AN: Something that's been bouncing around in my head for a long time. It's something that I think has a great deal of potential, but I just don't have the time to develop it considering my other projects.
((()))
An explosive detonation rocked the summoning court, scattering smoke and coughing fits throughout. Before the assembled students could even begin to react, however, a long, keening wail overran the echoes of the explosion. It was a scream like none of the students had ever heard before, it spoke of a pain beyond any that the privileged noble children had ever known, beyond anything that they could even comprehend.
"Watashi no akachan?" The voice cried out in agony, clearly female, "Watashi no akachan wa dokodesu ka?"
"Students, stand back," Professor Colbert promptly asserted, moving through the dense cloud of smoke, "Miss Tabitha, please remove the smoke."
The tiny bluenette he had addressed nodded sharply, and a single sweep of her staff conjured up a fierce gust of wind, sweeping the majority of the smoke out of the courtyard.
"HEALER TO THE SUMMONING COURT!" Colbert roared before the other students could even begin to see what, or who had just been summoned.
"WATASHI NO AKACHAN WA DOKODESU KA?" Demanded the female voice more forcefully, before breaking off in a coughing fit.
As the smoke was cleared, the Tristainian students were finally able to see the source of the shouting; a battered woman laying haphazardly in a pool of red. It took some of the students quite some time to realize just what the woman was laying in, but for those more seasoned, such as Tabitha, it was obvious that the woman was lying in a pool formed by both her own hair, and her own blood.
Directly before the woman, Louise Francoise de la Blanc de la Valliere stood, gibbering silently down at the being that she had summoned. The other students were far too decent to see what she could, but from her perspective, and that of Jean Colbert, it was impossible to miss the woman's injuries. Her abdomen had been run through, leaving intestines organs, and even bits of bone showing; her legs were near utterly still, not so much as twitching, and moved only by the frantic breathing and cries as the woman continued to wail in a tongue that none present understood.
"Miss Valliere," Colbert said urgently, "Come here at once."
Louise gave no response, continuing to stare, mind blank, at the gored woman.
"Miss Valliere!" Colbert said firmly, then reached out to rap her over the head with his staff when she continued to not respond.
"Yes Professor Colbert?" Louise said, her response mechanical, her mind still in shut-down.
"You must complete the binding ritual," Colbert said urgently, "Your magic may be the only chance she has of surviving until such time as the healers arrive."
Louise just shook her head slightly; Colbert grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to meet his gaze.
"Louise Valliere," He said firmly, furious purpose in his eyes, "If you do not do as I say, this woman will die."
Louise nodded shakily, then staggered to the woman and dropped to her knees beside her.
"Watashi no akachan wa dokodesu ka?" The woman asked again, but now even the shell-shocked Louise could tell that she was weakening.
Louise shook her head, then raised her wand and began to incant, barely avoiding hysteria.
"P-pentagon of the five elements, please bless this humble creature and make it my familiar."
Then she tapped the woman's forehead with her wand, hesitated for a moment, then leaned down and kissed her.
Someone in the crowd began a wolf-whistle, but a sharp gesture from Colbert set the boy's hair on fire, and none other dared speak.
Upon the instant that the very brief and awkward kiss ended, the woman gasped, eyes flying wide, and her entire body spasming; the others were too distant, but Louise and Colbert could feel the magic working within and upon the woman's body. Every muscle above the woman's wound tensed, and after the initial moment of reaction, the woman's face became as stone, wholly grim and utterly unrevealing of any emotion, any humanity, whatsoever.
Colbert blinked, and the woman had Louise by the throat; her right hand holding the back of the tiny pinkette's neck, the left holding a short, broad knife with a ring at the base of the hilt to her throat.
"Anata wa watashi ni nani o shimashita ka?" She demanded forcefully, hard purpose in her eyes, "Nani o shita nda?"
Louise began to have a full-blown panic attack, trembling violently within the woman's grip; Colbert readied himself to act, old, misremembered reflexes forcing him to overcome the shocking and abrupt change between grieving woman, and hard-faced killer. Action on his part proved unnecessary, however, as the magic that Louise completed its work, engraving a set of runes into the back of the woman's left hand.
