A/N: So here's the next chapter. Also I'll take this time to answer some of the reviews since there are some questions.

PEJP Bengtzone V2: Amos doesn't turn into Blaster Dark, Blaster Dark is another person. For Derflinger absorbing stuff I already covered that last chapter.

Firem78910: Yes but that isn't until later.

dogert: Thanks doge! :P

Please, please, please review! I feel like I'm writing this for nothing if I don't get reviews! I gotta know what you guys think! Otherwise I may as well just throw this story in the trash and stop taking my time to write it :/

Oh yeah, I put up a drawing of what I thought Amos would look like out of his armor on my profile. There's also a drawing of him in armor for comparison. They're just rough sketches and I didn't really put much effort in them but they get the message across. Check it out and tell me what you think!

Anyway, enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 8

During the night of the duel with Mott…

A person could be seen atop a fortress. This person wore a cloak and feminine clothes underneath it, including high heels which indicated it was a woman. Her long green hair flowed freely from her hood and her mouth painted lipstick was all that could be seen of her face.

A pulse radiated at her feet. Soon, the stone crumbled and turned into dirt, allowing her to sink through and enter the room below. Inside was a chest among other things. The woman opened the chest to find many valuable looking jewels before she scooped them all up and made her escape.

Left behind on the wall near the chest was a message.

"The treasure that was stored in your house has definitely been transferred into my hands. Fouquet the Crumbling the Dirt."

The next day…

"I can't believe you ignored my orders and broke into Mott's mansion!" Louise exclaimed. After rescuing Siesta I was met with Louise waiting for me at the school gates. Apparently Guiche had sold me out after I had asked him where's Mott's mansion was. Louise woke up the same night because she forgot to eat dinner so she went down to the dining hall and asked where I was. She nearly went ballistic when she realized I ignored her orders to go to Mott's mansion. When I returned, she said nothing aside from telling me that we would have a talk in the morning.

And she is not in a good mood.

"Do you have any idea how much trouble we are going to be in?!" she shrieked. "If Mott reports this to the Palace, then-!"

"He doesn't know I'm your familiar." I interrupted. "Only I will be punished."

"That's no good, either!" she countered. "I can't have my familiar be arrested at a time like this!"

At a time like this?

"What do you need me for?" I asked.

"The Familiar Exhibition Festival. All second-year students have to show what their summoned familiar can do but the other thing is that the Princess is coming to watch this year!"

"The Princess?"

"Yes, Princess Henrietta of Tristain. No doubt she'll be coming with the Royal Guard to escort her. Oh, what if they arrest you when they come?! My reputation as a Valliere will plummet!" Louise panicked.

The Princess herself is coming to watch this event, huh? I wonder what kind of ruler she is.

"Calm down, Louise." I said trying to ease her. "The people I freed from Mott were very thankful to me. I'm sure that if Mott tried to do anything against me they'll reveal all the things he has been doing. It's either me or his reputation, if he had any in the first place."

Louise seemed skeptical but it got her to calm down.

"Anyway, we need to plan our performance and it needs to be good!" she emphasized. She must have really wanted to impress the Princess. Well, if she wanted to impress…

"If you want to impress the Princess then I think I have just thing for the occasion."

"What is it?" Louise asked excitedly.

I gave her a hinting smirk.

"You'll see. It's a surprise."

Later…

As I walked down the outer halls, I noticed many students outside with their familiars practicing for the exhibition. Louise said there was a big prize so I guess they all really wanted it. Even Kirche and Guiche were out practicing. Kirche was having Flame, her Salamander, do tricks with its fire breath like making it swirl in patterns in the air. Guiche seemed to be… admiring his familiar? It was a large mole with a fairly long nose and large brown eyes. I didn't get that kid sometimes. I saw Tabitha there was well but she was reading a book in a corner of the courtyard. Beside her was a large blue dragon sleeping near her which I guessed to be her familiar. To think that she had a dragon for a familiar… There was more to her than what meets the eye.

"Oh, Amos!"

I turned around to see Siesta running up to me down the hall.

"Siesta." I acknowledged. "Have you settled back in?"

She nodded happily.

"Yes, my co-workers are happy to see me back. They wanted me to give you their thanks for saving me!"

I shook my head.

"Their thanks are not needed. I was only doing the right thing." I said. Siesta giggled at this.

