Here it come The Fourth Chapter, after I got a Beta.

I hope you enjoy it.

Review answer:

-Privatesargent and Poliamida : Don't Worry, There is an IC reason for Siesta to be a mage and low noble here, and it will be explained later. As for Requonquista they ares till there and will still be the main villain of the first two parts.

-Nyamu: Louise and Henrietta are OOC because they lived very differently from the The cannon one's for the last eight years. But if you mean intern incoherence about the story please tell me so I can correct the errors.

-MWkillkenny84 Oh Fouquet... She won't like what's coming.

-Xalverius nakrithedemon and the others: Thank you. I am trying to improve my grammar and reread my work the most I can but I do need a Beta.

Now onto the story.

A disclaimer : I do not own ZnT/Foz .Neither do I own Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha.

The Book of Void

Chapter 4

The subject of the armor closed as the knights materialized them out of nowhere, something that Louise still had trouble getting her mind around. Once it was done, they got to the next urgent matter. Namely, their meeting with the Headmaster and what should be said. After some time reviewing every question that could and would come, they decided that, apart some obviously disruptive points, they should just answer truthfully to any of the questions.

They pondered for some time if they should reveal Shamal's presence but, after ,realized she would probably have to show herself to explain some points, they might have to but not without some protection. Hiding her from the students could still prove useful.

Louise decided she would take Henrietta with her to the meeting as it would be a good occasion to tell her. Louise hated having to hide things from her best friend and inviting her would kill two birds with one stone.

When they finally reached a final agreement, Louise sat at her table. She had a letter to write.

...

'Dear Father, Dear Mother

I write you this letter to inform you of the fact that I have successfully summoned my Familiar.

It is just as you expected of me and I am sure you wish to meet my life companions.

For this purpose, I inform you of my next visit to the castle on the day of Void after you received this letter.

That way you will be able to ascertain that they are worthy of our family and that I did not fail you.

With my greatest respect, Your Daughter, Louise Francoise Le Blanc De la Valiere, De Tristain. Duchesse de la Valiere.'

...

When she had finally finished and gone over it thrice, she looked out her window to see a darkening sky. Writing the letter along with her earlier discussion with Shamal and Signum had really taken more time out of the day than she thought.

Nevertheless, her day hadn't ended yet. There was still tonight's evening meal to eat, and like lunch, she had to be present or bad rumors would spread once again. She would have more time for herself tomorrow but today was a ceremonial day.

After eating the always exquisite meal, she delivered the letter to the couriers and informed Henrietta about the meeting. The girl looked positively ecstatic at being included. Louise made a mental note to apologize to the purple-haired girl. It seems she caused the girl to needlessly worry for her again.

...

The next day's wake-up call was the worst she ever had.

It was entirely her own fault. Before going to bed, she had asked Signum to wake her as she hadn't wanted to imagine how NachtWal would play alarm clock and Shamal had said she would go to the Library early in the morning before the meeting: apparently there were some books in the back which had picked her interested.

Usually it wouldn't have even been necessary as she was used to get up early, courtesy of her mother's training regimen but the day had been really taxing, much more mentally than magically.

Worse of all, she had been curious. NachtWal had said that she should read the Founder's Book so she had done so. It had to be important to do if an entity such as she implied it was necessary with the added allure of being The Founder's Book. It was bound to be interesting getting a firsthand account on a history bound to have changed over the last thousands of years.

In fact it was, and that was the whole issue. Apart from the spell section, which she had decided to study once she had a hand of the basics, there was a really long narrative in it most of which was written by Brimir himself. It had totally captivated her to the point she had only fallen asleep when the Moons were already at their zenith. It was not every day you had a direct hand story about the founder of your society without distortion after all.

For now, she was only past the preface when Brimir was still a young nomad mage and without his familiars yet but already she had found differences between that record and the teaching of the church.

For obvious reasons Louise had always been wary of the church, even after they had elected a new Pope three years or so ago but she didn't think that they would lie about the most basic truth such as Brimir's origin.

It was until that point she had asked NachtWal if 'she' was sure it was the original. To which 'she' had answered "I don't know if it's the original but it was sealed with the same power that taints your linker core and it is far too detailed to be just a scam. Plus, you should know its authenticity more than me when it comes to its spells."

This was as saying it was and she was inclined to agree. There was no other Void mage in history which could have done such a feat, not that there were any as the church preached. She was pretty sure there must have been some but most likely, they met untimely deaths pretty quickly if discovered.

