else… that's not… you're not allowed…"
"…I hope for your own good you're not being serious…"
"I'll kill you."
She frowns, looking back at the airplane. "You know, I don't belong to you…"
"Yes you do, or have you forgotten about the runes?"
"You mean this thing?" she raises her left hand, the runes in display. She snorts. "If I remember correctly, none of us actually wanted this."
"But we can't do anything about it now, so until you can go back to your home, you're stuck with me, whether we like it or not" he says forcibly, hard, only making Sachiko feel even more defensive.
"Don't treat me like property."
"I'm not! Just…!" he closes his eyes, forcing himself to calm down. He's not going anywhere like this. He inhales, exhales, before finally looking back at her. "I am your master, I… shouldn't have let you alone, true, and I took more time than I should have to go look for you, so for that, I… I…!" he's clenching his fists and squaring his jaw as if only thinking the words it's painful. Sachiko can't help but find it amusing, just a little.
"Relax, you look like you're pulling off teeth" she says, trying to ease the boy, but getting the opposite result. He snarls at her, but Sachiko is starting to know him, so she's not impressed.
"Look, you have nowhere to go, right?"
"Actually I do-"
"And" he continues, not listening to her; "you can't stay in a tent indefinitely or live out of others forever. Why don't you just come back? The two of us committed mistakes, so let's keep that in the past and continue like we always do, ok?"
No she thinks, furrowing her brow with anger. Is it so difficult for him to say sorry? She apologized, accepted her part of blame. He's so prideful. She sighs, before looking at the airplane again. She doesn't know how long it will take for Mr. Colbert to produce gasoline, and even when that's done; she still has to prepare a course of action. Louis is right; she can't live out of others indefinitely. Besides, it's not like he's not regretful. At least she thinks so. Just because he doesn't say the words it doesn't mean he's not sincere. And he's right on some level; she did leave without giving him the opportunity to seek her out later.
So, with a deep sigh, she nods, before following him. Louis looks surprised, but he doesn't question her and turns around. In the silence that ensues, Sachiko can conclude one thing out of this exchange.
She definitely won't tell Louis about her relationship with Shiro. If he reacted like that only because of a kiss, she doesn't want to imagine what he'll do if he ever finds out the two are together.
Seeing her standing there, smiling so easily with Mr. Colbert after three weeks of not seeing her at all made him furious. It was enough to override the joy at knowing her back and the longing because yes, he missed her, terribly, and she probably didn't even think about him at all. Not with that servant with her.
He wanted to be angry when he went to look for her only to find out she was gone, but knowing she didn't leave alone with that servant and that Kirche was with them managed to calm him down considerably. If the redhead was the one of the idea, which he was almost certain she was, then he didn't need to worry so much about Sachiko leaving for good.
Instead, he used the following two weeks to think. He came to the conclusion Kirche was right and he needed to apologize, but it was easier said than done. He did not have a justification for his actions that didn't get him in a compromising situation, so he didn't give any, and surprisingly Sachiko seemed to be fine with that, if not a little frustrated.
He wants to ask so badly what happened with that servant and where is he, but he holds his tongue, keeping in mind he shouldn't meddle with her life any more than necessary. It's because he couldn't separate his duty as master and his feelings as a man that the two fought like that, and he doesn't want a repeat of that, despite the fact the wondering is eating him alive.
He's not a fool and he knows they are still on shaky grounds, but for the moment she's following him, and that should be enough. With time they can solve everything or better yet, forget this incident ever happened. He knows he wants to forget it, because it's just another proof of his weakness and not just that, but an embarrassing mistake as well. The only good thing he could come up with from this experience it's that now he knows better than to just let his emotions take the better of him, so now he can behave accordingly the next time something like this happens.
Hopefully.
He opens the door to his bedroom and lets her in first. Once she's inside he closes it and goes to his desk, ready to pretend things are perfectly normal, but one superficial look to the room has Sachiko frowning and asking yet another embarrassing question.
"Louis, what happened to my mattress?"
He takes out a small book from a drawer and opens it. The pages are blank and it looks old and decayed. Louis is just happy Montmorency finally finished her edict and gave it back to him with time to spare before the wedding. "I got rid of it."
Her mouth falls open. "What? Why?"
"It was occupying space, gathering dust and it made cleaning the room very difficult, so I decided it needed to go" he says with a straight face. No way is he admitting he threw it out the window in a rage fit and later was too embarrassed to get it back.
"I'm the one who cleans the room anyway, so why are you complaining?" Sachiko is more stunned than angry. She looks at Louis as if he's a creature she cannot comprehend. He snorts.
"When would you have cleaned the room? While you were out and about those two weeks?"
"Then, where am I going to sleep?" she asks, her shoulders dropping in dejection. Louis bites his lips, staring at the book. His face flushes while his brow furrows, as if he's debating something with himself. When a whole minute passes without him saying anything, she opens her mouth again. "Lou-"
"I heard you already" he sighs, passing a hand through his hair. He turns to look at her, and for some reason the expression on his face makes her heart skip a beat. "I… I-I" he stammers. Sachiko tilts her head, waiting patiently for what he has to say. He groans. "Argh! This is so stupid!" he stands up and walks towards the window. He slams it wide open and lets the fresh air fill his lungs. After he manages to calm down, he closes his eyes and, without turning to her, says: "you can sleep in my bed if you want."
There are a few seconds of silence, because Sachiko was only half listening, more occupied with looking at the ground and frowning, thinking how difficult it is for this boy to say what's on his mind, but when the words reach her brain, she blinks, stares at him and waits for him to tell her he's joking, even though he never really jokes. But that never happens.
So instead, the only thing she can do is open her mouth and yell.
"What?!"
"Keep quiet!" he turns around and glares at her, but his face is burning with embarrassment. He thought about this a lot, and decided that he much preferred having her sleep with him on the same bed than asking the servants for another mattress. He wouldn't be able to stand the shame. And he definitely won't let her go ask for one herself, they might tell her how he got rid of the first, and it would be worst. "I decided from now on you'll sleep on the bed with me. Having a mattress in the first place was a stupid idea. It takes space unnecessarily, not to mention it's horrible aesthetically."