"I think that's what they love about you, Amos." She claimed with a blush. "It's what I love about you too…"

"What was that?" I asked, not hearing what she had said.

"Nothing! Anyway, the students are working hard, aren't they?" she quickly changed the topic. I raised an eyebrow at this but didn't press any further on it.

"They are. I'm curious to see what they'll do."

"The servants are busy getting ready for the Princess's arrival." Siesta mentioned.

"What is the Princess like?" I asked. Siesta smiled brightly at the mention of her.

"Lady Henrietta is greatly adored by the people. She's a kind ruler who always looks for people's best interests. They've looked up to her ever since the King passed away." She explained. That eased my worries about the Princess. It was reassuring to know that not every noble here in this world was corrupt.

"So if the king is dead, is she the ruler of Tristain?"

Siesta shook her head.

"Her mother, the queen, took over when her father died. The people love the queen as well. After all, the Princess got her kindness from her."

"I see." I said. "It's great to know that the rulers of this country are great people."

Siesta nodded in agreement.

"I wish every noble was like the Princess and the Queen. I think Tristain would be a wonderful place if that were to happen." She suggested.

"I'm sure it would." I agreed. Siesta then turned to leave.

"Well, I have things to do. We must look our best before the Princess arrives tomorrow." She said.

"Right. Take care."

As Siesta was leaving, she stopped.

"Oh!" she gasped before turning back around to take my hand in hers.

"Do your best in the exhibition, Amos!" she said with a blush on her face. I blinked in surprise at her actions. She seemed to be happier ever since last night's events but I couldn't exactly figure out why aside from her being thankful that I saved her. Could she actually be… No, it can't be.

Pushing these thoughts away, I raised a hand to pat her head.

"Thank you." I said with a smile. She returned it with a smile of her own before taking off.

That night….

"Make sure to guard the gates on the exhibition day." Colbert told a guard in green robes.

"Yes sir." The guard replied before leaving. Behind Colbert was massive door locked with a board across it. This was the vault containing the Staff of Destruction.

"Mr. Colbert," Miss Longueville called as she went up to Colbert. "You are taking the guards from the vault to guard the gates?"

"Ah, well, the Princess's announcement that she would come was so sudden that we're shorthanded. That's why we have to take more safety measures for her."

"But I hear that the thief called Fouquet is after the treasure in the vault, is she not? IS it really alright to leave the vault unguarded?" Longueville asked.

Colbert waved this off.

"Even so, what thief would choose to perform a robbery when the Royal guard is present?" Colbert reasoned. He then looked up at the vault door.

"Besides, not even Triangle-class mages can break open this door without knowing how to dispel the sealing spells cast on it." He boasted.

"Even the school's guards have to show off to the Palace's, you know?"

Longueville seemed to study the door for a moment before replying.

"That's very true."

The next day…

All of the Academy students and staff lined up at the school entrance, making a path for the incoming carriage. One soldier in armor stepped forward to speak.

"Her Highness, Princess Henrietta of Tristain has arrived!" he announced in a loud voice. On que, many soldiers marched through the gate onto the school grounds. They surrounded an extravagant looking carriage that was white and purple and led by white stallions. As it came to a stop, the soldiers moved from their posts and a female servant got off the front of the carriage to open the door. Another older woman stepped out before offering her hand for the person inside. The person stepped out, showing her face for the world to see. The crowd let out gasps and ahs at the sight of her.

She was pretty young lady that wore a white dress and a purple cloak, both decorated in jewelry. Her eyes were a brilliant light blue, sparkling under the sun. She appeared to be a little taller than Louise and had chin-length purple hair. On top of her hair was a tiara with different jewels embedded in it. As she looked and waved at the crowd, she smiled at them. This smile was warm and comforting, like knew each person as a friend. As I saw this I knew that was what gave her that charm to win the people's hearts.

I looked over to Louise who was looking at Princess Henrietta dreamily. On my right side I overheard Guiche and Kirche speaking of Princess Henrietta.

"What beauty…!" Guiche remarked in awe. Kirche on the other hand was analyzing the Princess from head to toe.

"She's the Princess of Tristain? I'm much more beautiful than she is!" she suggested haughtily.

