.

Black Mage

Chapter 02: Spirit


"Talking normally," said Louise.

'Thinking to myself,' thought Louise

"Check out my teeth!" exclaimed the Black Spirit.


You are among the chosen few who resonate with us,

We need you,

A sacrifice from a realm beyond our own.


|~~Flashback~~|

Several moments past and a loud crashing noise echoed through the air, followed by the panicked squawks of hens and roosters who fled the scene. A chicken coop laid destroyed as a groaning, yet barely conscious, pink-haired girl laid in the middle of the wreckage, covered in hay, feathers, and the yolk of crushed eggs.

"No!" cried out a deep, masculine voice at the destruction of the chicken coop, followed by several other panicked voices as they scrambled to round up the escaped hens, the volatiles already scattering, enjoying their newfound freedom.

Amidst the chaos of chicken cries and angry mutterings as people tried to catch the elusive birds, the sounds of gravel crunching under a boot came nearer to where the young girl lay delirious.

"Wale! Someone's unconscious here!" called a woman, pointing towards the half-unconscious girl responsible for the wreckage of the coop. Moments past by and the girl felt a massive hand pick her body up, unable to do anything as she felt her body start to warm up uncomfortably, sweat forming on her brow as a delicate hand took the temperature of her skin.

"She's burning up!" cried out the woman, alarmed, "Bring her to Gray! And someone get Corin for some medicine!"

The delirious girl moaned in pain as she was carried away at a brisk pace, the world blurring past her eyes before darkness encroached upon her vision once more, her fever getting the better of her and sending her to sweet unconsciousness.

What seemed to be days went on, the sick girl sometimes waking up briefly, delirious with fever, before going back to sleep. Eventually, came a day she regained consciousness without the delirious haze plaguing her mind, and she immediately tried to shift her body, only to groan in discomfort as she felt her muscles ache with soreness. Bandages were wrapped around her head and arms as they covered the bruises and cuts that laid underneath, the remnants of her arrival having somewhat faded, even if some were still there. Her eyes darted around the room, taking in the simplistic living arrangement she found herself in, basic wooden furniture laid arranged about the room, and a thick wool blanket covered her body while she rested. She tried to remember where she was, but her thoughts were thick with a heavy fog, the remnants of her fever giving her a headache and making it hard to concentrate on anything but on how unwell she felt.

"I've existed in this world since time immemorial…"

The girl nearly jumped as an eerily distorted voice echoed through the room she was in, though she could still somewhat understand the words spoken. Her eyes swept across around the room as she tried to find the source of the voice, but it seemed to come from every direction, confusion and fear worn on her face.

"And now I'll regain my lost power through you…"

Now firmly convinced that she was going insane, since she was hearing voices that clearly she shouldn't hear, the frightened girl covered her ears as she tried to drown out the voices. Who was speaking to her? Where was she? Why was she in this bed?

"Hm? Did you really forget our contract?"

This time, the voice was distinctly mocking, with a hint of arrogance.

"Until our journey ends, your memories are mine, remember?"

Thrown into an even deeper panic, the pink-eyed girl tried to remember anything, even the most insignificant of things, but nothing worked. She couldn't remember anything: pets, friends, where she lived, or even if she had any family, the only reward for her efforts being a sharp pain ringing through her head, as if to warn her against trying to delve deeper into her memories.

"Heh-heh. Now you want your memory back? You want to know what you were before you met me?" asked the voice, its tone dripping with smug satisfaction, and a black shade entered her view. It's glowing red eyes pierced into her, as if gazing directly into her soul, and the young maiden's eyes widened in shock at the being that hovered mere inches away from her face.

"Dwelling over the past does no good. Let us unite and define the future!"

She couldn't refrain from letting out an ear-splitting scream of terror.

|~~Flashback End~~|


"Mm, five more minutes…" grumbled the pink-haired woman as she turned in the soft, feathery bed.

Even as a grown woman, Louise was not a morning person, though she had good reason to enjoy the comfort of a real bed, since it had been a while since she had last been able to sleep so comfortably. Her pink eyes opened for a moment's glance only to find piercing, red glowing eyes that stared back, but she wasn't surprised or at all uncomfortable with the unnatural and unnerving orbs staring back at her. Louise merely closed her eyes shut and shifted her body in the opposite direction, hoping to sleep for a few more precious minutes. Sweet, blissful sleep.

"Wake up, Louise," mumbled the entity.

Said entity was distinctive enough that she couldn't mistake it for another, looking like a black phantom with bone-white plates adorning its body, resembling hieroglyphs, and a long black garb that draped over it like a hooded cloak, and it was currently doing its best to wake her up. Slightly annoyed, the reaper-looking creature drew out his long bony, black hand from under its cloak and began to poke the half-awake woman on the cheek, causing her to groan in irritation and swat the offending limb away.

"Someone is coming," insisted the being as it tried to shake Louise awake, pointing towards the door with its other hand.

"Ugh…" groaned the sleepy woman.

A huff of defiance and more pokes came from the spirit as Louise spat out in irritation, knowing that at that point the odds of her being able to return to sleep were null.

"Alright, I'm up!" groaned Louise as she straightened herself into a sitting position in bed, her eyes fluttering at the sight of the sun's rays coming through the sole window. She turned to face her ever-present companion, taking in its rather intimating appearance, looking as if death himself had come for her soul as she slept. Although, this did little to nothing to the young woman, as she had been rendered immune due to her many years of partnership with the being. Louise had always preferred the old form the spirit had taken back they first met, being a rather adorable little black blob of narcissism and questionable morality, but now that they were both far more powerful it had taken on a much more fear-inducing form. Though she guessed that it was better that way. Trying to intimidate people while looking like a mere blob of darkness was pretty much impossible.

Foregoing the need to say anything, Louise merely smacked her lips as her mind began its transition to awareness and raised both her arms high above her as the woman yawned loudly, uncaring of what, years before, she would have deemed "noble etiquette". Her gaze rested on the window, the light indicating that it was around time for the students' breakfast.

A soft knock came from the door, followed soon afterwards by a familiar voice.

"Miss Vallière?"

Louise glanced towards her partner who needed no words to understand her and instantly vanished from the room, disappearing into nothingness.

"A moment please," called out Louise, hopping out of bed and walking over to the mirror on her room's table to freshen up. It wouldn't do to have bed hair since she didn't gain her many titles looking like a slob, and hastily straightened out her long hair with the brush that lay on a nearby table. As she was brushing she noticed the familiar runes that were branded on her left hand, and gave them a close inspection as she brought them under the morning light. They appeared as fresh as the day they were branded on her all those years ago, without any hint of fading.

'How am I going to explain this? Especially to my mother…' thought Louise, but pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind for now, deciding to take things one step at a time since she had someone who was waiting for her on the other side of the door. Earlier in her life, she would have scoffed at the idea of making a commoner wait, but her life experience had shown her that common courtesy was the very least one could offer to others, and if they didn't, they were hardly fit to be called nobility.

The pink-haired woman opened the door to find the maid, Siesta, from the previous night, standing rather timidly, her gaze staying fixed to the floor as she held clothing and plate armor pieces neatly arranged in her arms.

"Miss Vallière, I have your attire and armor, cleaned and dried," stated the black-haired maid, who seemed to be unsure of how to interact with Louise, and the pink-haired mage noticed.

"Perfect timing, Siesta. Please come in and set them down on the table," gestured the young woman as she pointed towards the table, but found two steaming cups of tea that sat there instead, the golden-amber liquid appeared very appealing to Louise who had just awakened a few moments ago.

"Actually, just place them on the bed," corrected the beauty, mentally thanking her partner, and receiving a brief mental grunt in answer.

"Yes Ma'am," replied Siesta as she unquestioningly followed the command, placing Louise's belongings on the table, before standing at attention, her hands folded in front of her and biting her lips. It was clear from a glance that she had plenty of questions to ask, but the ingrained instinct to not speak before being talked to prevented her from voicing them. It was something that all servants picked up fast, especially in an academy filled with hormonal, and as such, highly volatile teenagers with tempers to match their magic.

Taking a seat on one of the chairs next to the wooden table, Louise beckoned for the nervous maid to sit down as well, Siesta following the wordless command after a few seconds of hesitating.

