Hey everyone! :D thank you for taking the time to read my story. Also kudos to Angry Santo for Beta reading, who with his help this chapter grammar is far better compared to chapter 1-4. So thank you :D Also any mistake you find is my fault and not anyone else. :D
OK so down to business, this chapter took this long to post because of; real life, beta reading, and plot thinking time. The third reason took up most of my time. Why? Because of Wardes, while i had a outline for the story ready. He wasn't include in any of it because i planed to kill him off but after thinking about it. I have decide to keep him alive rather then kill him off. So he will live for now.
So now that done, i present to you chapter 5.0 :D well not really it's more like 5.3 but who cares right?
The Long War – Chapter 5
Viscount Jean-Jacqures Francis de Wardes or better known as Captain Wardes of the Tristain Griffin Knights had been sent ahead by the princess to scout the academy and make sure that everything was safe for her arrival, yet the mere thought of the possibility only left him with a harsh grin.
He'd been in country long enough to know that there was never any point in doing so wherever the princess visited anywhere inside her own country. The people loved her to the point that it was unlikely that anyone would try to assassinate her.
Now he was sitting outside at the front of the academy waiting for the princess to arrive. There had been nothing to do thus far in the morning but wait for the princess. This was nothing new for him so slowly he allowed his body to relax and a smile to cross his face as he watched the commoners at work. He smiled and exchanged a few words with them, wherever a few of them worked up the nerve to talk to him. He made sure to keep a lighthearted tone in his voice, yet this was nothing more than a facade that he'd created along ago to hide his true desires and so ensure the easy manipulation of others.
The sight before him was a familiar one. Commoners working hard, Nobles hardly working, a sight repeated countless time across the country.
He could see the likely outcome, if things didn't change between commoners and nobles soon the nobles were all going to be nothing more than rotting bodies. Yet this did not matter to him: they could kill each other to their hearts content for all he cared.
What mattered to him was his mother and her fate, back at home in the east, where humankind true enemy waited for them to be crushed. He remembered his mother, every detail of her lovely appearance seared with exquisite detail in his memories, before she went to the Holy Land on that damned expedition.
She was like any other mother; caring, loving, and always over protective of her children. In his case, it was him and his brother who were born into a family that could trace it's beginning back to a place called Earth. Yet these stories were nothing more than legend with no foundation on reality, as their family could never find any proof that such a place existed.
Yet it did not stop his family nor the others from searching for it. The simple fact was that while many of the families held true to the promise, of holding the line against the elves. They were still human and at peace, more or less, as such curiosity could not be ignored.
He'd didn't remember a lot beside many arguments between her mother and other members of the other families that more or less possessed the same curiosity as her. The deep desire to find out the truth and whether or not, Earth truly existed. Of course, they had checked everywhere on the human side of the border which left only the elf side. Yet every attempt by his mother and like minded others to send an expedition was shot down by the rest on the grounds that there was no evidence to support launching such an expedition.
The closest they got to finding an answer was when they found a crazed elf in their lands, mumbling the same phrase over and over again, in a language they could not understand. However, he did say something in their language before death took him. These were the words that took his mother from him. Soon after the death of said elf, an expedition into the Holy Land was organized, the best men were chosen along with the best equipment that the families had available.
Everything had been done to ensure that the expedition would be successful, but it was all for naught.
The expedition failed and she was the only survivor to make it back, unfortunately she had gone mad by then, just like the elf that they had found. The other families were informed and were disappointed to learn that the expedition had failed, but failure did not mean the end. All the families increased the production of weapons, worked to expand the army, and attempted to solidify their borders. Further attempts were made to understand the weapons of their forefathers. Funds were spent to find the means to recreate them.
He smiled, at the thought, yes by the standards of the west. Many of the families and even his own could be considered nobles but such trivial details meant nothing out in the east, title meant nothing in a land where a mage could just as easily be killed as a commoner by a single elf. So just as a musket was a tool of war, a mage was no difference. He or she was nothing more then another tool of war.
This simple fact, learnt long ago, meant that none of this bullshit belief that nobles were superior then commoners ever took hold in the east.