"But I'm a g-!" she stops short from finishing her complain, instead narrowing her eyes at him. No, I'm not a girl for him. Otherwise he wouldn't be telling this to her so unabashedly, right? But still, sharing a bed with him is a tad too… "Is it really ok with you? Having a girl sleeping with you?" she asks, just to make sure. Immediately he snorts.
"How many times do I have to tell you? You're a simple familiar, don't think too highly of yourself!" it's a lie, but goddammit, can't she just accept right away instead of making things difficult like always? He already feels like he's going to explode from the tension, he doesn't need her questioning his decisions now of all times.
Sachiko bites her lips, looking between the bed and him, pondering. She's dating Shiro, so of course sleeping with another man should be completely out of the question, not to mention she feels something off with Louis for saying such things. Maybe she should just sleep on the floor?
"Tch, do whatever you want" Louis finally says when she takes too long to answer. He sits on his desk again and gives her his back, concentrating on anything other than the pang of rejection trying to bubble its way up his throat. Still, he can't help one last malicious comment. "See if I care when your back hurts from sleeping on the floor…"
"Now Louis, you don't have t-"
Then suddenly a metallic laugh is heard from Sachiko's back. The two turn to the sound, Sachiko straining her neck to look over her shoulder, just to see Derflinger trembling slightly in its sheath.
"Smooth, noble boy! I give you a four! Really, I've seen mercenaries being less sulky after rejection…!"
And then a sword is send flying out the window.
"Derflinger!" Sachiko shouts, leaning on the windowsill, watching helplessly as the sword lands on the ground, all three stories below. Louis scoffs, and Sachiko glares at him, as he's leaning on the side of the window, against the wall. "What the hell are you thinking? Throwing Derflinger like that!"
"It's a sword, he can't feel any pain from it" he says as he rolls his eyes, and pushes himself from the wall, walking again to the desk.
"So? It doesn't give you the right to just threw him out the window like that! You realize you could have seriously injured someone?!"
"Details."
"Don't give me that!"
Sachiko continues yelling as she makes her way to the door, slamming it shut in her path to retrieve Derflinger. Louis flops down on his chair and crosses his arms, glaring at the Founder's Prayer Book with all the frustration flowing inside his mind.
Why can't he do anything right?
She touches the handle and watches as the runes on her hand start to glow. For the last few days she had been thoroughly enjoying discovering every single aspect of the airplane. The runes allow her to understand the use and functions of the airplane in a way she never thought possible. Is this the power Louis bestowed upon her? She snorts as soon as the words form in her mind. Bestowed? Sure she's starting to use fancy words. But she can't deny that it is a very amazing power, despite everything.
"I already filled the tank with some of this 'gasoline' Sachiko" Colbert's voice calls from outside. Sachiko gives a nod and starts the engine. It rumbles to life, and with her peripheral vision she can see Mr. Colbert jumping with surprise. She lets out a small chuckle.
"Just like I thought. It works perfectly fine!" she says in a louder voice, before turning it off. She then jumps down from the airplane and dusts imaginary dirt from her clothes. Colbert is looking at her with a big smile.
"Amazing! So, how much more did you say we would need for it to fly?"
"Um, I think five or six barrels at the very least" Colbert nods enthusiastically, and with barely a goodbye dashes towards his laboratory again. Now that he knows he's on the right track, he has confidence he can speedy the process a little more. At least that's what he said.
Giving a sigh, she looks up at the airplane, and with an almost tender caress, lets her hand glide across the surface. She has never been fond of history, of the stories of war and artillery, not in the way her father was, but despite that she can't help but feel excitement every time she glances upon her little airplane. Her ticket back home. Her link to the Earth. Or maybe it's just that exploring it had become an entertaining pastime. It's amazing how with a single touch she can know everything she needs to know about the airplane, merely because it's a weapon.
Or rather used as a weapon. She looks to the sides, where the machine guns should be. Her mouth becomes a line, furrowing her lips at the thought of what can be done with this thing when used in combat. Would she ever have to use it? Why is she even thinking about that? Compared to present aircrafts, this one is severely outdated, but in this environment, where only magic is used for defense and swords and spikes are what the common folk rely on to defend themselves, it surely looks like a weapon of mass destruction. How much damage can she do with it?
"Don't think about that Sachiko. It's not good for you."
She walks back towards the academy, leaving the airplane behind. No one will touch it, she knows. Despite general curiosity being abundant the first few days after she brought it, the airplane soon became monotonous to look at and more so to question about. It didn't hold the nobles' interest for long, and the servants probably had more important things to do than stare at it all day. It was a weird thing that more than likely wasn't of any use, according to them.
A new toy for the Zero's familiar. That's what they called it. Sachiko didn't care. Better if they weren't interested.
"Well, with this done, I only have to go see Miss Longueville" she yawns and stretches her arms above her head. Classes are still on session, so it will be a while until she sees Louis again. Surprisingly, while she knows Louis wouldn't really joke about anything, she wasn't really expecting that she would have to sleep in the same bed as him. He was really adamant too. It makes her question how long he had been bothered with the mattress occupying space, to the point he preferred for them to share the bed. He's like that, obsessive with little things one at a time.
She didn't want to at first, finding it weird and more than anything, afraid of what Shiro would think, but she convinced herself that for him it was only like sleeping with your dog or cat, and it's not like it was any different for her.
She's lying. She was actually very nervous when that first night came. But then he only turned around and gave his back to her, as far away from her as it was possible on the bed, and ignored her all night long. She was left a little hurt and indignant at his behavior. Was she really so little for him? Come on, she's a girl, she very much looks like a girl, it can't be he really doesn't feel anything, does he?
