Familiar of Zero
Saito paced furiously back and forth in his room, while on the far side, sitting at her desk, Louise sat in quiet contemplation of the situation that was unfolding around them. Beatrice, also deep in thought but expressed a much more worrisome expression than Louise, sat next to Tiffania and fiddled with the sheets of Louise's bed. Her gang was away, Beatrice having sent them to their rooms despite their protests. Their concern was justified, but Beatrice had managed to stave them off with soothing lies and promises she was not sure she could keep. Only Tiffania kept her eyes on the mobile Saito, though her mind was filled with more worry than just her unavoidable trial.
After several minutes of silence, Saito broke.
"Why the hell did he come all the way here just for Tiffa?! Is one elf really worth so much trouble that they'd send someone to force her out?!"
"Saito…" Tiffania's voice was soft and full of worry, which was overcome by the much more powerful voice of Louise.
"Saito!" she yelled, "Becoming irrational will only make this situation worse."
"But there's got to be something we can do! Can't we…I don't know, get her out of here before tomorrow!"
"This would be a great idea if the Inquisitor's escorts weren't posted at every entrance and exit of the schoolyard! These are not some second-rate militia they grabbed on their way over here, these are an elite squadron of soldiers, they protect the people closest to God, they are trained to observe, report, and engage any situation out of the ordinary!"
A sullen scoff slid through Saito's teeth, he could not tell if the situation was becoming bleaker because of Louise's apathetic attitude, or because what she was telling was the honest-to-goodness truth. That did not stop him from speaking his mind.
"Then we hide her! In one of our rooms, there's more than enough space to-"
And immediately she cut him off, "To delay the inevitable and make her punishment all the more severe?! He KNOWS that she is here, if she goes missing he will become very suspicious and interrogate us! And if he is anything like they describe him, he already knows that she is attached to this place and will come back if we DO somehow manage to sneak her out of here! The best thing…" she paused, uncertain about the next key words, "The best thing to do…is to just hope that things work out for the best."
"Things just work out?!"
"Please stop it!"
The voice was sudden and very boisterous, despite its usual fragile tone. Tiffania had stood erect, her fists clenched and pulling on her tunic. Her eyes were shut so tight that her brow had neatly caved in on itself, with opaque tears trying desperately not to squirt out from the corner of her eyes.
"Just stop it! It isn't worth it for you to two to be…to be arguing over me…" her voice trailed off and she glanced away to the side. She had the complete attention of everyone in the room, and no one dared to say a word, "I-I am not worth all of this trouble. You've been fighting nonstop all day…and…it's just not right! Not like it usually is…" Again she clenched at her tunic, as if she were trying to stop her raging heart, "If…If the High Inquisitor really wants to see me tomorrow, then he shall."
"Tifa!" Two collective voices responded, only Louise remained silent, adamant though slightly stunned by Tiffania's response.
Tiffania shook her head at Beatrice and Saito, trying to shake off their concern, "I'm not going to fight him…I'm not going to bring trouble to anyone, not ever. Especially not you." Tears had made a small river running down her rounded cheeks, "I…I need to spend some time alone…. Please…Saito…don't follow me!"
Almost immediately she sprinted out of the door, two suppressed sobs escaping before she disappeared around a corner. As was expected however, both Beatrice and Saito, yelling her name, took a few steps towards the door.
"Saito!" Louise yelled. Though only his name was called out, they both stopped, expecting some form of lecture. But not this time, something was different, and Saito could tell it. It was showing in her tiny face, in her whole frame. Whatever inside of her that had been controlling the emotional little girl inside of her had broke, she was no longer the sensible, noble Louise. She was now the girl, the woman, Louise, and she was only concerned about Saito now.
"Don't go…" she squeaked out. She had tried to make it sound threatening, but it only came out pathetic, "Don't you dare go…don't you dare step out that door and go to her!" Having long since turned his head away from her, he took one step closer to the door, and this sent her into a blind fit, "Saito! I am commanding you! Get back here!"