The same preface talked about four heirs to its power with three of them, like her, down the line of the royal families through his three sons and the last one was the first Pope.

And if the powers had all descended just like her, it meant that any bastard line could get a void inheritor claiming himself the new Brimir. Reading that, she had understood why the Galian royal family was such a bunch of interbred madmen. They must have a record of that one fact somewhere.

Oh, she knew she had some degree of Galian blood in herself. Her grandmother on her father's side was the current King's aunt but she was an exception as it was a known secret that King Joseph's mother was his father's sister. The man was called the Mad King with reason. Inbreeding would do that to a person.

But, coming back to the subject of her night's reading, it meant she had fallen asleep late with a conflicted mind along with resurgence in very old nightmarish dream. She hadn't slept that badly for at least eight years.

It was torturous being woken up by a Pink-haired knight shaking her like she was being interrogated. The shaking and nightmare put together she had made her really happy she had not eaten during the night or she would have given it all back with a tidy little bow.

...

"Are you alright master?" Her tormentor asked from her vantage point on her leather reinforced shoulder.

Louise, after dressing for the day, stood in her room ready to face another day of he- uh, school.

'Too late to ask me that you feathered, pink haired demon.' Louise thought to herself with a slight grimace. Out loud she responded. "Yes, everything's alright. Just…please remember next time to wake me up more gently." Louise said with an icy smile. She was still a tad angry but, in Signum's defense, it was her fault.

Signum was obviously a warrior foremost and thus very resourceful, and she had said to wake her up by any means necessary. Oh how she regretted her words.

"I tried but you were sleeping so deeply, you didn't even flinch when the cymbals broke." The Falcon woman answered, serious as always if with a hint of amusement in her eyes. "You shouldn't have slept so late."

"You sound like my mother." Louise mumbled. Making her way to the door, she just wished she had found another way. She had almost exploded at Signum but when she saw the ready water bucket near the door and the remains of the cymbals, she backtracked. She had tried other ways, they had just not worked.

"You're right, I know," Louise said rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly, "but I am supposed to be a Princess even if I don't like it. Princesses are delicate things." Louise was only half serious on that last one. Her eldest sister was anything but delicate.

"And is that why your mother trained you to be one of the less killable students in this academy?"

"Well, is was either that or dying. Not a very difficult choice." Louise answered on reflex. She stopped. Turning her head toward the falcon on her shoulder. "That wasn't you." Louise, exiting her room and into the hallway, called out, "Henrietta?"

"Yes, that was me." Henrietta emerged from a corner, her school uniform already on with the usual light armor under it, armor which Louise had based Shamal's armor design on. "So, who were you talking to right now?" Her friend asked walking beside her.

"My familiar and don't ask me how until we are in the headmaster's office." Louise answered back. She didn't need a reputation of madwomen on top of what she already had.

"As you wish." Her friend replied earnestly. She was far too happy that her friend chose to let her in to contest what was a perfectly sensible demand. It seemed that one day was already too long for her friend.

As the three of them made their way to said office Louise noticed a flicker in the air. Ready to duck out if necessary, Louise called over the telepathic link. "Shamal, Is that you next to me?" A message that was answered immediately, calming the jumpy Louise.

'Yes, I'm sorry to not have contacted you before master. I was just too immersed in this book…'

'I was afraid it was an assassin here to kill me, again.' Not wanting to make Shamal feel worse than she inevitably was already, Louise quickly changed the subject. 'Is that book that interesting?' Louise inquired. From her earlier discussions with her new protectors, she knew that Shamal was the one with the most theoretical knowledge.

'Not that much but it has valuable data about the story of the void. Some are obviously warped but it still gives a good global view of…wait…come again?' Unseen behind her barrier, Shamal had stopped her happy rambling when the fact that her charge had assassins after her registered.

'Yes, but that's old,' Louise reassured her in a dismissive tone. 'Every now and then some angry noble send assassins to me, but most of the time they don't get past the wall.'

Shamal felt irritated at Louse's flippant attitude to subject. Seriously, assassins, people specifically trained to kill. 'Ah,' Shamal said with a sweet smile that could give anyone cavities with a single gaze, 'just that, for some reason I believe it might be something more. But still,' the sweetness spread to her voice, 'it's even more of a reason we should start your training Master.'

Louise squinted against the brightness her honey-haired familiar pulsed out though the barrier. "Hey, Louise, is something bothering your eyes?" Henrietta asked, confusion drawn all over her face.