"Or maybe he's just asexual like Kirche said once" she ponders as she makes her way up the stairs in the central tower. That would explain a lot of his behavior, not only towards her but to the rest of the female population of the academy. Such a waste, with that pretty face of his. Then again, there was that thing with Henrietta, so maybe…
"You're finally here!" Miss Longueville's voice takes her out of her thoughts. She's already inside the treasure vault, the massive doors wide open, letting her see piles upon piles of… junk. "I've been waiting for over an hour."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Colbert took a little more of time with the concoction than expected, so…"
"That's not important" she dismisses with a gesture of the hand. "Now, why don't you help me? I haven't even touched a fourth of what's inside here."
"Right away" she lifts something that looks like a canteen, but made of glass, and turns it around, trying to decipher what it is. "How do we do it? Do I pass you the treasures and you write them down on your notebook?"
"Mmm, something like that" she takes away the canteen from her hands and places it back on a shelf. "This section is finished. Let's go there now."
"Ok."
Sachiko starts sorting out different objects, while Miss Longueville writes in her notebook, taking her time to examine them in search of signs of decay and arrange them again by size, antiqueness and magical level. For Sachiko, it's very entertaining. She's naturally curious, so being allowed to touch such objects, some even a thousand years old, according to her companion, is a real thrill.
But like every repetitive task, it becomes boring after a while.
"Do you need to have magic to use these treasures?" she asks in a determined moment. She's holding a staff, made of sturdy wood and shaped like the beak of a bird. From its point, a small bell hangs.
Miss Longueville raises an eyebrow, looking up for only a moment to assess the staff before going back to her notebook. "It depends. For that one, magic is required."
"Depends on what?"
"The magical level of the treasure. There are simple magical artifacts that can store a certain amount of magic, for example lamps and other things, and they're activated by an incantation or certain hand motions or seals. These kinds of objects can be used even by commoners, but they have a limited time of usefulness."
"So it's like a rechargeable item, but instead of batteries you use magic."
"What?" the spectacled woman blinks, no doubt confused, Sachiko shakes her head.
"Nothing, just thinking to myself, please continue."
"Well… those types of artifacts usually have a simple function, like restraining in case of magical ropes or illuminating a room with a magical lamp. Then, you have more advanced artifacts that fulfill more complicated tasks. In those cases, a certain amount of magic is required by the user to activate it and then another to control it, so it's impossible for a commoner to use it."
"Oh" she looks at the staff, moving it slightly from side to side. "What does this thing do, then? If I wouldn't be able to use it…"
"It controls the direction and intensity of the wind. It's ideal, because a wind mage would be able to utilize it perfectly without draining so much energy as if they were chanting themselves."
Sachiko nods, before putting the staff back in its place. They keep rummaging for a while, until Miss Longueville finally puts down her notebook and sighs.
"We're halfway through. If you need to rest Sachiko, don't doubt to ask."
"I'm fine, don't worry" she says as she grabs a big, black box from a shelf. Miss Longueville's eyes shine, before approaching the dark-haired girl.
"I was looking forward to seeing this one" without a word of warning, she takes the box from her hands and opens it. Sachiko blinks at the empty space in her hands, before slowly turning to look at what the bespectacled woman is doing. Her eyes widen slightly upon seeing what she's holding, but she quickly shakes her head. No, it can't be…
"Why is that?" she decides to ask, keeping her cool. Miss Longueville gives her a crooked smile, presenting it to her.
"This here it's called The Staff of Destruction, famed with the power to take down even a grown dragon. In fact, I've heard that Old Osmond used it once against a three-headed dragon and won" her smile has something almost predatory to it, her glasses shining against the light filtering from the window ominously. Sachiko blinks; a little taken aback at the image the woman displays, but with a shake of her head, tells herself she's just seeing things.
"Okay, that's impressive…" she bites her lip, looking down at the notebook, "let's write it down and continue, there's still quite a lot to do…"
"The catch with it" she continues as if she hadn't heard her. Alright, Sachiko thinks if she wants to keep talking about this 'staff'… "Is that no one knows exactly how it works. No one besides Old Osmond has been able to use it before, so the person wielding it has to be especially powerful or there is a special method to use it that the principal won't reveal."
"Ah" she gets a little more why she looks so fascinated with the staff. Still, her concentration is a little… "What about you, Miss Longueville? Can you find out how to use it?"
Her smile diminishes, until it is nothing but a thin line of frustration; "unfortunately, no. I'm tapping for magic imbued, but I can't seem to find any…" then, as if she suddenly has a brilliant idea, she gives the staff to her. "Why don't you try it?"
"Me?" she looks down at the object again with apprehension before shaking her head. "If it's a magical artifact then there's no way I could possibly…"
"But you're Gandálfr" she insists, leaving Sachiko with an open mouth. "Why not try to canalize a little of your energy into it? Maybe that way you can find out how to use it."
"I don't know, I mean, I don't think…" but Miss Longueville is looking at her with an almost pleading stare, and she can only sigh in defeat. It can't hurt to try, can it? "Well, I don't think it's really a magical artifact, anyway, but…" she starts examining it, turning it around and squinting so as to get a better idea what to do with it. Instinctually, she closes her eyes and concentrates in the same way she does every time she uses Derflinger during training.
"What do you mean by that?" Miss Longueville asks, but is interrupted when Sachiko's runes start to glow. She gasps, at the same time that the young girl opens her eyes and starts fumbling with the object.
"I knew it" her voice is low, one could say bitter, as she moves her hands. The weapon is displayed under the attentive eyes of the spectacled woman, who doesn't miss detail of Sachiko's movements. But then, before flipping up the telescope, she suddenly stops and clicks her tongue. Without saying anything, she turns around and leaves the treasure vault with the staff in hand.
"Sachiko? Where are you going?" Miss Longueville calls out, angry she stopped before she could see the complete process. Sachiko doesn't turn around, instead going up directly towards Old Osmond's office. She raps against the door, waiting for an answer, but it never comes. She starts to fidget, becoming increasingly anxious while still holding the staff of destruction on her hands. Miss Longueville appears soon after. "What was that about?" she complains, almost childishly.
Sachiko turns to look at her, surprised, as if completely forgetting her presence, before giving her a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry for leaving like that, it's just… I need to talk to Old Osmond about this…" she points at the staff with her head. Miss Longueville scoffs.