With the magic's work completed, it faded, and the woman drained of strength, passing out. Then the healers arrived, circling about the grievously wounded woman, and edging out Louise and Colbert. Colbert laid a gentle, but firm, hand on the trembling pinkette, and carefully guided her away from the cluster of water mages.
"That will be the end of this Spring's Summoning Rites," He announced firmly to the other students, using a Voice of Command that they had never heard from him before, "I am quite certain that you all have other things to do, while I attend to Miss Valliere and her familiar."
The students fled before the force of his presence, though Tabitha gave him a long, calculating look before she departed with her redheaded friend. Colbert spared them little thought; his mind filled with the image of the runes he had seen engrave themselves into the woman's hand.
In another time, in another place, he may not have recognized them. But as they had appeared, on the hand that was holding a knife to the throat of one of his students, there was no way he could fail to make the connection.
Louise had summoned the Gandalfr, the Left Hand of God.
((()))
Louise Valliere was terrified. She had been afraid before; around her mother, fear was more or less a daily fact of life, but she had never encountered anything like this before. More than half dazed, she tremulously raised her hands to her throat, doing her best to assure herself that it was still intact, and more importantly, that her blood was still inside her.
How had that woman still been alive after losing so much blood?
Part her knew that not all of the red had been blood, some of it had been hair, blood red hair, but her mind on the whole was beyond the point of logical distinctions. She shivered again, wrapping her arms around herself, then realized that someone was gently pushing her down onto a bed. Turning her attention to the outside world, she discovered it to be Jean Colbert, her favorite professor, though his countenance was far more grim than she was accustomed to.
"Professor?" She said weakly, "What..." She fumbled for words for a few moments before managing to finish, "Wha-what did I do?"
"I am not entirely certain at this point, Miss Valliere," Colbert said gently, "I suspect you summoned that woman from a battlefield where she had just been mortally wounded. It is understandably that she would react in a rather forceful manner to having magic used on her body unexpectedly, but do not worry. We will keep a close watch on her, both for her health, and for ours, and perhaps when she is no longer on death's door, we will be able to understand what has happened."
Louise nodded weakly in response.
"Try to get some rest, Miss Valliere," Colbert said, "I'll take care of things.
Louise nodded again, before essentially passing out, emotionally overwhelmed by the sudden chain of events.
((()))
Colbert looked down at his most dedicated, but least successful student for a long moment, silently working out his next course of action. If the woman survived (and if she truly was the Gandalfr, he very much doubted she wouldn't), then there would be consequences resulting from this. Massive consequences. He would need to speak with Osmond; he would need to inform Karin, and most likely he or Osmond would need to send word to the Princess regarding a Void user in her realm.
First, however, he would need to be certain of what he had seen, and even if he could feel deep certainty in his bones, there was no excuse for sloppiness. He remembered the book, and where it was kept, so it was off to the library with him.
((()))
Tabitha slipped silently into the infirmary, bringing a small enchanted mirror with her. Her friend Kirche was desperately curious to see what was going on with the strange red-headed woman that had been summoned, but utterly lacking in the stealth skills necessary to remain unnoticed around the healers. The mirror, and its matched pair in Kirche's hands, would allow her to be 'present' in spite of this.
Tabitha herself had made a veritable art form out of being unnoticed; not that it was altogether difficult when surrounded by young nobles with oversized egos each trying to exalt themselves over their peers as best they were able. Thus, she spent much of the night sitting quietly in a corner of the infirmary, occasionally glancing up at the Healers working their magic on the injured woman.
Kirche may have suffered from curiosity, but that was nothing to the intense interest Tabitha held towards any woman who would fight while in that condition.
((()))
"Osmond," Colbert shouted, knocking, hard on the headmaster's office door, "We need to talk, now."
The door swung open, revealing not the long-bearded old man that Colbert had been expecting, but a gorgeous young woman clad in a modest robe. For a moment, Jean teetered upon the brink of distraction, but death had passed too close that afternoon, and he forced himself to concentrate.
"The headmaster will see you now," The young woman said, favoring Colbert with a gentle smile.
"Thank you, miss...?" Colbert replied.
