9: Lakeside
Sleep did not come easily for many reasons. For one, Louise kept trying to seduce me and kept asking me to try things with her. When pressed on the subject of what "things" she meant, I nearly died of blood loss from her suggestions. I just know that Siesta and her damned "romance" novels are to blame. After multiple rejections, Louise decided to skip the formalities and tried to take off my pants by force. I tied her to the bed using her bedsheets to keep her from raping me in my sleep. She fell asleep, but not after demanding I kiss her and leave a mark on her neck.
Second, I wasn't sure what to think about going to Ragdorian Lake and meeting the water spirit again. She was intimidating the first time, but now, especially with the ring I had, I was terrified. How come you still have the ring? My inner monologue wondered. I decided worrying about it would get me nowhere so I put it at the back of my mind. At least helping the water spirit will be a whole lot easier.
Morning came. I got out of my haystack, after Albion I was allowed to sleep in the bed but I didn't want to be in the same bed as love potion Louise, and walked to the door.
"Saitooo, why are you leaving?" Louise asked as soon as I opened the door.
"I'm going to go talk to Montmorency and see if she can help cure you of the potions effects." I tell her as calmly as possible.
"It's not a potion! I love this much, I always have!" Louise starts crying. "You just want to talk to Montmorency! You love her more than me don't you! She can't have you!" then she jumped on me and pinned me to the ground. God help you. My inner monologue says.
Eventually, after promises that I only love her, she had tired herself out enough and passed out on top of me. I put her on the bed and went to Montmorency's room. When I got there, the door was locked.
"Oi! Montmorency! It's me, Saito. I just want to talk to you for a minute." I say while knocking on the door.
"I don't want to die." I hear someone whisper on the other side of the door. Montmorency probably though I was incredibly pissed at her for doing this to Louise and came for revenge or something.
"I'm not here to kill you, I just want to talk for a minute."
"Really? You're not going to attack me?"
"Absolutely not." I tell her.
The door unlocks and I see Montmorency open the door. She looks terribly frightened, but lets me in anyway. I walk in and look at Montmorency, who looks like she's trying to will herself to be invisible so she doesn't have to deal with my wrath.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean for Louise to drink the potion! It was meant for Guiche and I didn't expect Louise to-" She starts rattling off her words like a machine gun.
I hold up my hand, asking her stop for a minute.
"I know it was an accident. I'm not blaming you at all. That's why I'm here. How do we make an antidote?" I say in as calming a voice as I can.
She sighs in relief, "I would love to make an antidote, I really would. But it's expensive to make. You can deal with Louise like this can't you? Don't you love her or something?" she asks.
"I can definitely tell you I don't like people who suggest trying 'things' involving lit candles, 20 feet of rope, a horse saddle, three fish and a whip at the same time," I never even knew you could use fish like that, "and I definitely don't like people who try to force my pants off!" I tell her.
She blushes, "The potion's that strong? I had no idea."
I set the bag of coins I got from Henrietta on her potion making table.
"Will this be enough to buy the ingredients?"
She looks at the bag of coins, visibly shocked that a commoner has so much.
"Where?" she asks in amazement.
"I know some people, but that's not important right now is it?" I say with a hint of anger in my voice to shock her back to reality.
"R-right! This should be more than enough. I'll ask around, see if the supplies are still in stock."
I nod. "I'll be back in a few hours to see how everything's going. See you later." I turn around and leave her room. A feeling of dread hangs over me as I open the door to Louise's room. A feeling that is proven right immediately.
The first thing I see is Louise lying on her bed, looking as if she was waiting for me to return. The second thing I notice, She's not wearing her skirt.
"L-louise! Put a skirt on!" I tell her, averting my eyes for fear of another nose explosion.
Louise looks at me and blushes. "I won't," she says, her voice quivering. She holds her shirt down, stands up, walks towards me, and I notice the third thing.
"Louise... Do you have any particular reason for not wearing your panties?" I ask, my face deeply red by this point.
"Because the other girls have their own charms. I don't have what they have, so Saito looks at them and not me." Louise says.
I get it, she want's to increase her sex appeal. God help me. Then she jumps on me, pushes me onto the floor, and tries to reach first base. Luckily, Montmorency opens the door at that moment.
"Saito! We have a-" then she notices the scene in front of her.