"Hehe…" Louise said as her familiars' gazes locked on her with such intensity she wondered if she'd melt. "Its' nothing. I just that, uh, the sun is unusually bright this morning."

Henrietta clearly didn't believe her but nevertheless dropped the subject.

'She is quite right.' NachtWal said. 'As for information about the void, why didn't you take them at the source, Shamal?' The serpentine voice came into her head. She had been quiet up until now so she had forgotten, but she was always there, listening.

'The source, what do you mean? Can't you be clearer for once?' Louise pestered her. It was only one day but already getting fed up with its' cryptic behavior. Louise knew she was an old spirit but she could make some effort, not that it seemed to perturb her blonde knight.

'She means the Book, Why didn't I think about that.' Hearing the clap, Louise was pretty sure Shamal was feeling a little stupid now. 'Nevertheless, the one I hold gives us an outsider's view so it's still quite interesting.'

'I see… Well, we have arrived at our destination so we will see about the training after this meeting is done.' They all stood in front of a tall door, more ornate that all the others but her own. Not in the mood to wait in the hall that early in the morning, Louise only took the time to knock on the door and give the signal for Henrietta to announce them.

"Headmaster, this is Dame des Ornieres along with her Highness Lady de la Valière. We came answering yesterday's request."

Then, not waiting for the reply, they entered the room followed by her familiars.

"Ah, Dame Ornieres, could you... well it's too late I presume." Osmond said as he went under a harsh scolding when they entered.

"Do not smoke. The healers insist it is bad for your health." The author of said scolding, one Miss Longueville, gathering her papers. "Good day to you, Miss Henrietta, Miss Valiere. I hope you're not here to complain about anything. The paperwork is such a hassle and it always fall on me." The green-haired secretary inclined her head slightly while she smiled at them.

"Do not worry, Miss Longueville. We're here on Osmond's invitation. I can assure you that if any paperwork goes out of this meeting, it won't fall on you." Louise had always quite liked the beautiful secretary. It was known fact that she had been initially hired for being the Headmaster eye candy more than for her competence but, in the end, she knew how to do her job.

"Well I hadn't heard of any destruction of the school property so I thought it might be that." On the other hand she was quite blunt but, being a commoner, Louise considered it normal. After being sent here at least twice a month for creating destructive explosions, she had learned to cope with the secretary's sometime obvious dislike of noble.

When Louise looked at people like Guiche or Momonrency, or Richmond if she included someone from the court, she could understand. Here she also had to deal with the headmaster's constant sexual harassment so it hadn't become better.

"Miss Longueville, you know that it didn't happen for almost three months now." Henrietta said coming to her defense like usual.

"You're right, Miss Henrietta. You know how I like to tease our little Princess." But the principal reason she liked her was that she was one of the rare people that was nice to Henrietta.

"Yes, I know... But I don't know if her familiar do." In fact, Signum was becoming puffier by the second.

".. Ahem." Osmond grunted, calling them back to order "Sorry to interrupt your little chat, But if I called for you, it was for a little more meaningful chatter."

"Ah yes. Sorry about that." Turning to the secretary, Henrietta said apologetically, "I think you should leave Miss Longueville."

"Well, it looks like an important meeting, good bye." That said, she left the room closing the door behind her on the headmaster's unvoiced command.

"Now that's done, please take a seat." Louise and Henrietta sat down and that was when Osmond remarked that Professor Colbert would be joining in there little meeting. She should have predicted his attendance as he was the sole witness of today's main point of discussion but she was still surprised.

"Good day to you, Professor Colbert." She gave the man a short nod, which the bald man returned.

"Good day to you, Dame Valière, Shall we start?"

"Wait. Before we proceed, I'd like to remind everyone what will be said here must not go outside without my consent. Am I being clear?" Louise asked forcefully, surprising the two elder mage.

"Yes, of course. I already cast a silencing spell the moment Miss Longueville got out. Why are you being so persistent?" Osmond was getting quite worried; in their preceding meetings, Louise rarely was this serious about any matter with him.

"Because, you see, if I am to answer the questions you will likely propose, I will have to disclose some secrets. Some of which you surely know already and for another reasons that could get me in... some trouble." The stipulation was the result of the earlier discussion with her knights. They could talk but would take no risk of their talk being heard by potential enemies. And for that, they had their own means but extra protection didn't hurt.