"Longueville, milord," The woman replied, stepping out of the doorway and gesturing Colbert inside, "The Headmaster was kind enough to take me on as his secretary just recently. And you are"
"Jean Colbert," He said as he entered, waving dismissively, "No need for 'milord' or any such thing, 'Professor' will be just fine."
"Thank you, Professor," Longueville said courteously, moving swiftly ahead of him to open the inner office door, "Will you need anything further?"
"In this instance," Colbert said sadly, "Nothing but privacy. Something has gone awry with one of my students, and I must discuss it with the headmaster."
Longueville simply nodded, bowing slightly as Colbert passed into the inner office. Inside, Colbert found Osmond pretending to sleep; scowling, he waited for Longueville to close the door behind him, before conjuring a small mass of clay, and tossing it into the old man's face, ending the charade rather roughly.
"This is no time to sleep, old man," Colbert growled at the faux-spluttering headmaster, "One of the student's summonings arrived grievously injured, and it could cause all kinds of trouble with her family. Activate your wards, we must speak of this privately."
Osmond sat back in his chair, and eyed Colbert warily for a moment through his clay-smeared face, before removing the muck with a single sharp gesture from his staff, and activating a glowing series of runes that circled the entire office with another.
"You have my attention, Colbert," Osmond said gravely, "I'd threaten my displeasure if you've disturbed me for something trivial, but I supremely doubt you have done such."
"Indeed," Colbert said grimly, "Today, Louise Valliere summoned a grievously wounded foreign woman, fresh from a battle I have little doubt, during the Springtime Summoning Ritual. So wounded, in fact, that I compelled Louise to bind the woman promptly, in hopes that her magic would allow the woman to endure until such time as the healers could arrive."
Colbert paused, and took a deep breath before continuing.
"The woman is the Gandalfr, the Left Hand of God. Louise is a Void Mage."
For the first time in his life, Colbert saw Old Osmond rendered speechless. The man blinked, fumbed for his pipe, dropped it, then blinked again. Then he shook his head, and leveled an intense glare upon Colbert.
"Jean Colbert," He said forcefully, "Are you absolutely certain of this?"
"Quite," Colbert said gravely, nodding his head sharply, "I was certain from the moment I saw the runes engrave themselves upon the woman's hand while she held a knife to Miss Valliere's throat. I made a swift visit to the library to confirm it nonetheless. I have the book with me, if you wish to inspect the record, and the runes on the woman's hand, for yourself."
Osmond stood, displaying a spryness he rarely allowed other to see, generally preferring to leave the impression that he had been rendered largely infirm by his age.
"While I do not doubt your word on so serious an affair," Osmond said, already moving around his desk and deactivating the wards, "Something such as this, one must see for himself."
"I understand completely, headmaster," Colbert said, opening the door, and allowing the Headmaster to precede him out of his office.
"Headmaster?" Longueville called inquiringly as they moved through the outer office.
"With me, Miss Longueville," Osmond said, "It appears that you will be entering the thick of things from the start, as it were. We are off to the infirmary."
((()))
It had been less than an hour since the woman had been brought to the infirmary, and the healers almost barred them entrance, regardless of Osmond's position as Headmaster. The chief Healer, however, was a younger man who had never seen war, and the combined glare of Colbert and Osmond was more than enough to cow the man, though he did require them to stay out of the way.
It took some minutes to gain a clear view of the injured woman's hand without asking the Healers to get out of the way, or display it for them, but both men had long since learned to be patient, and Longueville was hardly in a position to interfere if her superior did not.
"There can be little doubt," Osmond said gravely, passing the book with the image of the Gandalfr runes back to Colbert, before turning to his secretary, "Longueville, please make a sketch of this woman's runes, as best you are able. If necessary, wait until the Healers are finished, and you are able to acquire a more reliable perspective."
"Yes, Headmaster," Longueville said, nodding dutifully.
"You said she was summoned by young Valliere?" Osmond asked Colbert, who nodded, "Then we must go and speak with her at once."
"Right this way," Colbert said, leading Osmond to the far side of the infirmary, where the youngest member of the Valliere family lay, fast asleep.
"Was she injured?" Osmond asked.