"Problem? Well I do to. Get her off of me!" I scream in terror as Louise decides to try and go for the home run and starts unbuckling my pants. Montmorency blushes and grabs Louise, and then pins her to the ground.
"See why I wanted her fixed?" I tell Montmorency while I fix my pants. I pick up Louise and drop her on the bed, carefully making sure to not let my sight wander. Then I use the bed sheets to tie her down.
"Anyway, what's the problem?" I ask, getting back to the original reason Montmorency came here.
"What? Oh! Right! It appears as though one ingredient is missing, it also happens to be the most important one. The tear of the water spirit."
"Well, you're a water user right? Let's go talk to the water spirit and ask for the tear." I offer calmly.
"What? We can't just go and ask the water spirit for something like that! If we say just one thing wrong and anger it, we'll be dead in seconds!"
"All the more reason for us not to screw up then, right?"
Then the third member of the group showed up. "No! I will not permit you to put Montmorency in danger like that!" cried Guiche as he burst into the room.
"Guiche?" asks Montmorency, I don't know if she's surprised that he's trying to
protect her from danger or if she's surprised that he's here at all.
"Probably followed you when he saw you heading for Louise's room. In that case, I don't believe we need to explain the situation to you, right Guiche?" I ask him.
He shakes his head. "No. But seeing as how... Persuasive you can be, I doubt we can stop you from going to Ragdorian Lake and talking to the water spirit," he says sadly.
"So there is a brain in that head of yours!" I say. "And yes, you are correct. Seeing as how I would probably need Montmorency to summon the spirit, she would need to come too. That one's easy though, It's either come with me to Ragdorian Lake and get the tear, or go to prison. Love potions are illegal you know." I tell her, her face pales as soon as I say that.
"Than I will accompany you!" Guiche declares triumphantly.
I sigh. "You and Louise are going to come no matter what I say, aren't you two?"
"Of course!" Guiche cries.
"Saitooo, stop ignoring me!" I take that as a yes.
"Let's go! To Ragdorain Lake!"
*Scene Break*
"I can't feel anything below my waist anymore." I complain as we finally reach our destination.
"Quit your whining." Montmorency says. "Remember everyone, the water spirit is very powerful, watch what you say. If we anger it, all of us are dead."
"That's a cheerful thought." I say, ignoring the fact that Louise keeps rubbing her cheek against my back and refuses to let go of me.
Momntmorency summons her familiar, Robin the frog. She cuts her finger and lets her blood drip onto the frog's back. Then she sets the frog on the floor and it hops into the lake.
A few minutes later, robin appears again, followed by the water spirit rising from the body of water.
"Oh great water spirit! It is I, Montmorency of the Montmorency family!" I try not to chuckle as she says that statement. "Do you remember the contract you have formed with my family?"
The water spirit looks at her, then assumes her shape. Her face shifts between different emotions before settling on a cross between happy, and angry.
"I remember the water that flows through you insignificant one. What is it that you wish?"
"O great Water Spirit, we beseech you. Will you lend us a part of your body?" Montmorency asks fearfully.
The water spirits face switches to that of a smile.
"That's good right?" asks Guiche.
"I refuse," comes the water spirit's reply.
"Really? Oh well, thanks anyway." Montmorency tries to walk off, but I grab her by the arm.
"Don't even think about it." I tell her. Than I turn to the water spirit.
"Hey! Water spirit! We came all this way to ask for your help. All we ask for is a single, small piece of your body. Someone important to me is in trouble and we need your help to heal her. Have you ever wanted to help someone important to you?"
"Saito, watch your tongue!" Montmorency growls at me.
"Very well," the water spirit said. "I will give you a piece of my body, if you will help me with a problem I have encountered."
"Huh?" Guiche and Montmorency are both dumbfounded.
"Name it. We will help in anyway we can."
"At night, two mages come to attack me. I request that you put an end to their attacks. Then I will give you a piece of my body."
"Accepted." I tell the water spirit. "We will call upon you when the problem has been dealt with."
The water spirit nods and sinks back into the lake.
"How did you?" Montmorency asks me.
"I've had some experience with things like this." I tell her. "Anyway, lets come up with a plan to stop the attackers."