"Of course, I should have thought about it. The fact could in fact become problematic if revealed without your father's approval."

"Among other things, yes. I will take my own security measure. Please don't panic." Turning to her cloaked familiar, she said, "Shamal, you can go."

"...Please don't panic. Shamal, you can go" That was the last thing she heard of the conversation and that wasn't normal.

The infamous thief she was, gathering information was one of her specialties. She was already in the know about the general theme of the discussion but her sponsors, strangely, weren't interested in that information. She knew the Princess would be going back to the castle this weekend. That was an important tidbit as it meant the Guard would be cut almost in half for two days.

And most essential of all, using the same non-magical technique she was using, she had bypassed the headmaster's silencing spell to learn how to open the vault.

She was pretty confident that with the time to prepare, she could go through the Queen's security charms that permanently enchanted the castle.

But for the life of her, she couldn't comprehend how they had cut the link she had made to the office. What was that freaky princess up to again?

"What it's ...?" Henrietta sputtered. The purple haired guard, seeing the strange undulating in the middle of the room, immediately got next to Louise, ready to protect her from whatever came out from the strange phenomenon.

"What are you...? What is...? Who are you?" Colbert said confused. At the same time, Colbert had gone from lost to on guard in its ready stance worthy of a warrior.

Osmond for his part was just mildly surprised, more interested in the source of this strange magic. "Am I to assume it's one of those things you wish to hide, your Highness? I saw a lot of things in my life but I don't remember seeing a spell like that." Osmond was visibly quite amused by that obvious display of foreign magic.

"Yes, It is. Or at least part of it. And you can stand down Professor Colbert. Shamal is with me." Louise calmly said, knowing something like that would happen even after her warning.

"Shamal? Is it the name of that young woman" Colbert asked, staff still pointed at the blonde haired woman who had just appeared out of thin air.

"Yes, I am Shamal. Knight of the Lake under the service of Master Louise." Shamal presented herself, bowing gracefully. "And before you ask, yes I am the creator of this barrier. Nothing can get in or out without breaking it. If someone was to look in the room now they would see absolutely no one."

Osmond nodded "Quite a useful spell." Turning to Louise, he continued. "You have made an interesting ally your Highness, even if I doubt the church would approve."

Louise couldn't agree more. It was the main reason she had hesitated to even present Shamal to them in the first place. "Certainly, that's why we chose to place the extra barrier in the first place. You know that our rapports with Romalia are currently rather..."

"Tense." Henrietta offered as she had finally relaxed. "Louise, is she the one you were talking to earlier?"

"If you mean when we met each other in the hall then no. I already said I was talking to my familiar remember?" Louise reminded her, indicating the unmoving falcon on her shoulder; one of whom had looked intensely to the ground ever since they had entered the room as if chasing something.

"But, if I may your highness, she is your familiar as well if I am to believe those Runes on her forehead. Am I correct?" Osmond interrupted, pointing to Shamal's forehead which Louise had earlier just believed to be scars.

"Are you sure? I believed those were just scars." Louise didn't know what to make of it; she believed her mark was only impressed on the chest and, if those were runes, they were longer than the one on both NachtWal and Signum.

"Hum? Miss Shamal was it? Could you hold up your bangs so we can examine them please?" Colbert asked as he already had closed the gap between him and the blonde woman, his curiosity once again getting the better of him.

The knight inquired her master's permission, glancing at the teenager, and quickly received one in the form of a short nod. It was important information for her as well. She had to admit that she did not have the time to look more into them herself when she had all those cover up stories, presentations, meetings, training and other such thing to prepare. That along with the fact Shamal had pasted most of her time exploring the grounds behind her cloak meant she didn't see her quite as much as Signum.

"Yes of course." Shamal complied, holding her bang up. "Could you copy the runes too please? I read a book about runes this morning in the library and I may be able to remember them." Colbert stopped moving for a second, visibly surprised by Shamal claim. "The library? I was there searching for that book. Where were you…? Ah, you were hidden behind the same cloak you had earlier. " he said understandingly.

"As for the runes, here they are." The man had gotten out a block of paper from one of the numerous pockets on his robe. "I can tell you that one of the characters mean god at least, not that surprising when we know your master; the same rune character can be found on the hydra and the falcon."

"Myozonitonir, the mind God. Well that's an interesting title." Shamal said with a distinguished laugh.

"As I thought. So you have two of Brimir familiars. Indeed your Highness, a great future awaits for you." Osmond said playfully.