Picking up one of the teacups that sat in front of her, she took a long and slow sip of the invigorating liquid that warmed her body and let out a sigh of relief as her lips parted from the cup.

"Please have some tea, you look as if you need some," she gestured to the uncomfortable maid, who, in response, slowly lifted the other cup to her soft lips and blew on the steaming liquid to cool it down before taking a sip. Her eyes immediately widened as she felt the warmth trickle down her throat and spread throughout her body, it felt incredibly refreshing and it was unlike any other tea she had ever drunk or prepared herself. Her shoulders fell in relaxation and her worries seemed to dissipate with each passing moment.

A self-indulgent smile made its way across Louise's face, knowing that it was the exactly same reaction herself had when she had first drunk the tea under the starry, Valencian sky.

"I've never had tea like this before," eagerly commented Siesta, who, despite her experience with tea, was unable to identify the ingredients, "What kind of tea is this?"

"It's a tea made from the star anise fruit, mainly consumed for its ability for refreshing the body and staving off the cold," especially during the sub-zero temperatures that fell along with the sunset, nights in the desert were just as dangerous as the overbearing sun. If you weren't burn alive by the scorching day, you would be frozen solid by the icy nights.

"Oh, so it's a foreign fruit, a shame," nodded the black-haired maid with a bit of sadness, and raised her teacup to drink more but found that her cup was already empty, "I would love to have more."

Silence fell over the two once more, a few moments past and Louise finally finished her cup of tea.

Breaking the silence, she decided to ask the maid for what could be troubling her, even if she had a good idea as to what it was.

"So Siesta, no doubt you have many questions regarding myself. But before I can answer any of them I have to ask you one thing," remarked the pink-haired woman. "Did you tell anyone of my return last night?"

"Yes Ms. Vallière. I…"

"Please just call me Louise, I feel as though we are speaking to my sister or mother." She had always disliked the overly formal addressment whenever she dealt with nobility or higher society, and felt that while there was a time and place for such things, it normally got in the way.

"Yes Ms. Val…. Louise," Siesta caught and quickly corrected herself, but still felt uncomfortable doing so. This was the first time any noble had requested her, personally, to address them informally, and normally nobles only did so when they wanted something from them. At least Louise was a woman, if it had been a man, she would already be trying to leave. Male nobles only had one thing in mind for young maids like her, and she wanted no part of it.

"The servants were under orders to report to the headmaster directly if we came across Ms. Vallière. So, I after you left last night, I ran to the headmaster's office and told him of your reappearance…. Should I not have?"

"No, no. I honestly expected that and saved myself the trouble of doing so. How did you explain my… growth?" asked the older woman with slight trepidation.

"While I told them of your return, I didn't know exactly now how to explain your…" The well-endowed maid ran her gaze up and down the woman who sat in front of her, who was a far-cry from the petite girl she once was, "Growth... I just told them you had undergone some changes, but I believe the headmaster took it as a mental sort of change and was immediately dismissed."

And who would even believe that a sixteen-year-old girl had returned now a fully-grown woman? Not that Siesta even deeply questioned the fact that such a thing was even possible, magic could do everything in her eyes and something like this just fell under more "noble magic."

'Hm, that's rather strange. I should have been kicked out of the academy since I failed, in their eyes, the familiar summoning ritual' pondered the pink-haired woman as she held a hand to her chin and furrowed her brow in thought.

"Perhaps they are giving you some space for your 'delicate' state of mind before they kick you out," "Grinned" the voice in her mind, sarcasm lacing its tone.

"Louise?" asked Siesta, as she tried to, unsuccessfully, gain the young woman's attention.

'Maybe, but I'm not exactly "Louise the Zero" anymore.'

"Zero? Wait… you gave me the name of your old moniker? One of failure!?" growled the voice of Louise's partner, who until then had not commented too much on the name she had chosen for it.

'Well to be fair, I didn't have my memories at the time and Zero was the name that held the most significance to me. If anything, we proved that Zero is a title of success, not failure,' calmly interjected the tea-drinking woman.

"Hmm, I'll accept that since we have come a long way," grudgingly acknowledged the spirit.

"Miss Vallière!" repeated Siesta, this time with more success, as Louise seemed to notice the maid looking at her questioningly.

"Ah, my apologies Siesta, I have a bad habit of getting lost in my thoughts," apologized Louise, looking a bit sheepish.

"Oh no! Miss Va… Louise," she amended. It appeared it would take some time for Siesta to truly get used to the idea of addressing a noble informally, not that it would ever be the norm. "If anything, I apologize for interrupting your thoughts."

"It's fine," reassured Louise with a shrug, "Regardless, did you have something to say?"

"Yes, while I don't think I'm supposed to tell you but wasn't explicitly told otherwise, the headmaster instructed me to keep a close eye on you by being your personal attendant as you remain at the academy."

"Again, 'delicate' state of mind, probably wondering if you will commit suicide," Snickered Zero, apparently amused by the idea.

'That was a long time ago, Zero. I'm not a little girl anymore!' she shot back.

"Still we should convert the maid to our side, we don't want her feeding back information on us, even if we are careful there is still the risk of slipping up. Plus, we never had a personal servant before unless you count those two fae that took a rather strange liking to your hair." Suggested the Black Spirit, and Louise recalled the two eccentric faeries that gushed over the color of her hair (apparently pink was a possible hair color for the fae), so much so that they followed her everywhere when Louise was in Kamasylvia, and even got them to do a few odd errands occasionally. It took cutting off some locks of her pink hair to get them to finally leave her alone for a moment, but she needed the hair cut at the time anyways. Surprisingly, they were very good hairdressers for creatures that naturally resided within the depths of the untamed forest.

"Interesting," mumbled the pink-haired woman, "Perhaps we can make it a permanent arrangement, Siesta," Stated Louise as she smiled at the young maid whose eyebrows shot up in surprise.

Being the personal attendant of any noble was a huge honor, especially for a family as powerful and close to the royal family as the Vallières, and through years of service practically put the attendant on the same level as low nobility, not that they were respected as such. A commoner was still a commoner after all.

However, less-than-savory nobles took advantage of a loophole in servant-contract laws to do unscrupulous things to their servant, especially with attractive female servants they took a fancy to. Not that the young maid suspected Ms. Vallière of ever committing such an act, they were both women after all and she had treated her with kindness so far. Though that led her thoughts in a drastically different direction.

'Oh, Founder Brimir! This is just like in one of my novels! The nobleman who falls for the humble maid! However, Ms. Vallière is a woman! But that makes it even more forbidden! Kyaaa!' Quietly squealed the teen, her imagination running wild as a heavy blush tinted her cheeks.

Louise looked rather confused at the strange antics of the black-haired maid and spoke to hopefully bring Siesta back to reality.

"Anyways, is the kitchen serving breakfast? I am rather famished since tea itself does little to stave hunger," asked Louise, snapping the maid out of her fantasy-induced delusions.

"Oh!" Exclaimed the young maid as she cleared her throat.

"They should be serving in a few minutes and I must return to my other duties," answered Siesta who realized she was still required to do her other duties at the academy and that she had spent more time with the older woman than she originally anticipated.

The black-haired maid stood, bowed to the pink-haired woman as she thanked Louise for the wonderful tea, then departed for her kitchen duties, the door clicking shut as the young maid left the room.

Louise walked over to the bundle of clothing and armor that sat on the bedside, and picked up the tunic that went underneath the armor and closely examined it. The fabric's various stains and sweat marks were all gone along with the grains of sand, and had a pleasant scent (lavender?) that accompanied the clean fabric. The plate armor and gauntlets had a luster that indicated that they had been scrubbed and perhaps given a buff as the pink-eyed woman stared at her reflection in the metal. The joints had even been oiled as they no longer gave that horrid squeak when the joints moved that grated her nerves every time she heard it. Although the damage spread in various parts of her armor were still apparent since no amount of cleaning or repair would cover them up. Not that Louise wanted them to be, they were trophies of all the struggles she went through, not even counting the scars that lined her body.

All in all, Siesta did an amazing job in cleaning her attire, her attention to detail and dedication to her tasks were first-class.