As Princess Henrietta got off the carriage, several knights in cloaks with swords strapped to their waists escorted her. They were all a bit taller than me but I could tell from their eyes that they didn't have the experience I have. Most of them were still wet behind the ears and had yet to experience real warfare first hand.

Princess Henrietta made her way over to the school officials who were bowing as she approached.

"I apologize for the sudden request to be here, Mr. Osmond." Henrietta said.

"Not at all your Highness!" Osmond replied. "The students and I have been eagerly awaiting your arrival. We hope to give you a great performance tomorrow."

"Thank you. I really wanted to see the exhibition this year and so…" Henrietta trailed off. She then looked over her shoulder to where Louise and I were standing. If I wasn't mistaken, she appeared to smiling at Louise.

The night before the exhibition…

"So? What are you planning to do for the exhibition?" Louise asked since I had yet to tell her. "Certainly you will do something while wearing your armor, right?"

"You're close." I said. This appeared to annoy her more.

"Augh! Why can't you tell me?! I can't just have you go up there to do something I may not like! I've got to look my best for the Princess and you're representing me!" she yelled angrily.

I ruffled her hair with a small grin.

"I told you, it's a surprise." I said. She opened her mouth to argue, but no words came out. I guess she had gotten used to this by now. I'm not sure when patting and rubbing her head started, but it soon became normal and she had no issues with it. If anything, it always calmed her down or reassured her.

We looked over at the door when we heard someone knocking.

"Sheesh, who could that be at this hour?" Louise muttered.

I made my way to the door and opened it. A cloaked person with the hood covering their head rushed into the room and quickly closed the door. Louise jumped in surprise at the sudden intruder and I instinctively rushed to grab Derflinger.

"W-Who are you?!" Louise asked the stranger.

"It's been a while, Louise Francoise!" the stranger said, the voice clearly female. She then removed the cloak and went up to Louise to hug her.

Louise gasped in surprise when she realized who it was.

"P-Princess Henrietta?!" she stammered.

"Yes, it's me my old friend…" Henrietta said out of joy. Louise was friends with the Princess? Why did she not tell me this?

Oddly enough, Louise grabbed her shoulders and pushed her away.

"You shouldn't have done this, your Highness!" said Louise as she kneeled on one knee. "To come to such a humble abode by yourself is…"

"Stop the formalities, Louise Francoise." Henrietta interrupted. "We are friends, are we not?"

Louise gave hesitant smile.

"Princess, those words are too much for me…" she said. Henrietta was tearing up at this point.

"I've wanted to see you for so long." Henrietta said sadly. "Ever since Father passed away, I haven't had anyone to open up to."

Louise stood up, tears also forming in her eyes.

"Princess, I was surprised when I received a letter from you. I wanted to see you too." She cried as she held Henrietta's hands. With the way they acted, I would have thought them to be close siblings.

I stood silent the whole time, watching them catch up before Louise looked over at me.

"What are you doing?!" she chastised. "The Princess is before you and you do not bow?!"

She faced back at Henrietta.

"Please forgive him, he's new and-"

Henrietta raised a finger to hush her.

"It's okay, Louise." Henrietta said. She then looked over to me.

"I was told by Louise that she had summoned a person for a familiar. Are you that person?" Henrietta asked. I nodded in confirmation.

"Yes. My name is Amos, your Highness." I curtsied, my mannerisms from back in the Sanctuary kicking in.

"'Bearer of burden'…" she noted before realization dawned on her. "Are you by any chance the one who fought with Count Mott?"

Louise froze at the mention of the duel.

"That's right." I said. "You may not have realized it, but that man was no noble in my eyes. He had committed many atrocities and got away with them. Someone needed to put him down."

"How dare you talk like that with the Princess!" Louise berated me.

"You're right." Henrietta agreed which made Louise look at her in surprise. "Not long after, I had received word about Count Mott and the things he had been doing. He was arrested shortly."

"How is it that you never knew about his actions before?" I asked.

"There were no reports or complaints by the people concerning him." She explained.

"Bribes." I concluded. "Mott must have taken measures to ensure the people would stay silent."

"Most likely." Henrietta said. "In any case, I thank you for bringing him to justice. His action reflect poorly on us nobles."

"I was only doing what was right." I said.

"Also," Henrietta started. "I was informed that you are a mage knight. Is it true?"

I gave her a hinting smile.

"You'll just have to wait and see tomorrow, your Highness." I told her. She giggled at my secrecy.