"Great and painful. You probably know as much as me about the troubled time we live in. Believe me, I would prefer to be that talentless Wind mage the others believe me to be." Louise complained once more about the unfortunate reality of her life.

"And that's why their Majesty sent you here your Highness. So that you could make allies when trouble will come your way. And, as much I don't like to think about my students getting into danger, you are necessary for our country. That being said, that necessity has painted a target on your back." The old man said frowning.

"There is no need to remind me, Headmaster. I heard it enough since that day. Anyways, this is not the reason you called me here right?" Louise was rather eager to change the subject as was Colbert. The bald man swung uneasily on his chair.

"You're right. As you know, Jean took made a copy of your familiars' rune yesterday. He immediately compared them to the note he had on Brimir's Familiars as we already suspected of your status. The problem is, there was no recording of this one. Now that we saw Miss Shamal's it can only mean that one is the fourth one..."

"So it's Lifdrasil. I figured as much when I saw the same rune on Signum's and NachtWal's chest." Louise cut in.

"Lifdrasil. I don't remember seeing that one in the reference I read." Colbert scratched his chin, visibly lost in how his student had found such a thing. Then, light came to his eyes as another thing she had said finally made its way to is mind "The same… Aren't that bird and the snake of yesterday the same?"

"Wait, you didn't know they weren't the same? Why did you call me if not for that?" Louise was puzzled. Could the professor really be so dense? Well, it was Colbert but still, he was not the next headmaster for nothing. Not that he himself knew of course.

"I did call you for that." The Headmaster answered, understanding she was lost as to the reason of her presence "Amongst other things but I don't believe Jean had made the link. As for the other thing, I wanted to check on what you knew about your familiars and check on your health."

Her health? She hadn't any problems with her health recently so why could they... Ah, it was true that she had been absentminded when the Professor informed her of the meeting so it might be that.

"Everything is alright; you know that familiar can be taxing on first contact." Louise half-lied, knowing it wouldn't be believed but the headmaster was clever enough to understand it was a thing she had decided not to disclose.

"... Yes, you seem alright for now but don't strain yourself." The headmaster assented, making a sign to the other professor to not continue with that subject.

"As for my familiars, the snake as you call it is different from Signum but they're both my familiars and both bear the same runes." Louise pointed at Signum already upped chest, the bird-Knight having understood where the talk was going. "I know the runes on them are those of Lifdrasil because it was written in the Book." Louise informed them, knowing a lot of questions would come out of that single statement.

"The founder's prayer book you mean. You said that you could read only one page. Did it change after the summoning? If the snake and your falcon are different, where is it? I don't see it anywhere. Now that I think about it, when did you ever call those other two!? The ritual can only be performed outside and you were in your room until I saw you with the Falcon..." Professor Colbert question came on after another, driven by his insatiable curiosity.

"Calm down Jean. I don't think Her Highness can answer all those questions at once." Osmond was rather amused at the vitality of his friend. Then, turning to Louise, he continued. "So your highness, could you tell us what you can?"

"It was a promise I made when I enrolled here so I don't see why I wouldn't. Here is what I can tell you..." Louise started to explain how she had made a contact with NachtWal, omitting of course, the fact about it being a planet eating monstrosity while still informing it could be dangerous. At the mention of other planets with other humans, Colbert almost started his interrogation once again but was stopped by the headmaster, indicating he could ask for a later date.

She still had a hard time believing such a thing was possible even with her three guardians as a proof but for some reason the headmaster seemed to swallow the pill rather easily. Louise took note of that fact.

Then, she explained how her first summoned familiar had fused with the book, revealing all its pages which garnered her odd looks as they could not believe a beast could fuse with the holy artifact. She had to call 'her' out as a proof of concept, a thing she would rather not do again as it earned her another round of strange looks as the beast coiled around her.

Before explaining how, she had to explain why she had called for the Knights, a talk that involved explaining NachtWal was fully sentient. While she was enumerating the why, she thought that Henrietta looked slightly down, a look that went depressive when Signum took her human form and presented herself.

Good will, what her friend could be worried about? She would need to have a private talk with her after the meeting. If she started dwelling on a little thing, her friend could go off the deep end sometimes.

Finally, taking the example of the barrier around them, she started explaining about the more sensible part of the talks, one that she wasn't even obligated to talk about but knew she was bonded to as a student of the Tristain academy of magic.

She told them about magic. Or more accurately, let Shamal do it.