Regardless of her thoughts she had a few goals to accomplish, the immediate one was to feed her stomach, who just let out an unsettling growl, and Louise sheepishly rubbed the back of her head as she realized she hadn't had a proper meal in days. She quickly put on the clothing and grabbed the elemental blade in its sheath, but decided to forego the armor as she felt it wouldn't be needed at the academy, it wasn't like there would be people who were after her head in Halkeginia. And even if there were they could get in line, a very lengthy line.

The door slammed shut as Louise walked out of her room, locked the room behind her, and began the walk towards the dining hall.


'Are the familiars afraid of us?' wondered Louise as she walked across the courtyard to the dining hall where the various mundane and fantastical familiars waited for their masters outside, but in this case, they all seemed to have fled to hug the academy's walls in the hopes to put as much distance between themselves and Louise as possible. The blue-scaled dragon, who was summoned by Tabitha (Louise vaguely recalled), seemed to have stayed its ground, but kept an attentive eye on her as she moved across the courtyard.

"Not surprising, most magical creatures tend to avoid us to begin with. However, we should be wary of any mages that could possibly feel my presence," stated Zero, invisibly tagging alongside Louise as she walked to the dining hall, not that they could ever be separated in the first place.

'Good point. Although, I imagine if the headmaster, who is a powerful mage in his own right, can't detect you, then no one else can.'

"I'm glad we don't have to deal with elves anymore, pointy-eared bastards always knew I was there, giving us the stink-eye. Humans are so much simpler to deal with."

'I'll take that as a compliment. Besides Orwen wasn't that bad, she was nice to the both of us.'

"Bah! She was more than "nice" for you," snickered the Black Spirit as Louise's face turned a deep scarlet as she recalled her half-elf friend, especially after that one time in the temple under the cool shade of trees…

'Alright that's enough, I'm going to have a peaceful breakfast and you're going to be quiet as I enjoy my meal!' replied Louise, annoyed, as she cast the embarrassing thoughts away, her partner just chuckling with the grin the pink-haired woman knew it had on its face. Ignoring her companion, she walked inside the dining hall.


"O great founder Brimir and Her Royal Highness, we are once again grateful for the humble meal that you have brought us this morning. Amen."

The prayers of the students and professors came to an end just as Louise walked into the dining hall, and the students fell into the usual habits of teenagers crowded in a single location. In other words, they gossiped.

"Hey, hey, did you hear? Louise the Zero came back last night. I heard some of the guards were withdrawn from the search this morning," squealed a young brunette, easily heard by anyone with even a modicum of intention to listen in, followed by the rest of the student body who quickly devolved into the subject of the runaway girl who disappeared the previous day. The two students glanced over to where Louise usually sat, but found the chair empty.

"Maybe she couldn't even bare the shame and decided to not show up for breakfast?" giggled the two girls, unaware that the subject of their gossip had heard every word.

Louise glanced over the entire room and found Kirche and Tabitha sat next to another. Surprisingly Kirche had stayed silent and had not joined rumor-mongering that festered in the room, as she slowly picked at the food that sat in front of her, while Tabitha just looked as uninterested as usual as she held a book with one hand and fed herself with the other, eating her food in an almost mechanical manner.

Louise glanced over to the table where the professors sat and it was obvious that even they were uncomfortable with the rumors that spread throughout the student body. They had been informed of her return, but were rather downcast, especially Professor Colbert, when they found her chair empty this morning.

Taking a deep breath and steeling herself, Louise walked forward, praying that she would be left alone long enough to enjoy breakfast, her stomach graciously reminding her of how famished she was, and that no one would detect her ever-present companion. Professor Colbert was the first to notice the pink-haired woman walking down the aisle towards the empty seat, especially since she was not wearing the student uniform, and his brows furrowed in confusion at who this mysterious young woman was. The other professors, noticing their colleague's stare, also joined, slowly followed one-by-one from the students as the pink-haired beauty drifted between the students.

Clearly, they would have to question the maid who had said Miss Vallière had returned, considering that the woman in front of them was certainly not the young girl they knew. The Headmaster whispered something to a brown-haired, female servant that stood at attention next to him, and the female servant left the room with a small mouse scurrying after her.

"Is that the Duchess?" A hushed murmur broke the silence.

"No, the Duchess is much older, this must be Zero's sister, probably here to drag her home," another quiet voice interjected.

"Ah! Such beauty! Truly worthy of the Vallière name!" loudly remarked a blond boy, wearing a rather frilly shirt along with his uniform, taking a grandiose pose and holding out a rose to the pink-haired woman. Who promptly ignored him in favor of the delicious-looking breakfast laid out on the table.

"Guiche!" growled another blonde, this time a teenage girl wearing her hair in ringlets, looking quite annoyed at her male counterpart.

"Fret not Montmorency, you are still the most beautiful rose in this field of flowers!" quickly stated the blonde teen in an effort to spare himself the feminine wrath of his companion, said feminine wrath dissolving into quiet mumblings of embarrassment.

Once again ignoring the blonde pair's antic, Louise finally reached her seat and sat down. She beckoned one of the servants over, who brought a tray topped with various breakfast items like soup, a loaf of bread, fruits, and a cup of freshly squeezed juice. The pink-haired woman began to eat, savoring every bite, and softly moaned as the warm, delicious bread and chunky soup were scooped into her mouth. She tried to mind her own business but the stares that came from around her were rather off-putting. It wasn't her fault that she hadn't had a decent meal in days, being in the Black Desert required strict rationing of meals to ensure that it lasted, and frivolous things like warm-baked bread and fresh fruits held no place in the sandy desert.

Once again, Louise found herself envying the four-legged ungulates, wondering how much simpler life would be if she had been a camel. Then again, they spit everywhere, smelled like a wet rag, and their hair matted constantly, so she would much rather not.

"Ahem!" Louise loudly cleared her throat as she not-so-subtly broadcasted the message to mind their own business, and the students took note and returned to their own meals, quietly whispering amongst themselves.

Kirche the Ardent certainly wasn't expecting an elder sister of Louise the Zero to be so… ravishing, the way her hair cascaded down her shoulders, the subtle sway in her hips, luminous diamond-pink eyes that held such determination, and generous proportions that nearly surpassed her own.

If all Vallière woman were like this, then how in the name of the Founder Brimir did her ancestor even manage to steal a man from the family was beyond her. Better yet, how could Louise even be related to this woman? The woman who was currently devouring her meal, like she hasn't seen bread before, and while the current behavior wasn't all that appealing, the way the pink-haired woman sauntered into the dining hall had caused her to inadvertently hold her breath before the loud reminder told her she could breathe once more.

Shaking her head to dismiss the thoughts, Kirche was just about to stand to confront the Vallière, to tell the woman everything that she saw at the summoning ritual, but was held back by her long-time friend, who shook her head.

"Later, make scene," succinctly stated the blue-haired mage, who seemed to be captivated by the woman as well, but likely for another reason if her narrowed eyes were any indication.

Acknowledging her friend's suggestion, Kirche and Tabitha quickly finished their meals and patiently waited for the pink-haired woman for their inevitable confrontation.

'Ah… that was the most delicious thing I've ever had,' internally moaned the now satisfied Louise as she gently pushed forward the empty tray in front of her. She beckoned one of the servants to come near and told to pass on her regards to the chef for a wonderful meal, not before she was informed that the Headmaster wished to see her in his office.

Acknowledging the message, the pink-haired woman nodded at the servant and rose from her chair to leave, immediately followed by a red and blue-haired pair that discretely trudged after her.


"Incoming," warned Zero, and Louise turned around to find a familiar pair of female students tracing her steps as she paced towards the tallest tower in the academy that held the Headmaster's office. No doubt they were curious as to who she was, and Louise inwardly grinned to herself as she stood next the Zerbst, knowing that she wasn't "little Louise" anymore.

"May I help you, Miss…?" asked Louise, hoping to keep the mystery of who she was for a while longer since most of the student body had seemed not to believe that she had returned and mistaken her for a family member (not that most of the students would notice that it had only been a single night since her "disappearance").

"Kirche von Anhalt-Zerbst," introduced the red-head, and Louise narrowed her eyebrows in response since their families were rivals of sorts.

"Tabitha," muttered the blue-haired girl standing alongside her busty companion.

"A pleasure," she nodded towards the somber girl who returned the gesture in kind, and turned towards her past tormentor.