*Scene Break*
The plan was simple. Talk first, and only attack if attacked first. No point in unnecessary fighting right? I have to give credit to Montmorency for the plan. The fact that she always tries to avoid a fight gives her the ability to come up with plans like this. She earns 10 of my respect points. The leader boards so far: Louise with 30 points, Montmorency with 10 points, Tabitha with 5 points, Guiche with 0 points, and then Kirche with negative 7000 points.
What did Tabitha do to get those points? 'Well, it's more of a preemptive thing for helping us rescue Louise from Myoznitnirn. Didn't she try to kill you before that? 'That's why its only five points.'
I was elected the negotiator because I had the ability to get out of their quickly if things went south. We hid ourselves behind some trees and rocks and waited for the attackers to show up. It took a few hours, and I had to put Louise back to sleep when she woke up and started complaining that I was ignoring her, but the two figures came. The first was rather tall, and the other was much shorter and held what looked like a shepherd's staff. Good, it's still them.
I carefully, trying to show no malice or ill will, walked up to the two of them.
"Hi! How's it going?" I asked them cheerfully. Their response was to turn towards me and point their wands at me. I held up my hands in surrender.
"Whoa! Peace! I mean no harm. I just though we could have a little chat." I tell them nervously. Even though I know the two of them won't hurt me, having two wands at the ready pointed at your head doesn't do much for your self-confidence.
"Saito?" asks the short one, taking off her hood.
"Ah, Tabitha, good to see you. How are you doing Kirche?" I ask the two. The tall one pulls off her hood and my fears are confirmed. It's Kirche.
"Darling!" She says attaching her body to my face. "What are you doing here?" she asks.
"Come on, we need to have a little talk. I'll explain everything." I tell them.
*Scene Break*
I sat down and explained who the attackers were to Guiche and Montmorency, who were both surprised to see Kirche and Tabitha here. Before I could explain to Kirche and Tabitha what we were doing here, Louise woke up.
"Saito, why are you with them all the time!" Louise cried before jumping in my lap. "Why do ignore me so much! All I ever do is love you and you ignore me!"
"Louise, we'll talk later, go to sleep now." I tell her in a small state of panic.
"No! You told me to go to sleep 37 times today. I won't go to sleep until you kiss me. No cheap kisses either! Only lip to lip!"
I sigh, and hit her on the head with Derflinger's hilt, knocking her out. I don't remember her being so forceful last time. Maybe it's her built up rage and anger coming out?
I looked over and saw Kirche trying not to laugh. Tabitha has her head buried in a book, but I swear she's giggling.
"My, when did you manage to domesticate that little spitfire? That must have been quite an accomplishment!" She can't hold it anymore and bursts out laughing.
I sighed. "Actually that's why we're here. Montmorency made a love potion for reasons I cannot even begin to comprehend, and Louise accidentally drank it. To fix her, we need a tear of the water spirit to make the antidote to fix her. To get the tear, we had to stop the attackers." I explain.
"Us," says Tabitha.
Kirche's calmed down by this point. "I don't see what the problem is. She's showering you with affection. Isn't having a girl like this every man's dream?"
I shake my head. "Do you know how many times she's tried to force herself onto me? I had to tie her to the bed and sleep on the other side of the room to make sure my pants would be on when I woke up. I hate this Louise, the old one was much better." I explain calmly. I'm still stuck on that thing with the fish. That was disgusting.
Kirche almost seems disturbed by this fact. "Wow. I didn't know she had it in her." She shakes her head, "Hmm... We'd like to help, but Tabitha was given an order to kill the Water Spirit to stop it's flooding of the town. If the mission's not carried out, it won't be pleasant."
"Well then, let's go talk to the water spirit." Montmorency says, much to my surprise. Another 5 respect points for taking charge.
*Scene Break*
Montmorency called the water spirit and she showed up. Montmorency motions for me to speak, so I step forward.
"Oh great Water Spirit! We have stopped the two who were attacking you." I say, motioning to Tabitha and Kirche.
The Water Spirit nods, "Very good. For upholding your end of the bargain, I will grant you part of my body." As she says this, a small piece of her detaches itself and floats towards us. Guiche pulls out a bottle and catches the tear in the bottle, than corks it.
"Thank you water spirit, but there is one more thing I must ask of you." I say.
"And that would be?" I swear I can see the water spirit raise an eyebrow, even if she doesn't have any.
"The two who attacked you did such as the people of this town are unhappy that you have raised the lake's water level. What could we do for you to return the lakebed to it's original size?" I ask.