Now Saito was torn between two women. Tiffania, a dear friend and someone who had saved his life, or Louise, the woman he loved the most. Her anger, her jealously was misguided, though he was unaware of it, so was his. Nothing would happen if he ran to her, he just wanted to make sure she was alright and see if he could find a way out of this situation. Louise was acting selfish…silly…like a child…
"Please…" her anger had faded, and her pathetic, fragile side began to surface. Terror of what could, what would happen if Tiffania really believed her life was threatened, and whatever feelings he may have for her coming alive in these, what may be final hours. It was a desperate last plea, her final attack, "Please…Saito…I'm begging you…" she gasped, trying her hardest not to cry, "Don't go…"
And just like that, it was all over for Saito. His heart ached, it pleaded for some form of compromise, but he had to settle for this, a terrible decision that he could not forgive himself for.
He breathed in deeply, his chest aching with the thought of his very next word, something he did not want to do, but did not know why. Pressing his lips together, he spit out a single word.
"Fine."
Both Louise and Beatrice spouted out a surprised "Huh". The former's face was somewhere between stunned and elated, he had actually chosen her over Tiffania, a person she felt she could not match up to, in many categories. The latter, however, began to become upset.
"What…do you mean by…'fine'?"
"It means what it means!" He shouted, startling Beatrice.
The blonde woman was unsure how to react to such an outburst. Certainly she was used to his disrespectful demeanor, but this had almost been blown out of proportion, "So you're just going to let her go? You're not going to do anything to stop her, not just that, to even help her?!"
With his head lowered and through gritted teeth, he bore through her insults, "She said she wanted to be alone…she said she wants to think things through, if we…" he bit down on his lip, only half-believing what he was saying, "If we coddle her, this will only make it harder for her."
He tried to believe it, but deep down, he knew the one thing Tiffania wanted to do was to be with friends. She was escaping reality, escaping her own feelings right now.
And Beatrice, did not believe a word of it, "Whatever. I'll go and find her myself, stay here with your dominative, diminutive master." With that insult, she too disappeared behind the corner.
Saito and Louise remained motionless in the darkening room, the candlelight being the only beacon in the room. Neither of them knew what to say next, they knew not what was going to happen, to them, to Tiffania, to everyone. One wrong word and the night could have become very long and painful.
Yet the proud little sorceress took a chance.
"We should get to bed," she sputtered out, turning away from Saito to hide her emotion-filled face, "His Holiness wishes to see us in the morning…we're going to have to get up early…and rehearse the interview." Saito wanted to yell at her, he wanted to scoff at the very least, but he held his tongue, "He'll probably ask us about Tiffania…maybe about Void magic, I don't know, we have to be prepared for anything."
"Okay…"
She pushed herself away from her desk, and silently wiped away the tears from her face. The next few minutes were locked in silence as she changed into her pajamas behind a screen, her figure barely showing through the thin paper. Immediately after the last garment was on, she slipped under the covers of her bed and threw the large blanket over top of her. Saito remained still.
"Louise…"
"Yes?"
"Are you worried about Tiffa?"
The question was unexpected, sudden, but in Saito's mind not without reason. She had been cold to the entire situation all day, and he tried his best to put logic behind it, but he still felt his emotions raging inside him. He needed one answer, just the right answer to put his mind at ease.
She hesitated, drawing out the silence as long as she could. When she answered, she curled herself tighter into a ball, and squeaked out a lone "Yes".
It was not much, but it was enough to put his mind at ease, though he knew he was not going to get any sleep tonight.
He laid down next to Louise, facing away from her. But one more thing was on his mind, something he had not thought of until recently, something…that would put her mind at ease.
"You know…" he paused for a long time, suddenly feeling embarrassed, "You know…that I love you…don't you?"
She did not answer.
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Not a wink of sleep, just as he expected when he laid next to Louise just four hours before. Four? Maybe five now, he found it difficult to tell the time without an alarm clock next to his bed, dial or digital. The grandfather clock in the far corner of the room was useless in the dark, though it was successful it adding to his insomnia.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Why were such trivial things so loud and ominous in the dark? The first few nights he had slept here when he arrived were torturous with that damn clock, aside from the fact that he'd been plucked from his peaceful, comfortable, modern home into a place whose main source of heat was a large fireplace on the wall. And just when he thought he had grown used to damn thing, now it was ringing louder than ever.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
He let his mind wander some more. He could not help but think back to Tiffania's first few days of school, and the huge problem with Beatrice. Guiche's words of warning with dealing with nobility and the church, the way he barely managed to escape the situation with no one getting (badly) hurt, and how even the all-mighty Beatrice now adored Tiffania. Now, he knew that her sweet and charming personality would not get her out of this that easily.