"Now why would a Zerbst would approach me given our families'… history?" remarked Louise, lightly tapping the handle of the blade that hug from her right hip and laughing within herself at the expense of the younger female. Kirche might have been the most mature of them the last time they had met, but her experiences in the desert had made her into a woman that wasn't intimidated by anything but the truly impressive.

Wilting under the steely stare of the older woman, Kirche was quickly gaining a new respect for her disappeared rival since growing up alongside a woman as intimidating as this couldn't have been easy.

"This isn't the time for petty squabbles between families and I know Louise. She wouldn't let something like another failed spell cause her to start avoiding everyone," replied Kirche, trying, and failing, to sound confident as she swallowed her nervousness.

Scrutinizing the Zerbst in front of her, who held her ground under the scrutinizing glare, Louise had to refrain from laughing at the remark.

"True, I would hope that Louise would not be as weak-willed as that," she nodded, Kirche's hopes raising slightly, "However, that still does not explain your concern with her to begin with," she quickly added, her steely stare making it clear that she was not impressed with the redhead's explanation.

Kirche shifted uncomfortably under the scrutinizing stare of the older woman.

"Because Louise is missing, and I believe that something took her, even if nobody believes me."

The woman's eyes slightly widened in surprise, before they returned to their furrowed state.

"Explain," she ordered.

Kirche told her everything that occurred, minus the bullying, from when Louise began the ritual to when it ended, with as much clarity and observations as she could think of. When she finished recounting the tale, Louise to let out a deep sigh before she furrowed her brow in thought. That was one piece of her memory that she never regained, the actual summoning ritual itself, and now alongside the testimony that Kirche had given her and her regained memories, she had a complete picture of what had happened to her at that moment that changed her life forever.

'Well, it's fairly obvious that Kirche saw you Zero,' mentally stated Louise to her partner.

"Hmph, we cannot let anyone know of my presence," stated the Black Spirit, "This human might tell someone and if what you spoke of is true, her words could be the ruin of us."

'I don't think she'd tell anyone and from her story, no one believed her anyways. But we will have to explain my growth however, we can't have a daughter of the most trusted household to the Royal Family go missing. I will not let such a scandal to tarnish my family name.'

"Our family name, Louise. We are one-in-same after all," chuckled Zero, knowing how close they were.

'Right, because my mother is going to accept a Black Spirit as a family member, one that tried to corrupt and take control over her daughter's body,' deadpanned Louise.

"I merely jest, let us not relive painful memories."

Cutting off her quick mental conversation, Louise refocused her attention of the two students that stood at attention.

"I see, thank you for bringing me this information, Miss Zerbst and Miss Tabitha," nodded Louise with a slight bow of gratitude, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting with Headmaster."


"Well, I feel better already!" Loudly exclaimed Kirche, as the woman walked off towards the tower and went out of earshot, "Seriously, keeping something like that bottled up wasn't good for me. You should try it sometime Tabitha," grinned the Zerbst woman, but her cheer was replaced with worry as she noticed that her friend was still boring holes in the back of the stranger's back with her eyes.

"Hm? What's up Taby?" she asked, and followed the jerk of her friend's head to see all the familiars giving the woman a wide berth, trying to fuse with the walls in the hopes of escaping some kind of invisible threat. Kirche's familiar, Flame, a fire salamander, quickly crawled over to her, croaking in what appeared to be relief as it nuzzled her leg.

"Hey Flame!? What's wrong?"

She had to scratch the giant lizard's head for a while before it managed to calm down, and even then Flame seemed dead set on not being even a foot apart from his mistress despite her reassurances and calming words.

The blue-scaled dragon, Tabitha's familiar, paced over to where they stood and let out soft chirps as it communicated with the blue-haired mage, who also patted her familiar's head, albeit without uttering words of comfort, since that would be out of character for her. The two communicated solely with soft whispers and chirps as they talked back and forth for a few seconds, and Tabitha's face changed to one of shock for the barest of moments, before her impressive self-control allowed her to set it into the blank mask she was used to once more.

"Tabitha?" asked the Germanian, noticing the brief moment of shock from her friend.

"Sylphid says there's something unnatural about her," explained the blue-haired girl, eyes narrowed in contemplation, "makes familiars scared."

"Something unnatural?" blinked the busty red-head, earning herself a simple shrug in answer, since Tabitha clearly didn't know more than what she had already explained.

"Maybe animals just don't like her?" Kirche teased, but was met with an empty stare from the petite mage who seem to doubt her rather simple explanation.

"Well this means we have to figure this mystery out ourselves! Come on Tabitha! After her!" grinned the enthusiastic Germanian, grabbing her friend's hand and dragging her in pursuit of the Vallière woman, who was most likely already conversing with the Headmaster.

Running down the courtyard, into the stone building, up the flight of stairs, and past a servant who was dusting portraits of former headmasters, the two young mages finally reached the heavy wooden door that led into the Headmaster's office.

Taking a look around to see if anyone was watching, Kirche leaned forward and placed her ear on the door, listening on the conversations to see if she could pick up some juicy details. Unfortunately for her, the muffled voices of several people could be heard but hardly anything could be understood behind the thick door.

"Darn it, can't hear anything. Taby, you know any spells that would work here?" she pouted, only to receive a negative shake of the head from her friend, who instead raised up a glass cup, putting it on the door and using it to listen.

"Nice one!" grinned Kirche as she took one of the cups and placed it on the door, her ear on it. Her companion stood there as she continued to read the book she had planned to read before she was roped into this.

"I assure you, Siesta committed no fault…" a voice, that she recognized as the mystery woman's, insisted, and Kirche leaned further as she tried to catch more of the conversation.

"However, young Miss Vallière has certainly not returned and this precious coin we have confiscated from the servant in question suggests bribery," pointed out another voice, one that she recognized as the Headmaster's.

"No, that is not entirely true," Stated the feminine voice, and the snooping young woman eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the vague statement. What did she mean by not entirely true? Louise hasn't returned, or had she?

"Hm? What do you mean by that?" intervened another voice, this time belonging to Professor Colbert.

"I suppose a formal introduction may provide the answer you are looking for, but first…" The woman's voice spoke, followed by the sounds of footsteps as they paced through the room and towards… the door.

"Oh!" Yelped a surprised Kirche as the door swung open and fell forward due to her precarious position, but thankfully put out her arms to catch herself from making a Kirche-shaped impression in the floor.

"Hehe… Hi!" Nervously chuckled the Germanian as she tried to think of an excuse for eavesdropping.

A deadpan stare came from the pink-haired woman like she had completely expected this course of action, but was disappointed to see it actually came to pass. Like a mother who had caught their daughter eating dessert before dinner.

"Miss Zerbst!" scowled Miss Longueville, looking outraged, "Eavesdropping in a meeting with the Headmaster is grounds for punishment-"

She could likely have continued her rant, was it not for a raised hand from the pink-haired woman.

"Let bygones be bygones, besides I'm sure her…-" the woman paused as she looked for the right word to describe the situation, "curiosity, wouldn't allow otherwise."

"Fine, fine," grumbled the Headmaster with a wave of his hand, and his secretary, who appeared not too pleased at his decision, withdrew her protests. "As you were saying before we were interrupted?"

"Ah yes… My introduction." The mysterious woman placed a hand on her hip and took a deep breath before she continued.

"My name is Louise Francoise le Blanc de la Vallière."

For a moment there was only silence, those present staring at the pink-haired woman with blank faces, before said silence was broken by Kirche.

"P-Pfffffhahahaha!" laughed the Germanian, bending over in laughter.

"Oh! This is rich, Louise the Zero failed her summoning, so she hired some stranger, who doesn't even look like her, to stand in!" Wheezed the busty-young woman in between her laughs, wiping a tear from her eye.

Louise's eye twitched, the young woman trying to calm herself before she snapped at the disrespectful girl, who was now, in her eyes, little more than a boisterous child. Even if they were the same age before, after everything she had lived through, she couldn't see the carefree students of the Academy as anything but ignorant children. And as much as she wanted to hit Kirche for not believing her, children were not to be hit, but educated.

A terrified Siesta stood off in the corner-her presence was required because of her report to the headmaster-almost appalled at the sight of these nobles doubting Louise's words, and had been largely ignored despite being the subject of questioning not just moments ago. While she could understand their disbelief, given that in normal circumstances, girls didn't disappear one day to reappear the next, looking like a young adult.