The water spirit focuses on me, "Since you upheld the last bargain, I believe I can trust you. A very important treasure of mine has been stolen."
"What! Who would do such a thing!" Montmorency asks enraged.
"One of the men was named Cromwell." The water spirit tells us.
"Isn't that the new leader of Albion?" asks Kirche.
"What was stolen?" I ask the water spirit.
"It was-" Than something in the air changes. The once calm and cool night air becomes freezing.
"You, step forward." She says, pointing at me. I oblige and step onto the shore, You should never disobey a spirit, after all. This can't be good, says my inner monologue, pointing out the obvious.
As soon as I do so, I'm engulfed in a sphere of water. It's transparent so I can see through it well enough to see that I'm being pulled towards the middle of Ragdorian Lake. I see that everyone seems worried that this is happening. Except Louise who, thankfully, is still asleep. Once in the middle of the lake, the sphere pulls me under, I instinctively hold my breath, before remembering that I'm in what amounts to a giant air bubble.
The water spirit appears before me, still looking like Montmorency. She also does not appear to be happy.
"I will grant you five minutes to provide a reasoning as to why my Ring of Andvari is in your possession."
Ah, she noticed. I planned on shooing everyone away before giving her the ring but, being a spirit, I guess she had some kind of radar for it. Not surprising, It is her ring after all.
"I will do my best." I explain to the water spirit how I'm not only from a different world, but also the future. I explain how I spent about a year tracking down the ring last time when I was tasked with finding and returning it, before finding it. I went to go give it to her, but got pulled back to this timeline.
The water spirit looks me in the eye for what I believe to be a solid minute. "You are telling the truth. Good."
"Water spirit, do you know why the ring came back with me?"
"It is a powerful magical artifact. I doubt much magic could interfere with it. Since you have it, I request you give it back," She says holding out her hand.
I reach into my pocket and pull out the ring. I put it in her hand and she slips it onto her finger. Immediately her form starts changing. She becomes shorter, about as short as Louise, and her hair changes from Montmorency's into pig tails, each one reaching to about her waist. She also starts bouncing up and down, smiling.
"Yay! My ring's back! My ring's back!" I'm speechless as this sudden behavior shift. She's acting like a little school girl who just got her first love letter. It's actually kind of cute. My god, what did you do to her?
"Thank you for returning my ring! What's your name future boy?" She says that last sentence with a smile and a teasing tone. My brain takes a few seconds before it can function properly.
"I-I'm Saito Hiraga." I can tell I'm blushing.
She giggles. "Well then Saito, hold out your hand." I do so.
She grabs my hand, and pokes the end of my index finger. I single drop of blood falls down onto the water spirit's hand.
"Congratulations Saito! You, and you're descendants will now have my blessing!"
"Really? I just formed a contract with you?" I'm rather stunned by this fact. You did what?
"Yep! Now when any of your descendants need my help, just have them do what Ms. Montmorency did and I'll grace them with my presence!" The water spirit says giggling. "Oh! I forgot!"
"What did you forget?" I ask her.
"The contract's not finished yet!"
"Well what else do you need?" I ask her. Instead of answering, she grabs my face and kisses me. After a few seconds, she pulls away. If water could blush, I swear she was.
"There! All done!"
I stare at her, at a complete loss for words. Whoa. Nice going, getting to kiss one of the most powerful beings in the world. My inner monologue clearly isn't in the same condition I am.
"Oh? You didn't know? Magical contracts have to be sealed with a kiss. That means all of them!" She says smiling.
"O-okay. Thank you for all of your help, water spirit."
"One last thing Saito."
"Yes?" What could it be this time?
"I like you. You're just my type." She winks at me, then snaps her fingers. The water sphere I'm in shoots me out towards the shore. I look up and see everyone looking at me. You are a lucky, lucky man, says my inner monologue. Then I pass out.
*Scene Break*
I woke up in a carriage. I sat up and looked around. I saw Kirche, Tabitha, and Guiche. I see Montmorency driving the horses, and Louise is asleep right next to me.
"He's awake!" Guiche cries. Everyone's head turns towards me. Except Louise, she's still asleep, thank god.
"What happened?" I ask to no one in particular.
"You tell us. The water spirit was going to tell us what to retrieve, than she put you in that bubble and took you into the middle of the lake. A few minute later, you were shot onto shore and passed out." Guiche explains.