Tick.
Tick.
GONG. GONG. GONG.
'Holy crap!' he screamed in his mind. The only reason he did not yell out loud was because he knew Louise was probably fast asleep at the moment. At least he had a good understanding of the time, but damn, three in the morning? He was extremely tired and he knew that if he was not rested for tomorrow, he would be of no use to anyone. Slowly he closed his eyes.
Tick.
Creak.
Now that definitely was not the clock. Someone was in the room with them. He raised his head up to look around. But nothing. Louise was the only thing that made noise besides the grandfather clock, a quiet little gush of wind every few seconds from her tiny little mouth. He was just being paranoid, and lying back down; he tried to fall asleep again.
The droning of the clock began to fade away, and he could feel his body slowly fall into unconsciousness. Everything would have to wait for the morning when he was rested and wide awake to tackle anything that would happen. The light faded as his eyes closed, until only the moonlight was visible, then that disappeared. Sweet peace.
Wait.
He shot up and opened his mouth to yell, but a hand clamped over his mouth quickly. Had he not felt the skin of the person's hand over his lips and cheeks, he might have swung at them. But their skin was soft and delicate, and the pressure applied over his mouth was not a hard, violent silence, but a gentle request not to speak a word. In the now visible moonlight, he saw a rounded face shadowed against light hair, and, one more thing.
"'Ibbania?" He muttered. Tiffania put a finger to her mouth and whispered a hush, this was something private she wanted talk to Saito about. She took her finger away from her mouth, and pointed towards the doorway, let go of his mouth, and quietly and carefully tip-toed around the bed towards the door. Saito, against better judgment, slid out of bed and crawled on all fours towards the door, several meters behind Tiffania. When they were both confident Louise was still asleep, they closed the door behind them and Tiffania lit a candle so they could speak face-to-face.
"I'm so sorry Saito-sama, but…" she bit her lip, trying to push past her embarrassment, "…but I had to talk to you before tomorrow." Saito nodded, "I was not sure if Louise-chan was going to keep you busy before I saw the High Inquisitor. But, Saito-sama, how did you know it was me?" He placed his hands behind his ears and stuck them outwards. In the moonlight, hers were like a huge beacon, she simply blushed and replied with an, "Oh…I hope I did not wake you."
"It's okay, I couldn't sleep anyway," he replied. It was only a half-lie, so he did not feel bad about telling her that. "Is something wrong?"
She shook her head, her long hair swaying back and forth, "Just the obvious." A half-heartened laugh followed, she was failing to lighten the mood, and just continued, "There's…something I wish to ask of you…that, of course, is if it is allowed."
Saito felt guilty for being useless, and without a second's hesitation agreed to whatever it is she was about to say. She just smiled and let out a giggle.
"Let me speak first…. Saito-sama, I feel as if I am not strong enough to handle this alone. When I first arrived, I had grown used to being on my own, and my own selfish whims had let me deal with Beatrice-san on my own." Saito opened his mouth to speak, but she raised a hand to him, "But…now that I've grown reliant on you…on everyone…I don't want to get everyone in trouble. I allowed you to fight with Beatrice, though that it is not what I wanted. That is why, if something were to happen tomorrow that would cause me to become at odds with the High Inquisitor, it is my deepest request…that you, nor anyone, become involved with this."
"But…Tifa…"
Again, she raised a hand to stop him, but this time the urge to fight back tears was becoming overwhelming, "Please…it warms my heart to hear you protest such…but I do not think I can escape it this time. This…would be bring more trouble to everyone than I could possibly bear to live with. You and Louise are very close, and your heroic," she chuckled, "but brazen attitude will get not just you, but her into trouble."
Why was it that when he felt that he needed to help the most, did no one want his help? Everything she said made sense and he knew if the roles were reversed he would probably ask the same thing, yet it made it all the more harder to fulfill such a request.
"And…there is one more thing…" she said. Her tears had dried up, and now her face illuminated a red glow, even under the light of the candle. Her eyes gazed downwards at her feet, and she began to shift nervously, "If…If it comes to be…that I will be put to an inquisition tomorrow…or any day…would…would…would…" Saito could see the puff of smoke escape out of her ears, something was getting her completely bothered and flustered, "Would, would, would…."