"Can you at least show some proof that you are indeed Miss Vallière?" intervened Colbert, raising his voice to be heard over his student's wheezes, though his tone clearly showed he doubted Louise's claim as well. Even he was familiar with the youngest Vallière and his many years of proctoring the ritual himself, for all he knew her failure with the ritual caused this sudden change. He had seen many strange thing during his existence, and for all he knew this was just another one. Still, until he was shown proof, he would keep doubting this woman, for, unfortunately, Kirche's explanation made far more sense.

"Hm," hummed Louise, crossing her legs as she tried to think of something she could use to prove her identity.

"You could ask me something that only I would know," she suggested, shrugging.

"I lent a book to Miss Vallière regarding the summoning ritual, what was it?"

Closing her eyes in search of the related memories, Louise prodded her impressive memory for the answer. After all, remembering a book she had borrowed several years in the past was not exactly something one could do at the drop of hat, especially given that until recently, her mind was busy with other things.

"Trick question actually, you lent me two books: The Spring Time Ritual, by the Holy Church; and Basic Conjuring, by Rajnr Septim," she finally said, her eyes boring into her former teacher's, as if daring him to contradict her.

In that moment, when their eyes met, Louise truly realized just how weary her old professor was, the stress lines around his eyes and cheeks that betrayed an age older than he truly was. While she had no intention of prying, she now understood Colbert had been through a great deal more than what most would believe. Truthfully, in her previous life, for it was how it seemed to her now, she would never have noticed those subtle signs that spoke of someone with great combat experience, even with lessons on being observant all but drilled into her by her mother. However, the many life or death struggles he lived through forced her to be more attentive to people, as well as of her surroundings. The seemingly harmless person could be an assassin in disguise, and the innocent-looking road could hide a trap.

But back to the subject of her memories, many of Louise's old memories were rather fresh in her minds due to being in a locked state for most of her stay in the other world. The first few days after regaining her memories had been immensely disorienting for the pink-haired woman, as she dealt with the merging of her old and new personas, her new personality clashing violently with her previous one, her mind looking over her previous life and finding countless things that bothered her. Her health had taken a turn for the worse and, for a while, she could have been considered mentally unstable, given how easily she would snap at people for the slightest reason. But she was not alone in her mental ordeal, there was one individual, other than her partner (who was useless for delicate matters, not to mention that it was the cause of her memory loss to begin with), who had stayed with her in her vulnerable state, alongside the caretakers of the Kamasylve Temple, and eased her pain.

"That is correct," declared Professor Colbert, but the doubting stares coming from the others implied that it wasn't enough to prove her identity. She could have easily been told that information, or garnered it herself from a simple investigation.

"Ho, perhaps a show of magic?" Posed the old headmaster, "It would for sure verify that she is not a commoner in disguise."

"Geh!" choked the red-haired girl at the thought of Louise the Zero's explosive failures at any form of magic, even if this woman wasn't Louise she didn't want to even risk have an explosion go off in such close quarters like the headmaster's office. Her last attempt destroyed a classroom and sent Mrs. Chevreuse, who had been appointed as a new professor, to the medical wing.

"Seems easy enough. However, I will need a replacement wand," declared the supposed-Louise with an impassive look on her face, as if she didn't know what her attempts at magic wrought.

"Ah, we recovered Miss Vallière's wand," nodded the green-haired secretary, pacing over to her desk's drawer and pulling out Louise's old wand, exactly the way she had left it, before handing it over to the young woman.

Feeling the wooden focus in her hands, she ran her fingers along the wand and was half-tempted to snap the damn thing for all the hardships it had given her in her childhood. However, it would probably be a rather shocking experience for those present, since breaking one's own wand was tantamount to renouncing their status as nobility, so she held off her inner desire. Not to mention, she had a far better replacement that hung from her hip in the form of a blade.

"Oi!" Protested the Ardent in horror, "You're going to let her cast magic in here?"

"I can manage," deadpanned Louise.

"Not to doubt this woman's abilities, but Miss Zerbst has a point. If this is truly Miss Vallière and she casted magic in here, we would lose a lot of important documents," point out the green-haired secretary, eyeing the large stack of papers, which had yet to be signed and filed, that sat on Osmond's desk. She resigned herself with a sigh of exasperation, knowing that she would have to be the one to actually do the work later on.

"Come then, let us go to the courtyard," muttered Osmond, letting out a groan as he stood, cursing his old age.

The entourage was led to an empty portion of courtyard by Miss Longueville, who had picked a few pebbles randomly from the ground before she handed them to Louise.

"Do you recall a basic transmutation spell?" Asked the secretary with a look of apprehension, probably due because of this woman who claimed to be Louise when she was naught but a sixteen-year-old girl the day before.

She nodded.

"Rel In Yan, correct?" asked Louis, receiving a nod of confirmationas she placed the small pebbles on the ground some distance away. Taking a glance back to her observers, she noticed they had backed away a considerable distance and rolled her eyes at the sight.

"You may begin!" Yelled the headmaster from what he likely thought was a safe distance away.

She brought her gaze back to the small rocks, placed her left hand on the hilt of her blade, closed her pink eyes, and took a deep breath. The brand of spells, like the one she was about to cast, were not something the average mage could do and the blade that hung from her left hip was, for those who had the knowledge of it, a clear indicator of her abilities, as the elemental blades, her sword being only one of select few, were required to harness and mold her willpower. The pink-haired woman recalled when many had protested when a mere "human" had been chosen to be the recipient of her Kamasylven blade as only elves had been the wielders historically, and was evident of the prideful nature elves had over species. Supposedly the blade itself was "alive" in a sense since the previous wielder had told her that the blade had specifically "chosen" her. That tidbit led to an in-depth and extremely lengthy conversation that delved deep into elven mythos, one that she had no desire to repeat.

However, her experiences weren't something she would ever share with anyone here, and thought that even her own mother would report her to the church if it were discovered that she had consorted with elves. Stupid religion. Although, Louise was a bit curious to see if the elves in Halkeginia were the same ones as the ones in Kamasylvia, at least the elves she's met were far more tolerant and were not the bogeymen-that-stole-children-at-night that the Founder's Church claimed them to be. Not that she ever wanted to meet them, they had a notoriety among mages for thousands of years, and suspected they would much rather kill her on sight than talk shop over tea.

The pink-haired woman reformed her thoughts on the initial spell, quietly muttering to herself.

"Guardian."

She silently casted her first spell to protect her from the explosion she knew was about to happen, and a warm embrace washed over her as the magic flowed from her blade and reinforced her body. It was a bit of tricky magic that required a fine control, but if successful, basically improved her physical capabilities to those of several men in their prime, not to mention the almost indiscernible layer of protection it provided, allowing her to shrug off blows that would have killed lesser men in an instant. Hence, the reason why she casted the spell beforehand. If this Brimir-brand spell failed like they always had the past, then taking into consideration her even greater powers, it would be even more spectacular failure than before and didn't want to harm herself.

However, unknown to Louise, Tabitha had indeed noticed the sudden change as she was eyeing the woman who stood in concentration, staring at her like a hawk. Her eyebrows raised in alert when she noticed the woman had muttered something and her presence had shifted somehow. It was a strange feeling, one that she couldn't describe properly, and itmade her even more weary of this mysterious woman claiming to be Louise.

Refocusing back on the task, Louise let go of the blade and raised her other hand, that held the wand, at her target that lay on the ground.

"Rel In Yan," Commanded the pink-haired woman with a shout, as the pebbles glowed blindingly with the overwhelming amount of willpower that poured into them. But instead of being transmuted into brass, she was met with an engulfing detonation that once-again kicked up a storm of dust and swallowed her onlookers who had thought they had been far enough. The sheer force of the explosion had kicked them off their feet onto their backsides.

While she may have casted a protective magic on herself to prevent damage to her person, it certainly didn't filter out the dust-filled air that rushed into her lungs, apparent by the heavy coughing that came from the pink-haired woman.

"Well," cough, "that's Louise the Zero for sure," coughed Kirche as she tried to expel the dust from her lungs.

"Yes, quite," grunted Osmond as stood once again on his feet, quietly muttering that he had lost yet another few years of his already aged life, "It seems this is indeed young Miss Vallière."