"Well, you'll have to wait. He's gone to the capital on official business. It's the reason I called you to organize the treasure vault today, since the principal wouldn't need me" she explains, crossing her arms. Sachiko looks disappointed, her shoulders sagging slightly.
"No way, when is he coming back?"
"I think tomorrow night or the day after."
Sachiko sighs, a small pout on her mouth. "Too bad…"
"Yeah, well, now that this is cleared up, let's go back to the treasure vault. We have a lot to do" she says, turning around and starting to go down the stairs. Sachiko reluctantly follows, dragging her feet. "Oh, and don't think I forgot. You have to show me how the staff works, now that you showed me you know how to use it."
"It's not the big deal, really…"
"It has to be, considering you just ran off to tell Old Osmond about it" she looks at her from the corner of her eye and Sachiko gulps. Damn, how is she going to explain her strange behavior now? "It's alright, you don't need to tell me anything you feel uncomfortable with, but in exchange, show me how the staff works!"
"Why are you so adamant about that?" Sachiko asks, relieved she's letting slip what just happened but at the same time wary. Why is she so interested about this object in particular? How did she know she would be able to find out its mechanism?
"Because I'm a really, really curious person; there's really no other reason" she shrugs. Sachiko hums. She can understand curiosity.
"Ok… but I don't think I can show you exactly how it works though…"
"Doesn't matter, just the basics would be great, so as not to be so much in the dark."
"Is everything alright?"
Sachiko opens her eyes, looking straight at the ceiling and squinting at the light hitting her despite being only that of the candles. She turns her head to the side, where Louis is standing with his arms folded, staring at her with a raised eyebrow and what looks like concern. She blinks.
"Yes… why do you ask?" she closes her eyes again; letting her head hit the pillow once more. She doesn't get an answer, instead a few seconds pass until she feels a weight on the other side of the bed. She opens her eyes again to see him sitting on the edge, his body turned in her direction.
"You're awfully quiet" he shrugs, as if he doesn't care one way or another. Sachiko raises her eyebrows.
"You hate it when I 'talk nonstop'."
"But this is worrisome… I mean" he huffs, glancing to the side with his mouth downturned. "Whatever, I don't really care. It's better if you don't talk anyway, this way at least I can hear myself think" he stands up and sits on his desk, opening his books and ignoring her with an angry scowl. Sachiko rolls her eyes and decides to rest again. Not even five minutes later she feels a pillow being smashed on her face.
"What the heck?!" she sits up and pushes the pillow away. Glaring at Louis, she spats; "are you trying to smother me or what?!"
"Just tell me whatever is bothering you already!" he yells instead, making Sachiko reel back in surprise. He huffs again and crosses his arms, looking to the side. "It's not good to keep things inside and… you are annoying like this, even more than usual…"
Her eye twitches, but decides not to address his strange behavior, instead letting out a sigh and resting back on the bed. Taking a few seconds to collect her thoughts, she tells him about what she found out that day in the treasury vault and her suspicions. He looks pensive, his expression inscrutable as he sits on the bed again.
"So… you think the staff of destruction is actually a weapon from your world?"
"I'm pretty sure it is a weapon from my world. I wanted to talk to Old Osmond about where he got the staff, and how he supposedly killed a dragon with it, considering it only has one shot and the one I saw today was still loaded."
"One shot? Loaded?"
"It doesn't really matter" she sighs. "I don't know how much of a clue it can be but… if he came across the weapon by chance… or if someone gave it to him… maybe then I can try and find this person. I didn't have the chance with Shiro's great-grandfather, but the staff isn't that old, so maybe…"
"Shiro's great-grandfather?" Louis interrupts, frowning. Shiro… if he's not wrong, that's the name of the servant Sachiko seems so fond of.
"Oh yeah, didn't I tell you? When I was gone, with Kirche and company, we ended up going to Tarbes, Shiro's birthplace, and we found the airplane there. It belonged to his great-grandfather. He came to this world from mine with it. His family allowed me to keep it as per the man's wishes."
"…" Louis frowns, staring intensely at the bed. So that's what that thing was… More so, that servant has a connection to Sachiko of such magnitude. But can they really believe his great-grandfather came from the same world as her? Does she come from a different world at all? "You didn't tell me any of this. Why?"
Sachiko frowns too, not opening her eyes. "What do you mean why? You never asked" she opens her eyes and looks at him. "And why are you upset? I didn't think you would actually care."
Louis bites his tongue to keep his temper from flaring. Not care? If he didn't care he wouldn't even bother spending his days of void cramped up in the royal archive instead of enjoying his only free day in the week for her sake. He's very clearly interested in her and actively searching with her for a way so she can go back to her…
And then it hits him. Sachiko is trying to go back to her world. It's not just a probability; it's actually more of a possibility now. And if what she said about that thing is true…
"You… are planning to use that thing to go look for a way back to your world?" he asks apprehensively. Sachiko looks at him with a bit of surprise at his tone, and Louis quickly composes himself. "I mean, how would you do that? I don't get how that thing can help you. And what do you mean that servant's great-grandfather came to this world with that? What's it supposed to do?"
"It can fly" she answers simply, ignoring altogether his rambling like she's getting used to do now. Louis blinks, before unconsciously letting out a snort.
"Really? How?" he deadpans. Sachiko narrows her eyes.
"Well, with that attitude don't expect me to explain anything to you."
"Are you trying to make me angry?" he asks dangerously. She shakes her head. "Whatever, I don't care if that thing flies or not, or how it does it. Are you really doing it? Going back to your world without another clue other than that man supposedly coming here flying with a bunch of metal?" his tone denotes his incredulity. Sachiko shrugs for lack of a better answer.