Then she whispered something. It was soft, and barely noticeable, and Saito was not sure he had heard what he thought he did. His face became redder than hers, and he leaned his ear in closer to her, expecting for her to say anything than what he thought he heard her say. In response, she leaned backwards, and repeated again, just loud enough for him to catch every. Word.
"Would you…kiss me?"
"Gwah?" His face dropped and his blood had run to two different places, his nose and…well…
With one giant step back, the elf shook her hands in front of her, sending hot scalding wax from wall to wall, "It-It's just that I've never…" she gulped, "I've never kissed…a man…before…" This was very difficult for her to say, even more so than asking him to not interfere with tomorrow, "And…well…there really isn't anyone else…that I would want to…ki…ki…"
His face matched hers color to color, even without speaking the word he knew exactly what she was imagining, but before he could interject, she began to tip-toe away from him.
"Anyways, please think about it Saito-sama and goodnight I will see you in the morning. Please rest well!" She turned on her heel to run away, only managing to trip over her own feet, planting her face into the floor. Managing to push herself onto her feet, only muttering a pathetic "Ow…" she wobbled around the corner of the hallway, till her and her candle's light were out of sight.
Now Saito knew he would not be getting any sleep. His mind would never leave the thought of Tiffania's selfless sacrifice, the trouble she might be in tomorrow, and most importantly, how it would be like to kiss her. This was going to be a very long night.
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"Tabitha Orleans…" the High Inquisitor commented casually, "It is a pleasure to meet you."
The small, emotionless girl bowed in her seat, a proper courtesy and replied flatly, "The pleasure is mine."
"You are a very talented young lady. Top of your class…a chevalier knight to Gallia, and summoned a nature dragon as her familiar…tell me, how do you do it?"
The question was vague and…completely pointless, and had he not been a high-ranking official of the church, she would have loved nothing more than to have told him so. Instead, she quietly told him the only thing that, really, would make sense.
"Luck."
The High Inquisitor chuckled, "I see you are not one to mince words. I do hope my presence is not troubling you."
"Not at all."
"I wish to make you as comfortable as possible, I am merely here to do the work of God."
"I am."
"So…please…feel free to speak your mind."
"I will."
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The time with Tabitha went quickly, very quickly. The tiny sorceress closed the door behind her and walked away from the guards, passing Beatrice on her way away from the door, giving no reply to her gracious greeting. Stepping outside, she came to an entourage consisting of Kirche, Louise, Saito, Montmorency, and Guiche.
"So how'd it go?!" Montmorency asked excitedly, one of the few people who were ecstatic about the High Inquisitor's visit.
Tabitha glanced at her, then looked away, "It was…odd."
Kirche raised an eyebrow, "How so?"
"He talked as if he were a parent…or an uncle…not an Inquisitor." This caught the attention of everyone, whom, at the very least, expected some form of harsh interrogation, or feelings of bitterness from the old man. "He…did not really want to speak with me."
Saito felt his heart sink. This was all just a ploy to get to Tiffania, and he was not even trying to show restraint. He was just getting his visit over with as quickly as possible, he wanted to waste time with no one.
"It's alright…" Tabitha whispered as she walked next to him, "I shall protect you…should he become violent…" and with a quick sleight of her hand, ran her palm across Saito's neck, cheek, and chin, a response that caused him to shiver despite his hardened look. It also caused Louise to react, violently.
"ECCHI!" She yelled, and punched Saito in the face. He fell like a ton of bricks. Tabitha walked away, unharmed and feeling proud of herself, though she did not show it.
"Ahh…" Guiche added, "Tabitha-chan is becoming so forward, she has long stopped caring about Saito's own personal welfare."
Tabitha raised her hand, and created a V with her index and middle finger, "With every punch I draw one step closer."
With every passing day it was becoming harder and harder for Louise not to attack anyone other than Saito, and the last couple weeks it had been Tabitha who tried to provoke her wrath. The only time she had punished someone other than Saito during the carriage ride to her family's estate, and that was only because poor Siesta was sitting right next to him.
Unexpectedly, Saito had no response to this unprovoked attack after he regained himself; he was much more concerned about other things, and not over some silly quarrel with Louise.
Everyone noticed it too. "Darling…" Kirche replied, "Not even a fight. You must have really made him mad, Zero."