He raised his staff and summoned a gust of wind that blew away the cloud of dust, revealing Louise standing where she was before, looking as if nothing had happened to her, barring her coughs. It was always strange that Louise almost seemed to not take very much damage from her own spells despite always being next to them, her poor victims could certainly attest to that.

Strutting back over to her "proctors" with a prideful look on her face, "Well, I hope that was enough proof of my identity…" pausing for a moment as a smirk appeared on her face, "Unless you would like for me to go once more?"

"No, no," quickly interrupted the nervous headmaster, knowing his academy probably couldn't take any more of the now-proven Vallière's spells, and he had yet to send the letter to the Vallière household, so this benefitted both of them. He did not want to face the wrath of the young woman's mother, he had lived long enough to know that poking an angry dragon was a stupid thing to do, "It seems even after your change, you still are as…"

"Explosive?" Snorted the red-head, rolling her eyes.

"Determined as ever" He retorted, shooting a glance towards his young Germanian pupil, who withheld her further taunts.

"Still," Professor Colbert spoke out with a serious look on his face, "This begs the question of what exactly happened to Miss Vallière." The air fell silent, the group turning their eyes towards the pink-haired woman, waiting for an answer. What exactly could have caused a young girl to disappear overnight and return, a fully-grown woman, they all wondered.

"Ah," Sheepishly chuckled Louise, rubbing the back of her neck, "I don't remember?"

"Oh, don't give us that!" Protested Kirche, she wanted to hear something unusual, worthy of a tale, not something as dull as memory-loss!

"I'm telling the truth!" Cried the Vallière, "I lost my memories, and didn't get them back until a few months ago." This was a half-truth, she had indeed lost her memories when she had awakened in the bedroom of an Elion priestess all those years ago and had only recently regained them. The part she left out is that it was because to her partner, not that she was going to introduce them, that she had lost her memories. But she supposed if she had kept her memories when she had been taken she would have fared a lot worse in the other world, being the vulnerable child before. She highly doubted that someone as temperamental as her old self would have reacted half as well to some of the things she had lived through.

"Well," began the glasses-wearing Professor, "Sometimes when a mage is overwhelmed by their own magic it has been known to cause temporary memory loss, usually by apprentices too eager to try spells too advanced for them. But to cause the loss of an entire person's worth of experience, the power must have been astonishing."

"That's all good, but that doesn't explain how she "grew" up!" Retorted the well-endowed student, salaciously eyeing her matured classmate, perhaps she would have to reschedule her appointments.

"When I woke up, I found myself in small coastal town that certainly wasn't in Tristain. The kind folk took me in and I stayed there until my memories returned."

Once again, a lie, she didn't stay there until her memories returned, the Black Spirit would not have allowed it, but the townspeople where very kind and humble in her eyes. They also made the most exquisite of seafood dishes that almost made her salivate at the thought of them.

"Oh, that is most fortunate," nodded the aged man at the positive outlook of his student, "What is the name of this town?"

"Olvia," replied Louise, knowing that it would give headaches to the old man if he ever tried to find the town on a map. He deserved it in her opinion. Not stepping in while she had been obviously bullied was something she was still quite sore about, so nobody would begrudge her at least some payback.

"Olvia, hmm" pondered Osmond, "I've heard of a village called Olvia in Romalia that I had visited in my travels as a youth, but it is a mountainous village, not a coastal one. What country did it belong to?" he asked, curious.

"Ah..." The Vallière's face fell downtrodden, a slight grimace on her face, "I honestly cannot recall, not because of poor recollection, it's just that my memories are still, how to put it, being sorted. Confusion from remembering who I was at all once put me in a rather… difficult position."

"Let us not cause any undue stress then," assured Colbert, he had seen the symptoms of memory loss and recollection in others before and knew how difficult it could be, "It will all come in time. However, can you tell us how you returned?"

"I did recall how to do the summoning ritual quite clearly, so I performed it once more, thinking that since it had taken me before, perhaps it would return me the next. And well, here I am."

A complete lie, she never attempted the ritual again, for the being that it had summoned the first time around was simply too dangerous to attempt another.

However, it appeared both Miss Longueville and Tabitha were experienced in how others lied, and they certainly noticed. Although, neither said a word.

One, Tabitha was already very suspicious of the woman who claimed, and seemed to have convinced the others, to be Louise but didn't want to cause a scene. For all she knew, this woman had taken advantage of her classmate's disappearance, perhaps had even been responsible, and was a spy from Gallia to be rid of her or someone at the academy. But she didn't want to doubt her best friend who claimed it wasa black hand, demon, or whatever it was, that took the pink-haired girl, However, the situational evidence was too much to ignore, so she would stay quiet for now, keeping a watchful eye.

Second, Miss Longueville was a thief, she didn't care. Her only reason for even being at the academy and suffering through the almost daily sexual harassment from the headmaster was to rob the academy from under their noses, her reputation as Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt demanded no less and shewould probably applaud this woman for convincing these foolish nobles of her supposed-identity. Not to mention Reconquista had ordered (forced) her to steal the staff of destruction from the academy for their glorious "uprising" (She scoffed at the idea). The only reason she even agreed to the task is because they held the person most precious to her hostage, even if they had parted ways with their relationship strained.

"Perhaps we can investigate this matter at another time," suggested the balding Professor.

"Yes, I agree. For now, Miss Valliere, please rest and do not worry about your class. I have no doubt you are still the dedicated student I've heard so much about from my colleagues. Not to mention little classes will be held due to the time dedicated to bonding with their familiars," assured the aged Headmaster, but paused for a moment, realizing that they did not know if she had bonded with a familiar.

"There is one more matter that must ascertain, Miss Vallière," he added, "were you able to form a bond with a familiar?"

They all fell silent, especially Kirche who still clearly remembered the exorbitant boasts Louise had made the day before the ritual, stating that she would summon a wise, beautiful, and majestic being far superior than her peers'.

"Yes actually, I did." The pink-haired woman cheerfully stated, knowing she wasn't "Louise the Zero" anymore, in a sense. However, she couldn't introduce them to Zero, that would lead to panic and disorder, and probably being branded as a heretic at her demon-looking partner. But, she did have a way around this.

"What!?" Exclaimed Kirche, surprised at the news that her rival, who failed in all magic, had successfully summoned a familiar. However, she still remembered that black hand that had abducted Louise during the ritual, if she and contracted something like that… Familiars were supposed to be representations of their personalities and traits, that's why she had a great bond with Flame that matched her personality. So, she was apprehensive about seeing this familiar that the pink-eyed woman supposedly bonded with.

"Here she is!" Smiled the woman, resting her left hand on the hilt of her blade, as a blue orb of light popped out from underneath her collar. Flying in circles around the Vallière's head, and landed on her outstretched right hand, as if it were dancing in the palm of her hand.

The Germanian let out a sigh of relief at the relatively harmless looking sprite of blue light that twirled in the palm of her rival's hand. She had been expecting something far more, showy.

"Ah, a sprite!" Cheered Professor Colbert with a smile on his face. His student wasn't quite the failure everyone thought her to be and knowledge of that made him even more proud of his student.

"Oh? It's been a while since I've seen a sprite as a familiar, and such a rare color too! They usually are red or green," observed Osmond as he stroked his beard, with pride at his student's success. Sprites were timid, woodland creatures that tended to follow travelers who ventured too deep into the untamed forest, so summoning one as a familiar was quite a rare occurrence.

"May I examine your familiar?" Asked the Professor since he had not personally met a sprite before. He took a few steps forward, but a frown formed on his face since the sprite immediately jumped back underneath the woman's collar in fright, and disappeared.

"My apologies, Professor. She is extremely shy of others, and won't let anyone touch her. Perhaps another time," apologized Louise, giving a weak smile in return.

"No worries, Miss Vallière," reassured the Colbert with a sheepish chuckle, "Go rest for now and bond with your familiar like the rest of the students."

"Yes, yes. Our business here is concluded, we shall work out the details of your continued education at a later time. Now where is that servant girl?" Asked Osmond with a sigh, knowing what his last order of business was.

"I believe she is still in your office," Stated the secretary, pushing up her glasses, recalling the terrified girl who probably was still frozen from sheer nervousness.

"Hm? What do you need with Siesta?" Louise asked the secretary, with confusion written on her face.