"You knew this was eventually coming, and I'm tired of waiting. If I remain here any longer…" she purses her lips, thinking about it. It has already started, how much longer can she keep without it crumbling in on her and stripping her from the determination she needs to keep forward with her plan? "If I'm here any longer, then…"
"You can't leave yet!" Louis' yell surprises her, not only for the abruptness of it but for the small hint of desperation coming from his voice. His eyes are wide, his fists clench and eyebrows scrunched. Sachiko's mouth falls open. "You are my familiar, you can't just up and leave without…!" he catches himself at the last second, finally realizing what he's saying. He closes his mouth forcefully and turns his face away from her, a healthy blush staining his neck and cheeks. He curses in his head. "I-I mean… without more information… it's dangerous and so… you have to stay here until I can obtain more…"
He waits with bated breath for Sachiko to say something, but when she doesn't, his embarrassment becomes anger again, and he looks at her ready to snap once more. Instead, he's met with the sight of her staring intently at the ceiling, her brows furrowed and her fingers intertwined over her stomach. She looks so serious he's momentarily left speechless.
"You know" she starts, still not looking at him; "It hasn't really been that much time since you summoned me, but I'm already finding the thought of leaving difficult. In such a short time, I've met many different people that have become very important to me. Mr. Colbert, Kirche, Shiro, you… even Guiche has somehow grown on me. I know that, when I leave, I'll never be able to see either of you ever again, and I was fine with that, but I'm realizing that if I don't leave now, I won't ever leave" she sighs, closing her eyes and slowly shaking her head. "It's going to hurt no matter what, but better now that bonds aren't that strong that from here to a year when I'm already too deep to let go."
As happy as she is with them, as happy as she is with Shiro, she will have to leave someday. She doesn't have a future in this world, she doesn't belong here. It's not only her desire to go back to her parents and her previous life, it's also the fear of getting too attached and then having to choose, because she knows she will always choose her parents and world and everything she did and lived here would have to stop.
Right?
She hears Louis sigh, but she doesn't open her eyes to acknowledge him, not until he starts talking.
"Goodbyes are an inevitable part of life. You always meet people that you'll have to part from someday, and it's going to hurt, and you'll be sad… but you shouldn't think about how lonely you'll be without them. Think about what they meant to you, and the part they played in your life. In that regard every person is like a lesson, no? You always learn something new from them, whether it is good or bad, it doesn't matter. So instead of being afraid of letting go… embrace everything they are and what they give you, that way you'll have something nice to remember them when you're no longer here."
Sachiko looks at him in wonder. He seems melancholic, as if he's remembering something painful, and it's then that she realizes he's talking from experience. Of course, Sachiko has never suffered lost, unlike Louis, in whose arms Prince Wales died, who was betrayed and almost killed by Wardes, and who felt the weight of Henrietta's friendship crumbling to pieces.
She smiles softly at him, unconsciously reaching for his hand. He jumps in surprise, turning to look at her confusedly.
"Thank you, Louis. I needed to hear that" he smiles back, although much more subdued, before biting his lip and nervously glancing back and forth between their hands and her face.
"Well…" he clears his throat, slowly withdrawing his hand and standing up. He walks towards his desk and sits down, playing with an old book. "Just to clarify… don't try to hurry too much about going back to your world. You will eventually, but I honestly think it's better to take a while making sure it's safe enough for you than heading straight on and regretting it in the end."
He's serious about it. He honestly thinks being too hasty is dangerous, but there's also another part of him, the one that doesn't want her to go away. He's gotten used to her company. Those three weeks she wasn't with him he was so… lonely. How come he got used to her presence so quickly?
"Hmm" she murmurs noncommittally. She understands the reasoning behind it, but she can't outright promise him to wait up if the chance to leave presents itself. Staring back at him, she sets her eyes on the old book he's handling. She has seen him examining it more than a few times in the last couple of days. What's so interesting about a worn out thing like that? "Hey Louis, what you got there?"
"You mean this?" he points at Sachiko's object of interest and she nods. "It's the Founder's Prayer Book. It belonged to Founder Brimir and has been passed down for generations in the royal family."
"Oh" she sits up, reclining her back against the headboard. "Why do you have it, then?"
"Henrietta gave it to me. It's tradition to give the book at the time of a royal wedding to whoever will be the bridesmaid or best man, in order to inspire them to write a speech. Henrietta asked me to find a bridesmaid for her, and I gave the job to Montmorency."
"Montmorency? Why her?" she asks, confused.
"She's my cousin."
"I didn't know that!"
"I never told you. Anyway, now that Montmorency has finished with her speech, I asked her to give the book back to me. Since it belonged to the Founder, I think I can find a clue about the void in it."
"Really?" she stands up, walking towards him and looking at the book from over his shoulder. She frowns. "Ehm, Louis, it's completely blank…"
"I know" he sighs, closing the book. He then turns to look at her in the eyes. "I've been concentrating, thinking there might be a trick to access the contents of the book, if it has any content at all, but so far I've been unable to feel even the slightest shift in it. It obviously gives off the essence of magic" he glances at the book from the corner of his eye, before looking at Sachiko again; "but I have no idea what I should do to unlock it. If there is a way, and if I truly possess the void, it should be possible for me, but none of the unsealing spells I learned work, and I'm afraid of trying anything of a higher level, since I could accidentally destroy it."
"That's tough" she purses her lips, moving her eyes from the book to Louis and vice versa. Then she sighs. "Well, I guess it's no use worrying about if for now. We're leaving in two days. I'm sure you'll be able to find out the way to unlock the book before then."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that. Two days it's not a lot of time…" he says disheartened. Sachiko smiles.
"You need to rest. Come on, it's time to sleep. Tomorrow you'll be able to start again with a clearer mind" she goes back to bed, not even sparing a glance at him as she starts undressing. Louis quickly averts his eyes, knowing by that point that yelling at her it's not only useless, but also counterproductive in the long run, and only when he hears her enter the bed he stands up to do the same.
He swears; this girl is going to be the death of him one day.
Two entire days pass, and Louis is closing his luggage with a big sigh threatening to spill forward. As expected, he didn't manage to get anything from the book, and he's feeling incredibly frustrated with himself.
"We still have a long trek to Vindobona. You can keep trying until we get there" Sachiko does her best to cheer him up. This time, the sigh manages to pass his lips.
"Sure Sachiko, whatever you say."