Though she did not feel bad for punishing him, she did feel that her reaction was a little exaggerated. She was mad at more than just every woman under the sun flirting with him; the fact that he was so concerned about Tiffania was eating away at her, even though he chose herself over the elf. No matter how much she tried to convince herself that they were completely different, she could not help but become jealous at everyone that looked his way.
Only thirty-two minutes passed before Beatrice made her way out of the room and to the area where the group was gathered. The expression on her face was something out of a horror movie.
"Beatrice-san…" Guiche cooed, "Whatever is the problem?"
"Everything…everything he said…it was so…so…" she wheezed, "Trivial!"
"Huh?" was the collective response.
"How my parents were! What classes I was taking! He…he was talking to me like I was a…niece he hasn't seen for years! It was all small-talk, it had nothing to do with anything relevant!" She walked to railing of the staircase and bent over it, "He…he's not even trying to pretend…he's not even trying to think of anything else…"
"Think of what?" Kirche asked.
Tears were wiped away from her eyes, taking the snot that was dribbling out of her nose, "Tiffania…he wants to interrogate her…"
To the four that had not been around all of yesterday, this came as a huge shock, even Tabitha's eyes widened at the realization of the High Inquisitor's visit. Guiche took it the hardest though.
"Are…are you serious?" He asked. "Surely you must be mistaken, maybe he's just curious about the nature-"
"You didn't see his face last night!" She yelled, "When…When he was talking to Osmond-sensei…and he listed off the names of the students he wanted to see…he got this…look. It was, terrifying." She brushed her hair away from her eyes, "It was animalistic, carnal almost. Osmond noticed it too, but I don't think he could do anything about it either. The High Inquisitor…came here looking for her and her alone. He…he doesn't just want to convert her."
"Please don't say what I think you're going to say," Saito thought.
"He wants…to make her scream…"
And with that, Saito stormed off. He had lost all sense and reason, now more than ever he was ready for a fight. Every bone in his body was telling him exactly what Beatrice had just confirmed, and he would make damn sure that nothing happened to her.
"Saito stop!" Louise screamed, but this time it fell on deaf ears. He marched furiously down the hall, his footsteps overpowering the parade of people who followed him. No one, not even God himself, was going to touch any of his friends. No one, not even God, would get in his way.
Yet someone did.
"Stop…" Tiffania whispered as she stepped out in front of him, her hood pulled tightly over her head. Saito nearly crashed into her, she had jumped out in front of him so suddenly.
"Tiffa, you don't understand what he's here to-"
"I heard…" she whispered again. The entire group was taken aback, she had been eavesdropping on their conversation.
"But…don't you get it!" Beatrice yelled, "It's not worth it to throw away your life!"
"For you guys?" She muttered, "I think…it's very appropriate."
Saito took a step forward, "You can't stop me this time Tiffa. I'll make sure I'm the only one who will take the fall for everything that goes down, I'm not going to let him torture you. Especially because you're an elf."
"Saito…" her hood covered her eyes, hiding the look of sorrow in her face. "If…that's the case…" She reached into the large sleeve of the robe, and pulled out her wand. In an effort to stop her, he reached for her wrist, but she was quicker, and the point of the wand was at his temple. "You don't want to lose me…for anything bad to happen…then if you and the others insist…I'll make sure none of you remembers enough of me to miss me…"
"Tiffa!" Everyone yelled.
"I don't want that! No one want that, why would you do something like that?!"
"Because…" her body began to shake, as she tried to stave off the sadness, "Because I'm not going to be responsible for something that will cause anyone but myself great harm! I'm not going to stand by…and be made to watch your life be torn apart…I'd rather be tortured than have to live through that." Now, the shaking was so intense that she nearly dropped her wand, having it fall to her side. Tiny droplets began to drip from the darkness of the hood onto the floor.
Now was Saito's chance. She had dropped her guard and one way or another, he would not let her do this by herself. With a quick motion he snapped his wrist out towards hers, this time he was lucky enough to grasp a hold of it, and in one violent jerk attempted to snap it out of her grasp. But then something happened that he was not expecting, and the right side of his face exploded in a burning pain.
She hit him. The timid, shy, passive elf slapped him, and she slapped him hard. Hard enough to shake his grip on her wrist, and once again he found the wand tip pointed at his forehead.