That's right. You gave the water spirit the ring and... A blush crosses my face after I remember what happened after that.
"So, what happened darling?" asks Kirche.
"The water spirit and I talked about some things. Nothing important." I say, trying my best to avoid the conversation.
"The water spirit wouldn't have taken you to the middle of the lake to talk in private about nothing important." Montmorency snaps at me. "What happened?" I forgot how scary she can be when upset.
I sigh. "The water spirit made a contract with me, for starters." I begin, making everyone gasp.
"B-but those are almost impossible to form! Even my family doesn't know how we formed the contract!" Montmorency sounds like she's going to explode "What did you do?"
"Um... I was asked to keep it a secret." I say unconvincingly.
"Look, we can tell you're lying. You're even worse than Louise." Kirche says.
"Ring." Said Tabitha, causing everyone to look at her.
"What?" Asks Kirche.
"Tabitha, did you spy on me and the water spirit using one of your wind spells?" I ask her. She nods. Crap, that means she knows about the contract. I blush again.
"What?" Asks Guiche and Kirche at about the same time.
"To keep a long, long story, very, very short, We don't need to worry about finding what she was looking for."
"What? Why?" Everyone asks, except Tabitha. I forgot how good she was with her magic. That must have been some wind spell to reach underwater.
"Look, It's complicated. Let's just get back to the academy and fix Louise before she wakes up."
"SAITO!" Louise cries when she sees me.
"Too late." I mutter before she jumps on me and puts me in one of her death hugs.
"I woke up and you were unconscious! I was so worried! Don't worry me like that again!" Louise says while crying.
"Montmorency, How much longer? I want the old Louise back." I say.
"Only a few minutes. Suck it up."
"A few mintues?" Louise asks. "That's more than enough time!"
"Enough time for what?" I say cringing. I already know I won't like the answer.
"Silly! There's enough time for us to *description of act censored* of course!" She tells me happily.
Everyone is silent. Tabitha drops her book, Guiche is trying to stem the flow of blood from his nose, and I'm not too far behind. A blush is visible on everyone's face.
Okay, we need to fix her. That's just going to far. Its always good when my inner monologue and I agree on something.
The silence continues for several minutes while Louise just sits and looks around, curious as to why no one else seems to be moving.
*Scene Break*
"Aaaand it's done!" Montmorency proudly exclaims.
"Oh thank God!" I exclaim with joy, "Give it to her now!"
After that particular little incident in the carriage, we were silent the whole trip. We all agreed that the old Louise was needed ASAP. We had vowed to never speak of this incident again. The sooner it was forgotten, the better. For everyone involved. Guiche, Kirche and Tabitha left as soon as we got to the academy, leaving just me, Louise, and Montmorency in her room while she prepared the potion.
Montmorency mixed in her potion with a small container of water and stirred. She offered the water to Louise, who refused.
"No! It smells funny." She declared.
"Louise. Please drink it, for me." I tell her as gently as possible.
"Okay, but first you have to kiss me. And no hitting!"
I blush, but see no other way out of it. I look over to Montmorency.
"Montmorency, I would appreciate it if you could turn around." I tell her. She closes her eyes and turns around. She clearly understands how reluctant I am to do this. I turn to Louise, draw closer, But than she grabs my head and forces her lips onto mine. In all honesty, if this had been regular Louise, I would have been happy beyond measure. But it wasn't regular Louise. It was scary love potion Louise. I separated at the first possible moment.
"Okay, a promise is a promise, right?" I tell her, my face is so red by this point that all my muscles instantly atrophied from the sudden blood loss. I manage to will my blood to return to normal and regain control of my body.
Louise nods and grabs the container and brings it to her lips. She recoils at the first sip, but then she downs the rest of it in seconds. She hiccups and swoons a little before passing out. I catch her before she falls to the ground.
"Okay, she drank the potion, now what?" I ask Montmorency.
She turns around, her face red for some reason. "Well, she might have to sleep it off for a bit, so just put her in her own bed, and run away. Fast"
"Why?" I ask.
"She'll still remember everything. Everything." Montmorency says, trying to hid the blush on her face. She probably just remembered the carriage ride.
"Crap." Seeing no need to say more, I thank Montmorency for her help, and carry Louise back to her room.