"As you may have guessed, the barrier around us wasn't created using Elemental magic..." The knight started.

"I had gathered as much, but it doesn't seem to be firstborn magic either. How can you do such thing for there isn't any other form of magic that are known to us at least." The headmaster was curious, for whatever others thought about him, Osmond was still both a scholar and a wise man.

"You're right about it not being the same magic used by the species you designate as firstborn. As I was about to say, I do know some elemental magic but even them would not be the one you know. There are a lot of magic systems in the universe..."

Henrietta cut in, finally voicing an opinion as Louise at noted she caught up in something. " How can it be? Brimir was the one to create magic." At that, Louise irked. Her friend, as the daughter of the last King was still deeply pious, more so than herself but Louise knew that what the church told was not always the white truth.

"He may have created your system of magic but they are a lot more out there young lady. In fact, I know of magic older than your founder." Signum said, always serious, daring her interlocutor to take back and jabbed at her to think.

Seeing the lost look of her dear friend, Louise decided to intervene. "I am afraid they are right on that one, Henrietta. From what I read in the Book he didn't even invent our system as much as actualize it. The only thing he really created where the Void's spell and Familiar summoning."

"But the church..." Henrietta had nothing to retort with.

"Another lie. It seems they tend to do that a lot. For good or bad, it mostly depends on which lie you talk about but they still do." Louise said, instating her friend to remember the last time they had to suffer from such a lie. In passing, she noted that Colbert faced had soured.

"They need it to justify their actions and maintain us in line 'against our foes'." There was an unusual bitterness in the teacher's declarations. And Louise had not missed the irony of the last words.

Still, doubt seemed to quell Henrietta. "I see. If you say it is that way, Louise, then it must be true I guess." Gathering herself, she followed on the main subject. "So what of this magic?"

"Well, as I will learn a bit of that different magic from my knights and the Book. I had to warn you beforehand. I will need your backing for both missing class and if we use it in front of the others. I will of course try not to but, if it happens, my words won't be enough in case some other student rats me out for something as silly as heresy. As you know, I am not liked a lot here." Louise explained. At that, both teachers nodded, perfectly understanding.

"I will do what I can. It was great luck that one of you can become a falcon; otherwise I would probably already have to block yesterday's letters. That would have been a shame right." Louise understood what the headmaster had meant. It was not the first time.

"Yes... a shame." She returned the gesture before turning back to her friend "As for why telling you Ann, it is because I don't want to hide anything from you. You are the only one I fully trust."

Hearing that, the young woman smiled anew, teary eyes shining at her friend. Louise didn't know it but that single phrase was really important for her. Since both the knights had appeared in the room, she had doubted. Louise had been a little distant from her yesterday so theirs presences could mean that she had started doubting her as a guard and a confidante. After all they were her familiars and would always be with her.

"By the way, your highness, you did say you would learn those spells from your book too right? Why is that?" Cobert asked an idea clearly under his hairless head.

"Yes, they were copied in it with the original spells after I bound NachtWal." Louise answered truthfully, not knowing where he was going.

"In that case, you do not have to worry about heresy. Well, as long as you can prove it's the original." Colbert declared as if it was evidence.

"Jean, you are brilliant, how did I not see that possibility." Osmond followed, grinning behind his beard.

"... Yes and that way even we would be protected from any attack on that field." Shamal continued, having apparently grasped what Colbert was hinting at.

"No one can claim this one isn't authentic without offending the throne." Henrietta herself had understood.

"Even so we should be prudent; it would still put Master in an awkward position. Albeit one that is much more enviable. "Signum was already thinking about the trouble of that same plan.

"You are right Miss Signum. You should still avoid being seen using strange magic at least for the time being." Colbert affirmed, frowning at the trouble that would come until the truth came out.

"That cloaking spell will be necessary for your training." Osmond himself seemed to think there it would be useful.

"We already intend to do so." Shamal asserted what had been decided between them and their master yesterday. Thinking back at the apparent abundance of assassins, they should start after today's breakfast.

"Yes, we talked about it yesterday but what are you talking about anyway?" That remark earned her the incredulous stares of the whole room. But honestly, they weren't making any sense to her. How could the fact that the spells she'd learn were written in the founder's… All of sudden, Louise felt really stupid.

"So you understood, your Highness?" Colbert inquired, apparently unsure about her state of mind.