"Oh, for her termination of course."


And so, Louise currently sat on a bench next to a silent maid whose life to have seem have taken a turn for the worse. Because of Louise had given the coin to Siesta, she had broken a clause in her contract that stated she was not allowed to take any sort of monetary gifts, this was included in all the contracts the servants had at the Tristain Academy of Magic. The Academy hosted a number of students from various kingdoms in Halkeginia, and the clause was included to prevent servants being bribed to prevent any sort of foreign espionage on the servants who may be swayed with lavish gifts to perform unscrupulous acts. The problem of the slippery slope so to speak, one gift may be harmless, the following may be accompanied by requests, each in increasing severity.

Honestly, Louise had completely forgotten about it since the worker contracts she was used to was more of a here-is-the-goods-go-get-it arrangement, and Siesta herself had long forgotten most of the terms of her employment contract since she had signed it due to the difficult terminology used in the writing that went over her head.

Siesta had begged to keep her job, but the Headmaster's hand was forced since he bore witness and held the very evidence in his wrinkled hands, much to his exasperation. He really didn't want to lose such a dedicated servant, especially one with a buxom figure like hers, but it would be a huge blow to his reputation if any were to learn of a possible breach of contract. And It was one less cute maid he could use to send his trusted familiar to explore the mysterious world that hid underneath a maiden's skirt. Truly, he held much regret, and would definitely lose sleep over this action.

Louise herself had also pled on behalf on the shocked maid, as she tried to use the loophole that since Siesta had been assigned as her personal attendant she could give her gifts, but fell short when Siesta previously revealed that she had been given the gift before her assignment, and not after. Disgruntled nobles could claim that the Royal Family were using the Vallières to commit espionage.

And so, there sat the two individuals. One, a woman who had left home for many years, went through countless ordeals, traveled the world, slayed monsters beyond human nightmares and two, a young maid; who wanted nothing more than to support her family and lost her job due to a small blunder.

"Oh Founder Brimir, what am I going to tell my family?" A despairing Siesta cried as she wiped the tears that ran down her cheeks, her eyes puffy from crying. The reality of what just occurred had finally caught up with the black-haired maid as she sat there.

"Hey, don't worry, it's all right," consoled Louise, gently rubbing the younger girl's shoulder in a show of support. The sobs were slowly reduced to sniffles as the young maid calmed herself in the arms of Louise.

"You alright?" Whispered the concerned woman as Siesta gave a small mumble as she nodded her head. A tint of red colored the young maid's cheeks as she realized she was being held in a close embrace, and the soft, fragrant scent that came off the woman made her even more conscious of her position.

"Siesta, do you recall what I spoke of earlier in my quarters?" asked Louise as she faced the black-haired girl, who again nodded in response.

"I will not allow a blunder on my behalf ruin the livelihood of another. Thus, I am offering you the position of being my official attendant, not just at the academy but even long after I leave here," stated the young woman, a determined glint in her eyes.

Siesta's eyes grew to the size of saucers as her jaw fell in disbelief, "But I'm just a lowly servant, I'm not deserving of such a position."

"Siesta, have more confidence in yourself, you've shown me skill and dedication to your tasks, and it would be shame if those talents were not put to use," assured the mage.

"May I ask a small favor of you if I accept?" meekly asked blue-eyed maid, clearly unused to ask for favors from a noble.

"Anything," She replied.

"The chef in the kitchens will probably be overwhelmed without my help, may I help him while we are at the academy?"

"Of course, Siesta. As long as you are available when I need you I see no issue with it."

"Then, I'll happily take your offer!" smiled the maid, her earlier sadness gone and replaced with happiness.

"Come Siesta, let us fill out those contracts and register you as my personal attendant," said Louise as she stood, motioning to the dark-haired servant to follow her.

"Yes, Miss Val… Louise!" Beamed the young maid as she merrily skipped alongside her master.

.

"Excellent Louise, you showed great expertise in her manipulation to our side."

'I didn't manipulate her, Zero' spat out Louise in an angry thought, 'I made an honest mistake and I'm not going to let someone else take the fall.'

"Hehe, of course, it is as you say, Partner…" Unsettlingly grinned the Black Spirit in the back of her mind.

.

Across the courtyard, a blonde-haired fop was slapped by two very angry embodiments of feminine wrath after the discovery of his two-timing, everyone around laughing at his expense, including Zero who burst into laughter at the sight of such a selfish human. A shame there was no one else to blame but himself.


|~~Flashback~~|

Off to the side of the training grounds that held many young recruits for the Olvian militia who were currently recuperating their losses, sat a young pink-haired girl, a rather distant look on her face as she stared off into space. A battered sword, crisp with dried blood, sat at her side, but it was not human blood that tainted her blade.

A few days ago, the imp savages that resided near the center of Balenos territory had begun an aggressive expansion campaign for seemingly no reason, the campaign culminating in a deadly battle that had only ended a few hours earlier. The scouts that were sent to investigate the cause of the sudden disturbance had not returned, however, whispers that Calpheon was involved were a common occurrence due to their past differences.

The town had been cut off from their main forces, who resided south, in the Western Guard Camp, and a sizable force of imps that taken control of the road between the town and the camp. Thankfully, the village had a western road secured by the mountainous terrain and a sea route to the north where trade from the islands, Altinova, and Calpheon came through.

Louise had been called upon in a forced inscription of sorts that successfully repelled the attacking force, but took rather heavy casualties due to the missing presence of Commander Cliff, a high-ranking officer in the Balenos militia, who was currently stationed at the Western Guard Camp due to his ever-vigilant gaze on their neighbor nation to the southwest, Calpheon.

"Hehe, we showed those damned imps who is stronger," snickered her invisible companion, who had been by her side ever since she woke up without her memories, "I can only imagine the reward they'll give us after this is over."

'….'

No word came from the pink-haired girl, who seemed lost as she stared at the gravel beneath her boots. The first time she had taken a sentient creature's life was fresh in her mind: the intense aggression, confusion, snarling, the blank look in their inhuman eyes as her blade ran through their body. The repulsive smell of blood that just wouldn't leave her. She reached over to grab the sword that lay at her side, but immediately dropped it due to the violent trembling of her hands, her actions finally catching up with her mind. Without her memories, she had nothing, no instincts, nothing to curtain the violent memories that replayed again and again in her mind. She felt sick, knowing that she had killed beings that could easily have been her. Killing animals for food was one thing, killing a sentient being was another.

She was not the only one in a state like this, many other young recruits were going through the same ordeal as her. But she was not fated to sit on the sidelines, for she had performed many feats of valor during the battle and had impressed many of the veterans with how well she used a sword. Louise, however, knew better, as the strange markings that were branded on her left hand were the true reason that she had been so skilled with her weapon. She had barely been aware of what she had been doing, cutting off imp after imp with clinical precision, her mind clouded in a haze and focused only on survival, only clearing after the battle ended, leaving her surrounded with the corpses of her enemies, her sword in hand. Her partner claimed ignorance at Louise's sudden proficiency with a blade but its guidance so far had been sound, so she would give him the benefit of the doubt.

It was not the first time such a thing had occurred while under the strange tutelage of the Black Spirit, they had been practicing with knives and bows to hunt the deer and foxes that lived in the mountains as a means of earning a form of income, or at least Zero (a name she had given to her partner as it was the first thing that came to her mind) had claimed. Her markings glowed brightly whenever she held the wooden bow and hunting knife and allowed her to surprise the villagers when she had returned on the first day of the hunt dragging a deer behind her. But it had never possessed her to the point of leaving her as simple spectator in her body, and the thought of losing herself terrified her.

"Ughaa," an old man groaned as he plopped himself next to the solemn girl, startling her out of her morose thoughts.

"It pains me to see all this bloodshed, thought I've seen enuff for a lifetime when I settled down," groaned the man, but Louise kept her gaze on the ground.

"A shame a pretty young girl such as yerself got caught up with all this commotion. Yer, Louise? Right? The girl we found on Wale's farm without her memories?" he asked, though given his tone it was more for her sake than his.

Louise slowly nodded, though she never once uttered a word.

"Even more a shame, fighting savages when you should be recovering. Here," stated the old man as he brought out a flask and took a drink from it before he handed it to Louise. "Take a drink, it takes the edge off."