It's another few hours before she wakes up. Her eyes flutter open and her eyes scan the room before focusing on me.
"Ah good, You're awake," I say, breathing a sigh of relief. "Now, since you're all better, would you mind telling me WHERE THE HELL YOU GOT THOSE IDEAS FROM!" I say, almost screaming.
It takes a second before what I'm saying clicks in her head, and she blushes so red that her face, ears, and neck are all a consistent shade of dark red. She pulls her head under the covers and makes it clear she does not wish to discuss the subject any further at the moment. I respect her wishes and sleep in the hay pile. I don't think Louise would like me being in her bed after all that happened. I fall asleep pretty quickly, relieved that we have the old Louise back.
*Louise POV*
"Oh founder, how could I do those things. And to my familiar!" Needless to say, I was embarrassed beyond all measure. I know it was a love potion but still, those were my actions and they were inexcusable. I told myself I would never leave this room again. "I have to wonder, I was throwing myself at Saito. Why didn't he do anything?" I blush when I think about what I suggested. I was going to burn every one of Siesta's "Romance" novels if it was the last thing I do. I don't know how she convinced me to read those books, but I would have my vengeance. Thinking of plans to get back at Siesta, I fell asleep.
*Scene Break*
*Saito POV*
I woke up with the sun shining in my face. It must have been a few hours later than I normally get up if the sun was coming through the window already. I went to the bed to try and wake Louise up. I pulled off the covers and found her curled in a ball.
"Hey, Louise. Up and at 'em! It's morning!" I tell her cheerfully.
"I'm never leaving this room again." Louise said in a whisper so quiet I had to strain myself to hear her.
I sighed. "If this is about the potion, the only people who saw you like that were Montmorency, Guiche, Kirche, and Tabitha, and they were all aware that you're personality was being altered. They all know that wasn't really you." I tell her in an attempt to mollify her.
She sighs and sits up. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
"When I was affected by the potion, I was throwing myself at you. W-why d-didn't you do anything?" She asks, her blush returning. I'm surprised at how much this Louise blushes. It's actually really cute, maybe it's just because I didn't see her do it that much last time.
I shrugged, "To be honest, It was really easy to resist. You're requests were... innovative, to say the least." She blushed, "Most importantly, I knew it wasn't how you would really act, I'm not going to defile someone important to me."
Okay, maybe not the best thing to say. Her faces blushes even harder. Note to self: Telling someone you love them after they almost forced themselves onto you after being high does not help their mood much. I thought that would have been obvious.
"O-okay. Thank you."
"No problem."
"One more question, what happened with the water spirit? I know you got the tear, but I was asleep for most of it. When I woke up, you were unconscious. What happened?" She asks.
Crap, another conversation I did not want to have. I muscle through it and tell her what happened. Everything. By the time I'm done, Louise is no longer blushing, as much as becoming a chameleon.
"The water spirit did WHAT?" She looks close to her emotional breaking point.
"Hey, I didn't know that would happen!" I try to defend the little dignity I have by this point.
"W-what did it feel like... The contract I mean."
I sighed, I should have expected this question. "Well, it was kind of weird to be honest. You know how your mouth feels when you stick you mouth in a body of water and blow?" She shakes her head, "Well, how about drinking some water and having some of it slip out of you cup and slide down your mouth?" She nods, "Well it was kind of like that, but the water stayed where it was, even though the feeling was there."
Louise nodded, but looked desperate to change the subject. "Ah, Ragdorian Lake. So nostalgic."
"You've been there before?" I ask, trying to sound surprised, considering I'd also like the change the subject.
"Once, when I was young. Actually, I think that's where the princess met Prince Wales."
Before I can continue the conversation, Kirche bursts in. Tabitha walks in behind her.
"That's it! That was Wales with Henrietta!"
"Um... What are you talking about and what are you doing here?" I ask calmly.
"Well I wanted to see you two make up, so I had Tabitha help with eavesdropping, but that's not important at the moment! Henrietta was heading towards Ragdorian Lake on horse back with Prince Wales!"
"What! He's dead! We saw him killed!" Louise says in shock.
I shake my head slowly. "No, she's right. Tabitha, get Slyphid, we have to follow them.
*Scene Break*
We followed in the direction Kirche said she saw Henrietta and Wales riding off. Even is she wasn't that accurate, I figured that if we head towards Ragdorian Lake, we'd catch up with them eventually.