There were two key reason for the research into understanding and developing similar weapons as their forefathers. One was range and the second was power. As much as a mage can scream at the top of their lungs that they are superior, the simple truth of the matter was they were not. A fully trained and powerful mage may be unstoppable at close range but it was a different story at long range. This was where commoners and their weapons came in.
They, the families, and the rest of the commoners in the east had better weapons than anyone, at least according to the last letter he got from his brother, which was two years ago. According to it, they had developed "rifling", his brother had even gone to the trouble of describing all the details but as far as he was concerned it meant that commoners and their weapons had better range now.
Thus the standard tactics developed by his family and the others which used commoners in a support role while mages closed in to fight the elf, or elves depending on how many they were fighting. In the case, where mages were not available, then commoners resulted to two main tactics, attempted to snipe the elf, aiming for the head or by playing a game of attrition with said elf. This game would last as long as the commoners had ammo for their weapons, maintained a high rate of fire, and hit the elf with every shot as for the elf it was a simple case of how much will power they possessed. Of course in such a case that the commoners were facing an army of elves then the normal tactics were to snipe and hit them from long range rather than close in or allow the elves to close in.
The ability of an elf to use a spell known as 'Counter' was the driving reason for the development of these tactics. The spell was capable of stopping anything they throw at an elf and made them a pain in the ass to kill.
These tactics rarely killed an elf but they were still used. The reason was simple really, it pinned a elf down, it help also that they had massive egos and generally stood their like fool. The another reason was simple, these tactics should be working! if not for their bloody Counter spell, they would all be dead within seconds of the first shot.
The second point, power, was by far the key driving force behind the attempt to understand and recreate their forefathers weapons and the need to do so was proven quickly when a small group of elves were sent to kill his mother.
The small group of elves attacked the house, only to run into his family own person guards, these were the best of the best and originally they were equipped with the best weapons which meant muskets but after the failure of the expedition. It was decide by his father, that these troopers would be equipped not with muskets but with the very same weapons that their forefathers had once used. So that they could ensure the safety of his family.
These weapons were unlike any that he'd seen, they were all made of metal. Many of the weapons had a trigger and barrel just like a musket but there were items that they did not recognize yet thankfully, one of their family traditions was ensuring that everyone learnt, how to speak, read, and write in their forefathers language. And that they forefathers had the foresight to write down, how to use their weapons.
Father choose the most powerful weapons, something called a hotshot lasgun while the rest of the guard were equipped with lasguns.
There was some complaint at the weight of the weapons but these dead the moment they saw, the result on the enemy.
His father's decision was made only a few days before the attack but the other families didn't waste time in showing their disapproval on the grounds of disrespecting their forefathers memories, but their opinions changed after they saw the aftermath of the attack.
The elves were a pain to kill in close quarters yet their forefathers weapons proved their worth. The hotshot lasgun were powerful enough to blow through even their self-protection spell. While lasgun prove only to be able to do so when they were fire in massed volleys. But even doing so, it took only one or two volleys before it overwhelm their self-protection spell. Hell, he smiled, once their self-protection spell was down, their armor were crushed with ease.
He remembered hearing one story from one of the troopers. When the elves realized that they could not complete their objective, they began to withdraw under fire. The troopers, thanks to the new weapons, were able to place the withdrawing elves under heavy fire to the point that only two managed leave the main house alive and after a firefight at the main gate only one escaped. The first elf was hit by a volley of lasgun fire, leaving nothing more than cooked meat. While other elf escaped but only after his self-protection had been broken, a lucky shot, from a hotshot, ensured said elf was missing an arm.
The next day was spent morning the dead but the weeks after that, were spent in celebrating their victory. It proved his father right, it proved the wisdom of their forefathers, raised morals, verified that elves were nothing without their so called "Counter" spell, and that they could be killed.
For him these events meant only: hatred. They dared attempt to silence his mother, even if she is insane. She was still her mother and no one had a right to end her life, no one. Yet he couldn't always control his hatred, despite his training. He didn't just hate elves; he hated his life without her, the thought, remind him of when he was younger.