"No," Colbert said, shaking his head, "Just overwhelmed; I brought her here in case she suffers a fit when she rouses."
"Reasonable, I suppose," Osmond said with a nod, "And also will keep her in close proximity to her new familiar, should the woman waken and prove difficult. Have you contacted Karen yet?"
"No," Colbert said, "I decided to speak with you first."
"Thank you," Osmond said nodding, "I suggest you go and do so, while I contact the Princess."
((()))
Louise awoke feeling disoriented; realizing that she was in an unfamiliar place did not help alleviate her confusion. It was dark, but also calm, and it only took her a few moments to realize that she was in the infirmary, and remember why. Her hands instinctively rose to her throat, terrifying memory of being held at knife-point welling up within her.
For a long moment, that memory held her in an iron grip of fear, but she had been taught for long years that Valliere's did not give into fear, and she forced it away. Instead, she climbed out of the infirmary bed, and went to look for her new, violent familiar. It wasn't difficult to find the woman; she was laying in the only bed that had a servant seated beside it, keeping watch.
To Louise's considerable surprise, the maid was also reading a book; though after a moment's thought, she decided it made sense. It would be difficult enough to stay awake, and a servant able to keep herself occupied with such a thing would be less likely to fall asleep; simply sitting there and staring at an unconscious woman could only encourage somnolescence.
"Ahem," Louise said quietly from behind the maid, who jumped slightly, before turning to see Louise.
Upon recognizing the student's uniform, the pretty young woman swiftly stood and turned to face Louise, bowing slightly.
"Yes, milady?" She asked respectfully.
"What is the condition of my familiar?" Louise asked quietly.
"The healers expect her to live, milady," The maid said quietly, "They said that she is possessed of remarkable resilience, but set me to watch her through the night, particularly her coloration, in case they missed some internal bleeding. Her spine had been severed, but they were able to heal it along with the other injuries, though she will have to learn how to walk again. And..."
The maid trailed off, worry evident in her voice and on her face.
"Well, spit it out," Louise said, some irritation leaking into her voice.
"It seems that she had just given birth," The maid said, her voice even fainter than before, "Within hours of the summoning. She went into battle directly thereafter."
Louise turned to gaze upon the woman's face, silent horror welling up within her as she studied the red-head's exhausted features. Now, she found herself much less upset by the woman's violent reaction; bad enough that she had been mortally wounded, but having gone into battle just after giving birth?
Louise's mind was too overwhelmed trying to wrap itself around such a thing to encompass much of anything else at all. So much so that she scarcely noticed as the maid gently guided her into the chair that the maid herself had been sitting in, before collecting a second chair for herself, and sitting beside the diminutive Valliere.
Confusing, contradictory thoughts of success, failure, knives held to throats, and women being forced to fight immediately after birth washed through Louise's mind, until she passed out in the chair, and slept through the rest of the night.
((()))
Kushina did not dream, exactly; she was far too deeply submerged into unconsciousness, the healers having laid a spell of sleep upon her, pushing her mind even deeper into slumber than her own trauma and exhaustion had already driven her. Some things, however, run deeper within a person than their mind, and in Kushina, that something reached out, yearning for her husband, her son, for her family.
Neither were available for her, but a new bond had been formed, though neither of those involved truly understood it, and her 'call' reached across that bond, to find a lonely sole yearning for comfort respond.
((()))
Siesta watched silently, completely bewildered, as golden links of chain snaked out from the redheaded woman's body, wrapped gently around the pinkette's, and then tucked them both in to bed together, the older's arms wrapped around the younger as though she were a small child. A hysterical part of Siesta's mind noted that the student's tiny stature made it a more apt comparison than would seem appropriate for a sixteen year old girl.
Once the movement stopped, and the chains faded away, Siesta snapped out of her shock, and rushed to summon the healer assigned to the night shift.
((()))
AN: In case it wasn't obvious, the woman is Kushina Uzumaki, from the Naruto series, summoned after being stuck through by the Kyuubi's claw, but before she dies, on the night that the 9-tails was sealed into Naruto. There's a character with the drive, moral fiber, and power, to make things interesting in the ZnT setting.