"Tabitha, have Slyphid bring us down, Their's something down there." Louise said. Tabitha nodded and had Slyphid put us on the ground. Louise walked forward a bit and knelt down to investigate something. I walked up to her and saw what she was looking at. Corpses. About three of them. I knew the zombie-Wales was responsible.
"Louise, they're already dead. We have to keep moving, or the same things might happen to the princess." I tell her.
Louise nods. "He did this didn't he?"
I nod. She stands up and starts walking towards Ragdorian Lake. We all follow her. I may be the only one who know the circumstances about Wales being alive again, but everyone here agrees on one thing. Whoever he is, he has to be stopped.
"I will personally smack whoever says anything about how quiet it is upside the head." I let the group know before moving on.
*Scene Break*
"Princess!" Called Louise as soon as we hit the Ragdorian shore and saw Henrietta standing next to Wales, who was looking a lot more alive than the last time we saw him. "Get away from him!"
"Ah, Louise. You shouldn't have come." Henrietta said, holding onto Wales's arm. The thought that he was brought to life just to whisk away the princess angered me. I pulled out Derflinger, and my runes started shining.
"Louise, I don't think talking will do any good. Look at her, she's so in love with Wales, she doesn't care that he's a zombie. That or she's being controlled. I'm honestly not sure which, but force will be necessary." I say solemnly.
"Ah, Smart boy. You realize it's a worthless endeavor to talk Henrietta out of being with her lover." Zombie Wales says. "Henrietta will be coming with me of her own free will, I'm sorry but that's how it is."
Tabitha casted her ice spear and launched it at Wales. It went through his body and stuck itself in a tree. Wales didn't even flinch, and the hole closed up immediately. I know he's currently the enemy, but that may have been one of the coolest things I've ever seen.
"I know it's useless but see that princess? He's a freaking zombie! Experience tells me to run away from zombies, lest you die a horrible death." I try to reason with Henrietta.
She shakes her head. "I know. I know he's not the real Wales. But I have to take this chance. I can finally be with the one I love again. When he died at Albion I though I lost him forever, but now he's here again. I will not let you take this chance from me!" As if she was a god of weather, It started to rain. No one here needed to be told what that meant, considering Henrietta was a powerful enough water mage as it was.
"Okay, time for some force. You fine with killing zombies Derflinger?" I ask him.
"No! I hate cutting the dead. It's unnatural!" He says frightened.
"Than what do you suppose we do, attack the princess?" I tell him.
"Missy! Check the book! You took that potion so you should have a new spell! Hurry! I don't like cutting dead things!"
Louise obliges and checks the founders prayer book, which she carried at all times at my insistence. She stopped at one page and looked at it for a minute. She looked at me, nodded and began chanting. I felt like taking on an army at that moment. All I had to do was keep the two of them busy while Louise finished her spell.
"I'm sorry Louise, but I have to do this," said Henrietta as she casted water tornado. I hated the spell. It seemed unnatural for a tornado made of water to appear on dry land. That and I had some bad experiences with this spell. It cut everything in its path and it hurt like hell. I charged the tornado.
I held up Derflinger, hoping he could absorb the tornado. The tornado overlapped me and Derflinger started absorbing it. It stopped the tornado from advancing, but it also kept it on me. Every part of my body was being torn to shreds. What kind of idiot charges a tornado AGAIN, says my inner monologue, his frustration at my idiocy obvious. I feel blood running down my head, arms, legs, and body. Than Louise finishes her spell and the tornado dissipates.
"About time." I say. Than I collapse from either exhaustion, pain, or blood loss.
*Louise POV*
I was proud of myself, I had managed to master another void spell. Once I cast dispel, the tornado disappeared and Wales, the magic gone from his body, collapsed. I know I should have gone to make sure the princess was okay, but I ran towards Saito. Honestly, he was hard to look at. He was cut all over and was bleeding from every one of those cuts. I called Henrietta over and asked her to heal him. She obliged, while apologizing over and over again for being stupid and going with Wales. In all honesty, I didn't really care, I was too busy worrying about Saito. The wounds closed up all right, but he was still going to need some rest. "Why am I so worried about him? I know he can take care of himself, so why am I so worried that he's going to get himself killed?" I torture myself with this question all the way back to the academy.