Authors note: Yaaaaaaa the plot hole is fixed and the story continues, though with a different endgame now planned. I do apologize for the hiatus that this was on due to the plot problem, but it shall not happen again, so without further ado.
Louise stood against the railing on the main deck and looked out over its side. Below them was a great range of mountains, and to the far side the great rolling expanse of the elven deserts. She understood the reason why the sky ship was taking such a strange roundabout route to the wastes east of the elven lands, but that didn't mean she had liked it. It had been four days (almost five technically) since they had left the Tristanian Magic Academy and in that time literally nothing of interest had occurred. Sure she had acquired some small bits of information telling her just how many people knew what the expedition was about, but beyond that her days were filled with cooking, eating and sleeping, and it was slowly driving her crazy, and endangering her cover.
"This ship is far too slow. I need that dreadnaught now." Louise muttered to herself; sure that no one would be awake this late at night.
"This one wonders if you are all right."
Louise turned to see the large body of the prodigy Saw'veleesh walk up beside her and sit down. "This is taking too long is all. I thought you were too weak to leave the cabin?"
"This one feels well enough at the current moment to engage in close range mental converse."
"No one saw you right?"
"No organic's neural processes were excited enough to have noticed this one."
". . . So everyone was asleep, good. Tell me, can you make a guess on how far we are from the dreadnought?"
Saw'veleesh was quiet for many moments as small glowing lines pulsed across his form. "Judging from astronomical relation, current velocity, distance traveled and current ichor radiation signs, this one suggest around three planetary cycles, two until the dreadnought is within visible sight."
Louise smiled and looked out toward the horizon. Forcing her mind to focus on one type of energy she could feel the slight weak pulse of ichor far out in the distance. "Yes, I can feel it. The sooner the better."
"May this one inquire as to why you are in such a hurry?"
In reply, Louise lifted up her shirt, showing of her midriff and the patches of silver and purple that were appearing all over it. "My body is transforming slightly faster than I'd anticipated. I even have a third Proton cord in my hair now as well. If my body continues to change at this rate, my cover may be blown."
"This one understands the predicament. Is there a way this one could assist?"
Louise shook her head. "No not yet, just use some excess energy to peer into people minds occasionally. I feel like I've been being watched as of late, and I'd prefer not to have to silence anyone to fast." Louise commented as she turned and headed back into the ship, Saw'veleesh following behind her.
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Montmorency watched from the inside of the upper cabin as Louise and her familiar walked back into the ship. It was greatly strange, both her familiar and the way she acted around it. She was obviously talking to it, and randomly lifting her shirt up like she did was far from fitting for a noble. Siesta had been right about Louise needing to be watched, and Montmorency was now sure that something was wrong; she just wasn't sure what yet.
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The day itself went like any other, slowly. Despite this Louise found herself alone in the kitchen that night, having been the unlucky one to have been picked to clean up the kitchen that evening after dinner. With a sigh and a quick wipe of her forehead Louise looked around. The entire kitchen had been cleaned already, save for the floor. She grabbed for the nearby mop bucket to find that the mop, for some strange reason, was on the opposite side of the counter, out of her arms reach. Walking along the long kitchen counter would not take long, but it did give her a chance to stretch a cord. Looking around to make sure no one was around or watching her she then controlled a Polaron cord and stretched it across the counter, wrapping it around the mops handle.
"Eeeeeek!"
Louise looked up to find the second plebeian maid of the kitchen crew, Maria, standing at the entrance to the kitchen area looking at her in shock. Glancing to the side Louise realized that she had yet to pull the mop over to her, meaning one of her Polaron cords was in plain sight, illuminated by the lamp directly above her. She had screwed up, and badly
"Tha, that, what is that! You, that, I wha-"," Maria began stuttering incoherently, giving Louise the chance to try to dissolve the situation.
"Saw! I need you to make sure not a single person wakes up the next few minutes under any circumstance!" Louise mentally shouted, not waiting for a reply as she looked to Maria. "Maria, you need to calm down. You're tired and are seeing things. There's nothing strange in the kitchen, what are you screaming about?"
"But you, that, thing, I. What are you?" Maria screamed in terror as she looked around and picked up a kitchen knife in a panic off of the counters end.
"Put down the knife Maria, you're hallucinating."
"I'm not hallucinating. You're some kind of monster, stay back or I'll kill you! I need to tell someone. I" To hell with that Louise thought as her Polaron cord released the mop and turned to point at Maria, her other two Polaron cords pulling out of her ponytail and pointing at her as well. Before Maria could react all three cords let loose quick beams of pink light, striking both sides of her chest and her head simultaneously. Her body flopped to the ground with a heavy lifeless thud. Walking over and inspecting the body Louise sighed in relief. Her Polaron beams had cauterised the wounds and not a drop of blood had left her body.
Using her cords to assist her, Louise picked up Maria's body and carried it over to the garbage chute, dropping her body in it and out of the ship. No one would know what had happened, Louise thought as she left the kitchen with haste, not noticing three small burn marks on the wood behind where Maria had been standing, or the small fleck of burnt blood around the burn marks.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxTristania, Vallière Manor.
Cattleya sat on her bed and thought to herself. The last two days had been spent making sure all the people in the estate were alive, healthy, and asking if they knew anything about what had happened. Only a few people had seen Louise, and those few that did seemed to have the foggiest minds, unable to even remember what she had looked like. Only their father gave a good description, and of it, only Louise's personality seemed to be wrong, that and Louise wearing her hair in a ponytail.
Eleonore was speaking with noble families in the region, one by one asking them if they knew anything. And her mother, Karin, had left for the magic academy to ask if they knew anything. But Cattleya knew that even if they did know something it would not be so easy to find Louise, especially considering how she seemed to have disappeared the first time.
Muttering under her breath, Cattleya walked over and opened the window to her room, allowing a small white hawk to fly in and land on her arm. With a smile, she scratched it under the chin for a few seconds before sitting back down on her bed. "Hanes, I need to you go find my sister, Louise. Okay?"
The hawk, Hanes, bobbed its head in acknowledgment.
"Once you find her, stay near her, but don't let anyone recognize your presence. Find out where she is what she is doing, and where she is going, and then come tell me, okay?"
The hawk nodded again before turning on her arm and leaping off, flying out the window and out of sight. Now it was only a matter of time. Her familiar, Hanes, would look like a hawk to any bystander, but his capability as a familiar to give Cattleya glimpses of what he saw would be greatly appreciated when he returned.
She would find Louise and bring her home, where she belonged, one way or another.