When he often made his way down to the her cell, where his family kept her down in the basement, in the hopes that she would magically have recovered, on her own, but that was never the case. Yet back in those days of his youth, he would spend endless hours of the night in the basement with her, doing nothing more than staring at her hoping that she would recover. But she never would, gone was the warm smile that used to grace her face, gone was the love, her mind ravaged and broken, and sanity decimated.
The only thing that was left was a mad woman who would scream for hours on end, even when she was asleep. Or in the case when she was awake, whispering words that did not make any sense to him or anyone else.
As the years passed and he got older, his hope slowly faded into nothingness and a new emotion took its place, it was bitterness. It didn't take long for the bitterness to remind him of the hatred within his heart and equally it wasn't long before it turned into a compelling desire for revenge that only got stronger as he grew older and his mother's condition got worse.
It got so bad that they were forced to keep her unconscious 24/7, as any time that she was awake was spent screaming nonstop about the return of the dryadalis stultitiam.
His family and the others families were aware of what she meant by these words, but they dismissed her ranting due to her condition, as no proof of the dryadalis stultitiam had ever been found by their family or any of the other families. But thinking about it all these year later, he remembered, his mother telling him the story behind it, when he was little. The dryadalis stultitiam, she said, was the reason that the Star Federation was no more, for it paid the price of the mistakes committed by those who come before them. That, she said, was why the elves were hated, and why their family and the others held the line against the elves in accordance with the pact made long ago between them and the children of the void. Until then, they the families would hold the line, no matter the cost.
This interest in his mothers stories, lead him to dive into his families old records in an attempt to find proof, or, barring that, at least understand their history and get as close to the truth as possible. It wasn't easy, but with his desire for revenge providing the fuel. It had been no problem. In the end, what he discovered only deepened his hatred of the elves and left him wondering why the children of the void where taking so long to return.
He learnt the truth and of what the Star Federation truly was, the true reason that the children of the void were allowed to leave with many of the civilians, and why the elves controlled the Holy Lands. Yet this did not bother him back then, as the first most concern was finding a way to heal his mother, but his goals changed over time.
He'd shared what he learnt with his brother, but he'd never truly believed him, yet that did not stop him. He kept on going until he'd memorized every word in the records, but in the end. They did not answer his question; how to cure his mother of her condition. His decision to go west was based on the last of his innocent hopes that their was a cure for his mother's condition.
He'd thought that people who were able to re-grow limbs would have the ability to repair the mind. A soft bitter laugh escaped his lips. They couldn't, no one here in the west could. That fact alone only deepened his hatred of the elves and strengthened his resolve to ensure that the promise was kept.
The promise, according to his family library, was an agreement between the five children of the void and the remnants of the military units of the Federation. An agreement that they would be allowed to go onto the west build up, and then return to their aid while they would hold the line. Yet his discovery of how long the families had upheld their duty, and the level of technology here in the west, only further fueled his wrath.
The weapons technology here was far more primitive then anything in the east. They had 6000 years to prepare yet they had the worst weapons technology out of any country. This discovery only added more bitterness and hatred to the overflowing cup that was his heart.
He was about to head back to the east, when he got a letter from his brother that they were at war against the elves. The elves were hitting them with everything that they had, but they were holding. In the letter, his brother, also asked if the children of the void would keep the promise made long ago.
The words, of the letter, sound desperate, completely unlike the brother he remembered; a brother who didn't believe in fairy tales. Yet enough for him, enough to begin seeing a path to fulfill his desires.
The families had upheld their end of the pact for 6000 years and yet they still wait for the return of the oath breakers. A bitter smile crossed his face, the families had long lost count of the years and the only portion of the pact which the rest of the families remembered correctly was holding the line against the elves. The rest of it was buried in the old records of each family.
As for the children of the void, it didn't take long for him to work out that they had long forgotten about the pact that their ancestors made with them.
So, with difficultly, he set off to find the children of the void and to make them remember the promise their ancestors made long ago. But what awaited him on that road was nothing more than more bitterness, which turned into outright hatred of the west.
His first stop was to the south yet the only thing he found was a fool who wanted peace! Peace, a peace that was brought and paid for with the blood of his family. How dare he talk of peace, when it had not been his people whose blood was shed for his so called peace. He'd left Romalia with nothing but the first true taste of hate within his heart for the children of the void and their people.