"I look forward to it." She replied eagerly before picking up her cloak.

"Well then, I must head back before my disappearance causes an uproar." Henrietta said before giving a Louise a hug. "I'm glad I got to see you again, Louise Francoise."

Louise happily returned the hug.

"Me too, Princess."

The day of the exhibition

"We will now being this year's presentations of the students and their familiars." Colbert announced. The crowd cheered as the students got up on the stage to perform.

The first to go up was Kirche, who had Flame spew out fire in various patterns while she acted like she too was breathing fire.

Next was Guiche's girlfriend, Montmorency. Her familiar was a small frog that wore a large red ribbon on its head. It danced as Montmorency played on a violin.

Guiche then went up and posed with his mole familiar amidst a bed of roses. I had to slap myself in the face when some people actually applauded for it.

The other students' acts varied, some interesting and others a failure. The one that garnered the most attention was Tabitha and her blue dragon Sylphid. Tabitha rode Sylphid as they wheeled across the sky, doing several acrobatic maneuvers and raising a light breeze. A large applause soon followed once they landed on the ground to bow.

"That was Tabitha the Snowy Wind!" Colbert told the crowd. "Next is Louise de La Valliere!"

Louise and I stood in the waiting area and we stepped out onto the stage upon hearing Louise's name.

"I hope what you have planned is good." Louise whispered.

"Just leave it to me." I replied. We faced back to the audience.

"Allow me to introduce you all." Louise began. "This is my familiar, Amos. And he is… a swordsman."

A commotion was raised in the crowd upon seeing me and hearing Louise's words.

"Look, that's the guy rumored to be a mage knight!"

"No way, a commoner like him?"

The next few comments caused laughter to stir among the people who haven't seen me in my armor.

"Why is a commoner your familiar, Louise the Zero?"

"Only the Zero would be able to someone a peasant to be her familiar!"

Taken back, Louise instinctively looked over to where Henrietta was sitting which was next to Osmond under an ornate tent to shade her form the sun. Henrietta flashed her an encouraging smile and her eyes seemed to be saying, 'You can do it!'.

I placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up at me.

"Let me handle the rest." I told her before stepping forward. I drew Derflinger, silencing the crowd as they looked at me expectantly.

"My name is Amos!" I spoke in a loud, authoritative voice. The soldiers who stood guard were immediately brought to attention on instinct. They could have sworn they heard a higher ranking officer address them.

"I am Louise de La Valliere's familiar and I can assure you all that I am no mere peasant." I stated. Several students looked at me knowingly at what I was about to show.

I held out Derflinger to summon my armor when suddenly, a loud rumbling noise resounded throughout the air. The ground shook and many students were in panic. Soldiers scrambled everywhere, trying to calm the crowd down while others tended to Princess Henrietta.

"Look! Up there!" One student cried out.

All eyes turned to the direction she was pointing. A massive stone golem standing nearly fifteen meters tall towered over everyone. It was next to a tower and its fist was stopped mid-air before connecting with it. It looked like it was trying to destroy the tower for some reason. On top of the golem's head was a person. Down from where I was standing, I could not make out the person's exact details but I could make out enough to tell it was a woman.

"Damn, I blew my cover." The woman said. "No matter, attack them my golem!"

The massive behemoth obeyed, tearing a chunk out of one of the school buildings before hurling it.

And it was aimed at Princess Henrietta.

"PRINCESS!" Louise shrieked. Time seemed to slow as Henrietta stared at her impending doom, eyes wide in fear. With no other options, she closed her eyes.

I leaped from the stage, enveloped in a familiar light with an odd tint of gold. I reached her just as the huge building piece collided with where Henrietta was standing, dust and dirt covering us form sight.

Silence hung in the air as all who witnessed this were trying to process what had just happened. Their Princess, their symbol and pride, was dead.

Louise sank down to her knees in despair.

"No… Princess…" she muttered, tears welling up in her eyes.

The silence was then broken.

"L-Look!" one person cried out.

Louise looked over at the crowd who were gaping in awe at something hidden in the dust. As she looked over, the first thing she saw was that the building piece had been split into two. Both pieces lay on the ground away from where the Princess was. A silhouette could be seen in the cloud of dust, holding what looked to be a sword. The dust began to clear and the person holding the sword could be seen more easily with bits of white and gold glinting in the sunlight. Once the last of the dust cleared, audible gasps were heard among the crowd.