Staring at the flask in her hands for a moment, she titled her head back and took a large sip of the drink, but immediately regretted it as the liquid burned as it traveled down her throat and had her coughing it up with a grimace, the liquid splattering on the floor as she heaved.

"God!" exclaimed the girl in disgust. "What vile drink is this?"

"Haha" The old man burst into laughter at her reaction to the drink, who would have guessed the Hero of Olvia, who singlehandedly turned the tide of the battle, couldn't handle alcohol.

"Louise!" called a voice she recognized as the garrison's officer, and the person in charge of the troops.

"We got new orders," stated the officer, "Yer going to lead a scouting group alongside some extra persons to link up with the Western Guard Camp and inform Commander Cliff of the situation.

"Sir," began Louise, looking uncertain, "Are you sure that I should lead this group, I'm… currently not in the best state of mind," she stated, biting her lower lip.

"I can see that, but I can't go myself and my first choice was killed in the initial clash. Goddamned imps, took him down with a stray arrow," he growled, spitting to the side in disgust.

"Yer however, performed well in battle and I have no doubt ya can handle yerself despite yer appearance. Gear up, the others are waiting by the stables."

She nodded, standing and stretching a bit, wincing at the way her sore muscles reminded themselves to her. The young girl peered back at the old man who sat next to her with a look of gratitude for keeping her company. He smiled in return and shooed her on way, but a strained smile made its way on his face at the thought of a young girl being forced into battle once more. If only he were younger and could be on the frontlines himself.

Louise eventually made her way to the stables, though not before grabbing a replacement sword and a thick leather glove to hide her markings. She found several individuals that waited for her arrival, a few of the Vigilantes (the name of the militia) who greeted her with a salute of respect from being a witness of her abilities, and two strangers who were not wearing the Vigilante's uniform, a man and a woman who were animatedly whispering back and forth between each other. The male was a human, who wore rather loose-fitting clothes and various trinkets that made him look like a journeyman, and the female an elf, with brown hair was tied up in a bun that revealed her pointed ears and who wore a white tunic. The pair, who were arguing back and forth, stopped as soon as they noticed Louise coming, which was rather easy given her unique pink-colored hair.

The young man stepped forward with an outstretched hand and smile in greeting.

"Hello there, my name is Edan."

Louise took the hand in kind and shook it, introducing herself in the process.

"Louise."

"So, it seems my partner and I are going to be accompanying your scout group," remarked Edan.

"May I ask why civilians are joining us?" Asked Louise, a bit curious. Vigilantes were trained and could handle themselves, but civilians were a whole other kettle of fish, or so she had heard.

"Oh right, suppose it would only be fair. We were part of Princess Jarette' excavation, well more like we were just hired for the excavation at the ancient ruins in the forest southeast of the Western Guard Camp, and had to stay in town for some business. Then the imps decided to attack, and well… here we are, but I assure you we are skilled enough to defend ourselves."

So that was the reason, the Princess of Heidel was at the Western Guard camp, perhaps these two were part of the Princess's entourage and got left behind due to the imp attacks, the excuse of just being excavators wasn't a good enough reason to risk one's life to get to work.

"Alright," nodded Louise, who at the moment just wanted to get things over, so that she may enjoy the comfort of a good bed and a nice night of sleep.

"Okay everyone, let us depart!" Yelled Louise to her comrades, and got a reply in kind. The group started their trek towards the camp, marching down the dirt road, with Louise at the head, while the Edan and his elf companion stayed a bit further behind.

"Edan…", started the Elf, her voice low and her face serious.

"What's up Orwen?" replied the human, as he followed the group of soldiers.

"That girl… What do you think of her?"

"Hm? I suppose she'll be quite the beauty in a few years, a bit young for my tastes though," he remarked seriously, before his face was split by a grin at the end.

"Edan…" deadpanned the brunette, lightly slapping her companions shoulder.

Chuckling to himself, he relented.

"Hm, perhaps she's a noble from Calpheon who got roped into this mess? Pink hair isn't exactly common, and I imagine it would take some expensive hair dyes to keep it as vibrant has her. I also snooped around the soldiers and they were calling her the Hero of Olvia due to her acts at the battle, heard she cut through dozens of imps."

"Hmm…" silently hummed Orwen, her eyes watching the back of the little pink-haired girl. She looked so frail, like a beautiful stained glass that would break at the slightest touch.

Noticing his partner's silence, Edan gently nudged her.

"Why all the questions?"

"I don't know if it was just me, but I thought I felt small traces of dark energy coming from her."

"What!?" he hissed, glancing at the soldiers to make sure nobody had heard him before looking back at his partner, all playfulness gone from his face.

"She's possessed?"

"I don't know…" whispered Orwen, "I don't think she is, all the cases we've seen of Black Spirit possession resulted in the victim losing their minds to insanity."

"She looks fine," he remarked, but Edan didn't doubt his companion, she had a special ability to detect dark energy and those that used it. If she said she felt it, then there could be no doubt of its presence, that was the reason he recruited her for this excavation.

"I know… that's why I'm confused," she admitted. It seemed that she did not know what to think of the girl. She had never been wrong about what she sensed before, but the pink-haired girl had yet to display even the slightest sign of insanity. If anything, she looked tired and lost, like any child thrown into a life or death battle without any preparation.

"Well, I suppose we'll discover the reason soon enough. If she is possessed, there can be no doubt she will head towards the excavation after reporting to Cliff. That place is teeming with dark energy," remarked Edan, who looked rather displeased at the possibility.

"Edan, if she is possessed we have to report this to Secret Guard, we can't let someone like her walk around freely. Black Spirits always bring ruin to those around them."

"Of course," he quickly replied, a grim look on his face as he stared at the lone moon now hanging in the sky.

"I only hope that it is not the case."

|~~Flashback End~~|


Authors Notes:

Yay! 2700+ Views, 110+ followers, and 70+ favorites. Didn't think so many people would enjoy something I wrote on a whim. I originally thought about making this a one-shot, but decided to make this an actual story.

I will admit that the middle part was rather weak, once I was nearing 10k words (way more than I had originally planned), I just wanted the chapter to be done and over with. I had originally skimmed over where Louise convinces them that she is indeed Louise, but my beta (thank the gods for Arawn D. Draven) convinced me otherwise to write it out.

For the Black Spirit and Louise communicating, when the Black Spirit speaks to Louise, she completely understands it due to the bond they have. However, whenever someone else hears it, i.e. outside of Louise's mind or just plain talking, it just seems like a garbled mess. Keep that in mind for the future.

I can imagine the horror Cattleya will have once she learns that magical creatures don't like her sister.

Also, I have a few guests passes that an individual could use to play Black Desert Online. If anyone would like one please feel free to send me a pm. I'm never going to use them anyways. Be warned though, the game is large, 30+ GB's, and requires a good gaming PC.

Super amazing awesome much thanks to Arawn D. Draven for beta'ing this chapter! Check out his stories as thanks!


Answering Reviews:

Ojj & MillionArthurTheYuriKing: Sorry for the false update a while back. I deleted the PSA chapter since this one was nearly completed, but I didn't think it would count as an "update."

Eon (Guest): I'm currently planning on Henrietta (but that's far in the future). As for the magic system, I'm currently going to be using the elemental blade "magic" lore that is the basis for the awakened ranger and awakened dark knight classes. One thing to note is that Louise is most like a Ranger (not as an archer that is commonly misunderstood, she doesn't use a bow. Think more of a ranger in LOTR with a bit of magickly stuff thrown in), and has a lore-basis that I will explore in the future. Although, BDO main quest line is rather poor (which is why I have to fluff it up as apparent by the flashbacks), the game is extremely lore-rich. As for the most powerful thing it can do? That's a tricky question to answer without spoiling things, a more appropriate question is what is the most powerful thing the Black Spirit can do.

Saraak: I'll be careful in making paragraphs a more appropriate size, I thought they were good already.

NewUniverseReturns: Currently planning on Louise and Henrietta (see response to Eon). As for another story? I'm already overwhelmed by the two I'm currently writing. I would, however, very much enjoy seeing someone take up that story idea.

Veesmaster: Thanks for reading my story and for leaving a comment!

Blakithleo: Glad you like my idea, I hope you will find the flashback scenes in this chapter and future ones very appealing!