"You don't have to be so flippant" she complains with a pout. The trek to Vindobona is indeed long. Almost two weeks on horse. Of course, they are not going by horse, but with dragons, something that diminishes the travel time considerably, but there are many things to prepare still, even there, in the capital of Germania where the wedding is taking place, so they have to leave with time to spare.
Louis doesn't answer, instead walking to the door, and Sachiko takes his suitcase and follows him, not expecting an answer at this point. While Louis has packed for his stay in Vindobona, Sachiko is only taking Derflinger with her and a change of clothes in a small sack. She doesn't have much more to take with her. They make their way slowly to the main tower, where they will meet with Old Osmond and Montmorency, who are also going to the wedding. Sachiko is planning to use that opportunity to talk to the principal about the staff of destruction.
Once they are reaching the office, they are stopped by a man in rough clothes abruptly opening the door and leaving, walking passed them to the stairs without even sparing them a glance. They look at each other for a second, before hearing Montmorency's shrill of a voice complaining loudly from inside.
"What do you mean the wedding is cancelled?" she says, a pout visible on her mouth. Her arms are crossed, but instead of looking defiant, she seems to be disappointed, though she's very obviously throwing a tantrum. "I'm already prepared to be her highness' bridesmaid!"
Old Osmond sighs, just when he sees Louis and Sachiko entering, wearing confused expressions. "As I was saying, Miss Montmorency, before you arrived, the messenger who just got out came to inform me of very terrible news. I'm sure after hearing them; you'll understand why the wedding is no longer a priority."
"So it's really cancelled? Why?" Louis asks, surprised. Montmorency huffs.
"He's about to say it, don't interrupt" Louis glares at her, but he knows better than to respond to her in front of the principal, and patiently waits for Old Osmond to speak. The man closes his eyes, leaning his chin on his clasped hands that are resting on the desk.
"Albion has declared war on Tristain" the three youngsters in front of him gasp, but he doesn't let them put a word in before he continues. "According to Albion, the Tristain air fleet begun an attack on one of their ships, unprovoked, forcing them to break the peace agreement and defend themselves" he shakes his head, opening his eyes and turning to look out the window. "The princess decided to postpone the wedding, and she herself has gone with an army to the battle ground, to defend our lands."
"But… how? Why? Tristain wouldn't… I mean…" Montmorency stammers, completely in shock. Louis clenches his jaw, his hands closing into fists.
"They probably staged an attack. So this was their plan all along…"
"They had begun their attacks in an area close to La Rochelle. I'm pretty sure you have heard of it. The region is a small one called Tarbes" his eyes turn to Sachiko, whose body freezes upon hearing that name. The suitcase slips from her hands, hitting the floor loudly. Montmorency and Louis look at her.
"It can't be… not Tarbes… it can't…" she's trembling, looking off towards an unknown point on the floor. Louis approaches her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Sachiko, are you alright?" he asks with worry. His touch manages to wake her up, and she quickly disentangles herself from him, turning around and bolting out of the office. "Sachiko!"
She's descending the stairs two steps at a time, heading directly for Mr. Colbert's laboratory. Without knocking, she throws the door open, waking up the sleeping man who was resting his head on his desk, completely worn out.
"Mr. Colbert! I need the gasoline right now!"
"Eh? Sachiko? What's going on?" he rubs his eyes with one hand, searching for his glasses with the other. Sachiko takes them and forcefully places them on his hand, before taking him by the shoulders and shaking him.
"The gasoline. How many barrels did you make?"
"Um… f-four, though I don't know…"
"Good, I need you to help me take them to the airplane. I have to leave for Tarbes right now!" the man blinks, still confused.
"What do you mean? Why do you…?"
"There's no time! Please do as I say!" she yells desperately. Her tone finally makes Mr. Colbert react. He nods seriously and stands up, using a levitation spell to transport the barrels with them.
Louis appears before them, winded from trying to catch up with Sachiko all the way from the last floor of the main tower. "Sachiko! Just what are you-?" they pass him before he can complete his question, completely ignoring him and leaving him no other option but grind his teeth and keep following them. When they arrive before the airplane, the pieces start to fall into place.
"Mr. Colbert, once you're done filling the tank I will need you to help me propel the airplane from the back with your magic. The terrain is too small to take fly without crashing against the wall."
"Understood."
Just when she's about to enter the airplane, Louis stops her, grabbing her wrist. She jumps up in surprise, turning to look at him as if she'd forgotten he was there at all.
"Where do you think you're going?" he asks roughly. Sachiko blinks, before tugging her wrist. He doesn't let go, and she finds herself frowning at this.
"I'm going to Tarbes. Shiro is there, as well as his family. I won't let anything happen to him" she says with conviction. Louis scoffs.
"And how are you going to do that? You alone against those large ships, there's no way you can win!"
"You never know unless you try."
"Stop joking!" he releases her but instead grabs her from the shoulders, forcibly turning her to him. "Even if you go there, you won't make a difference! You don't need to go and meddle in something that doesn't concern you! Especially with this excuse of a toy…!"
"This is not a toy" she pushes him away, dusting herself as she looks at him sternly. "This is a weapon from my world. You're right, I might not make a difference, and this war isn't really anything of my business, but if it affects those who are important to me, then I can't just sit idly and do nothing! Shiro has always been nice to me, and the villagers were kind when I was there a few days ago. They don't deserve to be in the middle of the battle for a decision that has nothing to do with them!"
She steps back, getting ready to board the airplane. Louis stops her once more, and this time Sachiko downright glares at him.
"You're not going to stop me!"
"I'm not planning to!" this silences her, and she can only stare at him with shock. Louis scoffs. "It's my country the one's that being attacked, and commoners or not, they're my compatriots. I won't let them get hurt if I can do something about it" then he looks down, muttering; "besides Henrietta is there, fighting like the idiot she is."
"So… you're going to accompany me?" Sachiko asks, still not believing it. He rolls his eyes.
"A master doesn't abandon his familiar. I won't leave you alone" and with this said, he reaches out and enters the airplane first. Sachiko stares after him for a few seconds, until Colbert's voice interrupts her thoughts.