"Yes, I understood. No one would dare to accuse a spell written down in the Holy relic to be a heathen spell but you are right that we shouldn't use that trump card too early. I have neither the haste nor wanting to be ousted publicly as a Void mage. It's already a burden with the ones who do know in the court."

It was the usual rant, but true nevertheless. Being treated as a living god by some of the duke and cardinals was truthfully horrifying in its own special sort of way though she had to admit it was useful to keep them in check when they weren't trying to kill her that was. A lot of second/third sons and daughters had found themselves inheriting the titles of their parents/uncles over these past eight years and the secret service had lost a lot of their members. Such was the cost of underestimating the Valiere.

"Well, I don't have any other questions. If you do not have anything you wish to tell us, I believe this is the end of our enlightening talk." Osmond said joyfully as clapping his hands together.

Louise acquiesced, getting her from her seat." Yes, I believe so. Signum, Shamal."

On her words, Signum morphed back into her falcon form and Shamal disappeared. At the same time, the office regained its rightful colors.

"Take care of yourself, your Highness. You too Miss des Ornieres" Osmond said saluting at the pair.

"Thank you, Headmaster. I promise we will." Henrietta answered back, opening the door for Louise. Before going out, Louise remembered she had to inform the headmaster for another matter "By the way, I will visit the castle at the end of the week so we may miss Wind day's morning's lesson."

"You are excused, Your Highness. Please do give our greetings to theirs Majesty." Osmond answered back, his nose already on his papers.

'So it happens for him to work after all.' Louise thought as she got out. The man was wise, great mage and noble from one of the few families as old as hers but generally she couldn't help but see him as a lazy grandpa, an image that he no doubt cultivated earnestly.

"So, Your Highness, Should we go eat out breakfast now?" Henrietta asked her once they were out of the office, a tasteful smile on her lips.

"Yes, we may but I already told you not to call me that Ann, or should I call you Henrietta Annabelle?" Louise resorted with a smirk, using her friend's middle name.

"No." Henrietta said horrified. "I hate that uselessly long name. I will stop. So please, just call me Henrietta, or Ann." Henrietta sheepishly looked at her.

"Ok, so, what do you think the kitchen will serve you today, Ann?" Louise changed the subject, indicating to her friend that she had pardoned her.

All too happy, the purple haired woman took the bait. "I don't know but I can find out…"

...

Meanwhile Louise got a message from Signum.

'Master, I do not like that old man. How did such a man became the headmaster of an Academy?'

'What do you mean?' Louise asked cautiously.

'He passed almost all the meeting trying to sneak his mouse under your skirt. I had to threaten to eat it or it would have insisted. Plus, he is far too laid back for a magic instructor.' She was rather irritated at that not only was she her master but she was his princess and it was a blatant lack of respect.

Louise knew about that but it was usual and so she answered off handily. The first time she – Henrietta - had told her she had almost asked for him to be beheaded but her bodyguard barely managed to talk her out of it by the fact that it would put her in the spotlight. Now she just gritted her teeth and accepted it. 'Well, he is a perv but he is trustworthy.' Still, she was pleased that from now on, the old man wouldn't try again. 'As for being laid-back, most mages are. In case you didn't see it, Henrietta and I are more fit than any of the other students, even the boys.'

The falcon tilted her head, trying to remember the figures of the other students she hadn't catalogued as dangerous. Now that she thought about it this was true 'That I don't understand. Why is that?'

'Well, commoners do everything for us and not every noble will enter have military career. Henrietta and I are exceptions as she is my bodyguard and I am the 2nd favorite target for any murder or kidnapping attempt in the country.' Louise specified with a smug smile.

'And who would be the first?' Shamal asked, cutting into their conversation.

'That would be my eldest sister, Eleanore but the strongest Knight Corp of the country is with her at all times.' Louise answered. 'And I thought I had told you to warn me before talking in here Shamal.'

'For that, I would have to talk to you but I will try. As for the kidnapping and murder, I assure you it won't happen to you with us around.' Shamal assured her Master, reminding Louise she was truly a knight. 'But I was calling you about another thing. I think I found out where we could train. There is a clearing northwest of the academy."

'Yes, it would be prefect but the nearest forest is 5 kilometers from the academy…' Louise wasn't against physical activity, but she didn't think she would be able to walk 5 kilometers after her training. Not if what Signum had just hinted at was to be verified.

'I can bring you back at least until you learn how to fly.' Signum offered.

'Well, I suppose you can... I won't cut on the physical training right?' Louise asked in a sight. She had noted she was talking about learning how to fly but, by this point, she wasn't even surprised. After all, she knew one Square Wind mage who could.