What Louise saw took her breath away.

[Insert – Shouri no Fanfare]

I was clad in my armor with my sword held high, showing that I had cut apart the building piece before it collided. What caught everyone's attention, including those who have seen my armor, were the new additions adorning it. Parts of my armor were now shining gold including my helmet, my leg armor, pauldrons, and even Derflinger. I now had a white cape fluttering in the wind with a golden outline which was held in place by my pauldrons. Behind me safe from harm was Henrietta who was on the ground, looking at me in surprise and awe.

I turned around to face her, offering her a hand.

"Can you stand, your Highness?" I asked. As she looked up at me, the sun shone behind me.

"Y-Yes. Thank you…" she trailed off as she took my hand blushing. I nodded my head when I was sure she was fine.

Louise sighed in relief when she saw that Henrietta was safe.

"Thank goodness…" Louise then turned to face the golem and the person on top.

"Hey, you! How dare you attack the Princess?!" she yelled angrily. "For that, you've sealed your fate!"

The woman laughed at her.

"Oh? And what do you plan to do about, girl?" she mocked. Louise glared at her before she began to chant.

"Fireball!" she yelled, pointing her wand at the woman. Instead of a fireball coming out like she said, an explosion appeared on the tower wall, making an opening. I could see what was inside and saw the different items stored within.

That was the vault!

"Ha! What part of that was a fireball?" laughed the woman. "Although I have to thank you for opening the vault for me, girl!" she tanked before entering the vault. She quickly came back out holding a long case.

"Farewell!" she boded as the golem trudged away over the school walls, retreating into the forest.

[End BGM]

With her gone, a let out a sigh of relief when the Royal Guard got to work in making sure everything was alright. Students and other adults were escorted out and checked for injuries.

"Princess!" several soldiers called out in concern as they made their way over to where Henrietta and I was. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, thanks to him." Henrietta said while looking at me. Looking over to me, the soldiers bowed. One soldier with armor different than the others stepped forward before bowing as well. He had blonde hair and a neatly shaven beard. This must be their captain.

"I am Marshall Gramont. Thank you for protecting the Princess. We are very much indebted to you." He thanked.

"No need to for that." I told him. Wait, Gramont?

"Are you by any chance related to Guiche de Gramont?"

Marshall Gramont looked up at me in surprise.

"Ah, you must be the knight that my son lost to." He realized. "At first, I was angry that he had lost to an unknown warrior but witnessing you today makes me glad that a swordsman of your caliber is here."

"I was merely doing what was right." I waved him off.

"Amos!" Louise called as she ran up to me. Following behind her was Kirche, Tabitha, Guiche, and Siesta. Kirche and Siesta had stars in their eyes while Guiche and Tabitha looked at me impressed.

Louise then ran into me, burying her face on my chest.

"Idiot! I thought you and the Princess had died!" she cried. I placed a hand on her head.

"Did you really think a hunk of rock would be enough to kill me?" I joked. Louise looked up at me before shaking her head.

Kirche then joined in, jumping onto me from the side.

"Darling!" she cooed. "You look absolutely dashing your new armor!"

"Impressive." Tabitha said.

"You protected the Princess with your body without hesitation… Truly you are a valiant knight!" Guiche complimented.

"I'm glad you're okay, Amos." Siesta said.

Henrietta coughed, interrupting our moment.

"Now then, we still haven't decided on a winner for this year's exhibition." She said.

"But Princess! Is it really okay to be thinking about that at a time like this?" Louise asked.

Henrietta shook her head.

"I'm sure that the other judges would agree with me on who the winner is, right?" she said as the other judges came up to us, nodding their heads.

Henrietta chanted, before speaking with an amplified voice.

"Everyone, may I have your attention?" she announced, all eyes now on us. "We are proud to announce this year's exhibition winner! Please give a round of applause for Louise de La Valliere and her knight familiar, Amos!"

There was a massive applause with many people chanting my name. Colbert came up to Henrietta while holding a pillow which had a small little crown resting on top. Louise got down on one knee before Henrietta placed it on top of her head.

"He's an amazing familiar." Henrietta told Louise. Louise looked over at me with a large smile on her face.

"Yes, he is."