"Sachiko, I've filled the tank with all the gasoline available!" she nods her head and boards the airplane. Her hand holds the handle and her runes start to glow.
"Thank you Mr. Colbert! I'm going to start the engine now!" the man gives a nod and runs to the back of the airplane. She releases the brakes, and the airplane starts to move at an alarmingly fast pace. The tail elevates thanks to Colbert's magic as she accelerates forward. When they are about to collide with the walls; Louis panics.
"What are you doing?!"
Sachiko ignores him and pulls the control stick, the airplane finally ascending in the air. Louis' jaw falls open, impressed that this thing can actually fly.
Then, if it can fly, does this mean Sachiko really comes from a different world after all?
"You know more than I gave you credit for" Derflinger teases. Sachiko scoffs.
"Oh, shut up. I had enough time to get familiar with this thing. Because there was so little space, I had to ask Mr. Colbert to help me with a wind incantation, but other than that, everything's alright" she explains, shrugging.
"I know that. Remember? I'm legendary, so I know about these things in general. Anyway, this thing is really flying, how interesting."
"Of course it is. It was made for that."
"Could you two stop talking as if I'm not here? I don't understand a thing you're saying!" Louis complains. Sachiko rolls her eyes.
"You should have stayed…"
"And you should shut your mouth. We're not getting any closer with your ramble."
Sachiko snorts indignantly, but remains silent otherwise. She has a lot of things to think about, anyway.
Almost an hour later, they finally reach the sky above the region of Tarbes. Sachiko has to clench her jaw at the sight of the field that Shiro showed her just a few days ago burned down, the flowers gone and only ashes and blackened grass standing where it once was.
"This is terrible…" Louis says in a bland tone. The destruction is apparent. The sky is crowned with dragons battling among the clouds and on the ground, foot soldiers, horses and some magical beasts clash messily, the careful and disciplined formation long gone in the heat of battle.
And in the middle of it all, the ominous Lexington floats, laying waste across the land.
"That's the one you have to go after partner" Derflinger says, catching their attention. "If you plan to stop the invasion in some significant way, that warship should be your objective."
Sachiko nods, preparing herself. "I know."
She flies directly towards it, dragons immediately noticing her and going after her. She bites her lip and shoots before they can attack her with magic, being careful to aim only at the dragon's wings and wincing as they fall down like flies. But there's no time to feel bad. She has to parry the incoming attacks as more and more dragons keep appearing as if from thin air, steadily making her way closer to the Lexington.
Louis watches with anxiety as she maneuvers and calmly, almost calculatingly aims and shoots, her visage cold and collected, from the outside seeming as if she isn't affected by the onslaught going on all around them. Derflinger looks out for her, indicating where the enemy is, and she dives or ascends according to his instructions. He grips the back of the seat tightly, his eyes darting from side to side, thinking desperately a plan to take down the Lexington even though he knows it's actually impossible.
With just this small thing… dragons don't seem to be a problem, but all the ammunition in the world won't be enough to take that thing down. You would need at least two warships of the same magnitude…
"Noble boy" Derflinger calls, waking him up from his reverie. He looks at the sword, a bit startled. "Do you have that book with you?"
"That book? You mean the Founder's Prayer Book?"
"That one."
"Yes" he takes it out from the pocket inside his cloak. "Why?"
"I have a plan to stop that warship."
"Huh?"
"Open the book and concentrate. In times of need, you should be able to unlock it."
"You…" Louis looks at the sword incredulously, before narrowing his eyes and frowning; "if you knew the way to read the book, why didn't you say anything?!"
"I only remembered now."
"You should have remembered sooner!"
"Please, even if I did, without a purpose there's no way you would have been able to read it. Now stop complaining and open the book!"
"You little-!"
"Louis!" Sachiko shouts, dragging his attention from Derflinger to her. "Just do as he says! If there is a way to take down the Lexington within that book, then it is our only hope!"
"A-Alright, don't yell" he opens the book and passes his hand over the pages, sending a small prayer to the heavens for this to work. As if on cue, golden light starts spilling from it, slowly retreating to form letters. Louis gasps, bringing the book closer to his nose. "Unbelievable, it actually worked…"
"What does it say?" Sachiko asks, avoiding another dragon dipping for her.
"It's… a foreword. The whole thing is written in ancient runes…"
"Is that a problem?" she asks with worry. Louis shakes his head.
"No, I can read it."
Sachiko looks up. The Lexington is closer. As soon as it is within range, it starts firing at them, but instead of cannonballs, like she thought it would shoot, grapeshot pierces the plane's windshield, grazing her left cheek.
"Damn it, partner, don't go near!" Derflinger shouts. Sachiko rapidly dives sideways, dodging the attack before it can cause more damage. She groans in frustration. If she can't go closer, how is she going to sink it?
"It can't be…" they hear Louis mutter. Sachiko looks from him to the warship, a small temblor beginning in her hands from anxiety.
"Hey, whatever you're doing, can you speed it up a little? I don't know how much longer I can keep holding out…"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm almost over. But still, what the Founder wrote… he can't be serious, can he?"
"Louis!"
"Alright, keep it down, damn it!" he turns the page and his eyes hurriedly scan the single spell written there. He feels something strange while reading it. It's too familiar, as if he has done it a thousand times before, but that cannot be. He has never seen anything like it before.
This spell is too long. It would take time to chant. He absently climbs Sachiko's seat, sinking his knees on it as he keeps reading. Sachiko frowns, looking at him curiously.
"Try to go as close as you can. I'm going to start chanting."
He opens the canopy and takes his head out. Sachiko panics.
"Wait! What do you think you're doing? Louis, I cannot get close, please come back! You're going to fall!"
"Just do as I say! Do you want to take down the Lexington, yes or no?"
"Yes, but…!"
"There's a blind spot above the ship. They shouldn't be able to shoot you from there" Derflinger advises. Sachiko looks at the place he's indicating, and with a small nod flies there. As soon as they're positioned directly above, Louis firmly plants his knees on both sides of Sachiko's head. She blushes.