'If you want to be effective in magic, you need to be physically fit. I am willing to bet none of the mage which aren't physical is that strong'. Shamal's statement really made her thoughtful.

Most of the mage she saw in action were soldiers so they were strong but if she thought about her classmates, there was no doubting it. Tabitha and Kirche were by far the strongest of the lot followed by that fop of De Gramont who was forced to train under Henrietta. The three of them were around Triangle class. Of the others, almost none had reached even the line class and those who did were the brightest one.

'Urk... You are right. Why is that?' Louise asked.

'That's because your magical core where you draw power from develops with your body. You need a mind to use it right and it is at different strength at birth for everyone but only working on theory will only lead so far. You need to use both if you want to really get better at magic. That is true for any magical system I know at least...' And so, Louise had her first lesson on magic with her new teacher as she ate.

...

Halkeginia

Romalia, Capital of the Holy Romalian Empire

Somewhere Under the Cathedral

A young looking girl with blue air was flying down a tunnel.

"Hello, I'm back." Said the girl to her apparent superior, a young woman with white hair that finished black

"You took your time, idiot. You know he doesn't like that." answered the woman, not that she was really caring what the man thought. "So, what happened?"

"You should know what, you felt it too yesterday." The blue haired girl answered. "And I'm not an idiot." she added as an afterthought.

"So it's as I thought. She told me she felt it yesterday morning." the white-hair pointed at a likewise young girl brow hair on her face. She was quietly sleeping in her bed after a long week of reconnaissance.

"Should we tell him?" The blue haired ask, taking her seat. She knew her boss would not answer her claim, but she still had to make her point.

"No... He probably already knows it and if he doesn't, it will be even more fun for us."

"But we aren't supposed to..." The blue-haired was spooked; it was their very reason for existing.

"And we will but first, I need to know what that man is planning; he is weak but far too cunning." The white one gritted her teeth. "And it's not like that little princess can learn how to use it. At best, it will just eat her." A mad smile came back to her face as quickly when she thought about what was going to come.

"Well I guess you are right. Still, I can't believe he was right when he said the darkness would come." Their master had talked about that the moment after they had encountered; it was the main reason they were still here.

"And that's also why you should just do what he says for now." The white-haired tried to move her leg - her ankle ensnared by a shackle - once again without success. "And I still can't break free from those shackles. How did he even find them anyway? Did you find anything?"

"I still don't know." The blue-haired said sheepishly

"Well, it wasn't as if there was a chance you could know anything, idiot"

"I am not an Idiot".

Thank you for reading. Please tell me what you think of this story in your review.

Thank go to AlphaWold45 or the Beta.

A/N: As you may have guessed The Valliere line is complex ( just like a real Noble family in fact) Most are like in as can be found in the Wikia, apart for Two changes.

1-They received Royal blood twice. Once Long ago, which resulted in the creation of House Valiere, and the Second three generations ago.

Louise Great-grandfather and Henrietta great-grandfather are the same. He is the Father of Philip III de Tristain and Safran de la Valiere. Safran's mother was the only surviving heir of the Valiere house ( She had a brother but he died without children during a skirmish against the Von-Zerbst which had stolen his fiancee) She did get married around then but never had any children with the understanding man her parent had wed her to ( Count des Orniere , yes that Orniere, I said he was understanding right).

2-Safran only had two Sons, his eldest married Robespierre III's youngest sister ( Charlotte Orleans' great aunt) and inherited the title of de la Valiere, by the second, little is known, It's said he was disowned for being useless at magic, others say he became a priest, another that he married into one of the lesser noble family in the duchy, there is even that silly rumor that he got on the other side of the frontier and married one of the Zerbst daughters.

Thankfully Safran himself and Safran's son were really good at what they did so the slight disgrace was quickly forgotten. In truth the only one who knows he ever existed is Catleya as she did some search when she was young to find what happened to the one without talent in her family as she was worried for her little sister.

So yep, IF the Galian royal family were to die the Valiere would have a claim. Just like Henrietta have a claim to the kingship of Albion, as much as she as one to Tristain if the Valiere disappear. But for now she is happy being Henrietta des Ornieres Knight of Tristain. ( They gave her that land so that she still had something, but she doesn't care, and it's near the main Valiere territory; the only closer being the La Fontaine which is the land upon which the manor is.)

Fragment of Ring