"Don't!" The hood had fallen off her face, and it finally revealed her face. Eyes, red and bloodshot from crying so hard the night before, and these past few moments. She had not received an ounce of sleep and it was more than apparent in her features, in her voice, "Don't…"
Saito was stunned, he was used to being ignored, shrugged off, yelled at when he had really hurt someone, usually Louise, but he could not remember when he had been slapped. Instead Guiche stepped forward, smiling, trying to put on the charms.
"Come now Tiffa-chan…we all know you really don't want to erase our memories. Let's just calm down…"
"Of course I don't want to do that!" She screamed. She was no longer sad, she was now becoming upset, she was tired of people coddling her, and not listening to her, "I don't want anyone from this school to forget me, I want our memories to remain in everyone's heart…forever…" Tears had continued pouring out of her eyes, and she had to take her sleeve to wipe enough away just so she could recognize figures, "But…to protect all of you…I will…" She sucked in a long, tedious wheeze, "I wouldn't hesitate at all!"
No one spoke a word. Awe, wonder, anger, respect…a whole gauntlet of emotion ran through the group. They had never seen this side of Tiffania, someone so dedicated to her friends that she refused to put them in any danger, even going so far as to cause harm (of sorts) to them to prevent something worse from happening. And that was what angered them.
But their anger faded as hers did, a smile slowly forming around the sad, crying face, a complete misogyny of emotions, and the one thing they had expected her to say came out of her mouth.
"Thank you…" she whispered, "Thank you…so very very much…. I cannot tell you…how much every single one of you means to me, and just the fact that you would put your lives, your reputation on the lines for me…it just makes me want to cry with joy." Again, she wiped the tears away from her cheeks and eyes, "But…because I love you all so much, I could not even exist knowing that you all are in danger because of me. So…please…I don't want to do this. Please don't make me do this. Just let me be for now, I promise…" her smile lit up, wider and truer than it had ever been in the past day, "I promise I will be all right…I know I will."
Her words tried to reach their hearts, but their fear would not let them passed. But, silently, one by one they obeyed, Beatrice surprisingly the first, and Saito, not surprisingly, the last, having to have both Louise and Kirche loosely hold onto his sleeves and pull him back. Words were useless now, and Tiffania, having finally stopped crying, replaced the hood over her head just leaving it shallow enough to show her face.
"Saito-sama…" she cooed. His eyes slowly averted to meet hers, "Don't forget your promise…"
With a quick turn of her heel she bravely walked towards the doorway, the visage of her dearest friends fading from her view. A right turn, and a left, followed by another long hallway that ended in a small, inconspicuous door, with two glistening soldiers that stood on either side. Their faces were hidden under a helm that was as brilliant as the armor that covered the rest of their body, each with a sword mounted at their hip, and in their hands wielding a large halberd that stood larger than their own bodies. They looked down at Tiffania, who did not meet their stare.
"You are not Louise Francoise de la Baume le Blanc de la Valliere." One of them stated, his voice was booming and commanding, and Tiffania wondered, if this was a guard, what the man behind the door was like.
"No…I am not…my name is Tiffania Westwood. This is very sudden, and I know I am intruding on the High Inquisitor…but I would like to see him myself."
"I cannot allow that," the other guard bellowed.
"The High Inquisitor wishes to see me!" She stated, her voice nearly as loud and demanding as the guards, "My visit is just premature…he has to see me eventually…"
The guards hands both gripped onto the stock of the halberd, they were going to force her away from there. At least they would have, had not a voice come from behind the doorway.
"Let her in!" The voice did not belong to anyone she recognized, yet she could feel the mere power emanating from it.
"But…your Holiness…"
"This is not a request…" His voice was riddled with rage at the guard, "She is the one I came here to see anyway…the rest were merely show."
Tiffania's heart sank into her stomach, perhaps this was not going to be the ending to this situation that she had hoped for.
Immediately, the guard acknowledged the High Inquisitor's request, and opened the door. Tiffania took a step forward.
"Wait…" the other guard replied, and held out his hand, "Your wand." She glanced at his hand, "We will not have his Holiness…"
"Very well," she said, and quickly placed her wand in the guard's palm. He accepted it without a word, and immediately stood erect again, becoming a giant statue amongst the doorway along with his partner. And with that Tiffania walked into the room.
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END
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