"Ehm, Louis, I can feel your…"
"Keep circling until I give you the signal" he says, completely oblivious. Sachiko sighs, but does as she's told.
Once he's secured in his position, he takes out his wand and, ignoring the strong winds blowing across his face, starts to read. There's a small spark in his chest, a sensation as warm as the summer sun that slowly makes its way throughout his body, increasing rhythmically as he chants, something he has never felt before. It startles him at first, but he's quick to shut his mind and simply embrace the feeling. Like tendrils of water, accumulating little by little and searching for a way out.
Never before has he felt so in tune with his own magical power.
"Come on!" Sachiko complains, avoiding another attack from a dragon that has taken to pursue them restlessly. She can't hear Louis chanting because of the wind, and it's actually starting to worry her that he's taking so long, but she's having another problem at the moment.
She can't dive or make brusque movements lest Louis fall from his perch, so it's a little more difficult to get rid of this dragon than the others. But not impossible. She diminishes the speed of the airplane, letting the dragon come closer. Then, with the handle makes an abrupt turn to the left, taking a chance and diving while instinctually holding one of Louis' legs so he wouldn't fall. Once she disappears behind a cloud, she accelerates again and appears directly behind the dragon, opening fire with such speed she can't control where the bullets land, surely injuring both the beast and the person mounting it.
I shouldn't have done that, but there was no other way… she thinks regretfully, seeing both dragon and rider disappearing under the ship. Shaking her head, she tries not to think about it and just goes up again, waiting for Louis to finish.
Not much later, he gives a small shove with his knee to Sachiko's shoulder. She nods and goes down, getting even closer to the ship. Louis points his wand at it and utters a single word.
"Explosion."
A small light appears above the Lexington. The light grows and grows until it completely envelopes it, devouring it. For a moment, it looks like time has stopped, and Sachiko flies the Zero Fighter with automatic movements, absorbed in the display in front of her. In the next second, when the light dies down, the Lexington is left, burning and crashing to the ground, making the earth tremble beneath it.
Sachiko pulls Louis down forcibly. "What the hell was that?! How could you…? The people aboard…! And then you just…!"
"Calm down, I didn't kill anyone!" Louis shouts, landing on her lap, but not paying attention to that. Yet. "The people are fine; I aimed only to the ship. They should be able to survive a small fall like that, but the Lexington won't be flying anytime soon."
"Ah…" she sighs with relief. And then they notice their compromising position. Louis quickly jumps away, sitting as far from Sachiko as the seat allows, his face burning red. Sachiko it's in the same boat, unable to look at his face. She clears her throat. "You… you did it. You used a spell… and it was…"
"Void" he nods, just as eager to divert the conversation from the awkward situation of a minute ago. "It looks like… I'm a void user after all…"
She looks at him for a long moment, unable to interpret his expression. Is he happy or angry, sad? It's difficult to tell. He notices her stare, and frowns at her, his diminishing blush starting again.
"What are you looking at? Keep your eyes to the front while you're flying."
"If you're worried I'll crash, don't be. I'm in perfect control of the airplane and all of its-"
"Ugh, just stop looking at me" he shoves a hand against her cheek, forcibly making her look to the front, ignoring her protests and crossing his arms once her attention is no longer on him.
He glances far away, to the battlefield, where he can see the Tristainian forces fighting with renewed fervor, and wonders momentarily if Henrietta is really there, leading her people. His eyelids are drooping. He feels a bit tired after using a spell of such magnitude, and unconsciously leans his head against the window, closing his eyes.
He opens them when he feels the airplane touching the earth, bouncing a little as it drives to a stop in the middle of a blackened field, surrounded on one side by the forest, and on the other by a torn town. Tarbes he thinks idly, vaguely remembering the reason Sachiko was so desperate to come here in the first place.
The girl at his side suddenly stands up and jumps down from the airplane, running towards the forest as if her life depended on it. Louis frowns, taking out a bit of his body to see the place where she's going, and he feels the sleepiness completely draining from him, at the same time that an unparalleled rage takes over.
That servant. Again.
And he was beginning to think he would never have to see his face again.
"What is this? I just won a battle and first thing she does is go jump into another man's arms? What an infuriating familiar" he mutters sourly. Derflinger laughs.
"Jealous, noble boy?" he asks in a teasing tone. Louis snorts.
"As if, I'm just saying she could be more tactful about it. I'm her master, she has to–"
"Oh, they're kissing!" the sword exclaims suddenly. Louis stands up, but when he sees them again they are just hugging. Or rather, they are hugging while smiling at each other. He gives a low growl. "You know, you can say whatever you want, but I'll tell you something. Unless you want to lose her to that village boy, you have to start doing something, and now."
"Do something? About what? Don't misunderstand. I admit I'm a possessive person, ok? But my possessiveness towards her has nothing to do with… what you're saying."
"And what am I saying, if you care to specify?" the sword keeps teasing. Louis narrows his eyes, before seeing that man, Shiro, leaning and giving Sachiko a soft peck on the lips. She blushes, looking down bashfully, while the young man chuckles.
That's it.
Louis jumps off the airplane and runs towards them as if he's possessed. In that exact moment, he doesn't care about the void, he doesn't care about the war, he just wants that man to get the hell away from Sachiko, and damn him he's going to make that happen.
Derflinger sighs, laughing slightly at the scene unfolding before him. Never before has he seen something like this. The master being so jealous of their familiar. The familiar preferring another over their master. "Well, this at least ought to be interesting."
But then, why does this situation feel so incredibly, uncomfortably familiar?
A/N: Pun intended. Ok no. Sorry for taking so long, I was really, really busy, and, to be completely honest, I wasn't feeling like writing much. A lot of things have happened. Game of Thrones has come and go, Fairy Tail it's over, and I finally finished the third light novel adaptation. It feels like ages have passed since I started.
For the battle of Tarbes, I wanted to show Sachiko, Louis and Derflinger working as a team as opposed to the fortuitous way things happened in the light novel. I hope it showed. I want to get on with the fourth novel as soon as possible (more than one must be eager for the Water Spirit appearance) and hopefully I won't take as long.
See you in the next chapter!