He had high hopes for Albion for two reasons, because according to legend it once rested over the holy land and secondly because it traditionally had the most powerfully air force out of the five nations founded by the children of the void. The first raised the possibly that it could be moved while the second combined with the first would easily turn the nations into the largest moving fortress/air base ever. Yet unsurprisingly his hopes were pointless.
The ruler of Albion was nothing more than a fool and a playboy. And while this annoyed him, what truly infuriated him was when he asked about the void, the king's answer was nothing more than boisterous laughter, the man explaining in between wheezes that the element had long been lost.
Dismayed at his answer. He'd asked the next question, what was the fate of the family that had originally used the void. The silence, the sight of the king turning pale with fear, the hesitance in his voice, and the shame in the king eyes said it all. The power of the void no longer flowed in their veins, their forefathers had rebelled against the rightful heirs. It took a great deal of effort on his part not to kill the fools then and there, but it in the end, he was successful, and he let the man live. Thinking of recent events, he allowed himself some small consolation in that the king will not live for much longer.
The only one left was Germania but he had no hope of ever finding the heir to that nation as they had long been overthrown. The fact that these commoners dare rebel against their rightful ruler irritated him greatly, but there was nothing he could do, it was clear that the heir was long lost. He had considered stopping by this nation on his journey, but there was no need to, as unlike the other nations, it did not matter. Its armed forces were nothing more than a speed bump that could be crushed at any time.
Thus it left Gallia, which thankfully was still ruled by its rightful heir. Yes it was true that said heir had undesirable qualities but that did not matter to him. It reminded him of a saying that he'd read in the family library, the end justify the means.
And his end was to ensure that the promise made long ago by the children of the void was kept. For the sake of revenge, for his family, for his brother…and for his mother.
If he were to be honest with himself, he had long ago stopped caring about anything other than his hatred and revenge, hatred against the children of the void for forgetting the promise, hatred against their civilians and their peace, a peace, paid for by the blood of his family, hatred against these who come before, against the nobles, against everything that weren't human, but most of all hatred against the elves. It was their actions that brought him here away from his brother and robbed his mother of her sanity.
That hatred was focused, thanks to his training. It was the reason that he served a madman, the reason that he was set to marry Louise, the rightful heir of this country, and it was the reason that he was the best swordsman in the east.
"The princess is here!" he heard one of the commoners shout out in excitement. It wasn't long before others looked at her for an explanation. They saw the same scene and soon they joined the increasing crowd of commoners running around like little children. Some ran off into the academy to warn others, while others prepared the front of the academy for the princess' arrival.
Commoners rushed throughout the academy following the plans led out by the headmaster over the course of the night. Commoners rushed to wake students and teachers while others rushed to the main hall to get everything ready, while others yet remain at the front of the academy making sure that nothing was out of place.
So it was with surprising speed that both students and commoners were able to get ready in time, heading towards the main hall to await the princess, while the most senor teachers waited to welcome her at the front of the academy. Yet despite the headmaster's best laid plans, there were a number of things that he should have considered but failed to. It was to have a number of interesting results.
A man once known as snake woke in the arms of a thief and kissed her softly in the lips, and whispering words that he did not have the courage to say to her face. They were words that he never thought that he would ever say to anyone, considering the sins of his past. He'd fought all kinds of things in his life, and in the course of this, he had never thought that he would ever find love.
Love was for those who stayed at home, safe and sound from the dangers of the world beyond the nations borders. Love was not for soldiers, men with the blood of others on their hands. No, love was not for them, for they give up their right to love so that they could serve and protect these left at home, so that they could find love.
Or at least, that was his belief, he thought, as he stared at Longueville's beautiful sleeping face. It was unlike any that he'd ever seen, he thought remembering the past. Faces flashed through his mind of men, women, and children, each face filled with pain of one form or another. When he looked at Longueville's face, he found peace.
That was when he finally noticed the sun ray coming though the window behind Longueville. So, he thought, it's morninghuh?Welltheninthatcase.Ishouldgetsomethingtodrinkandgetreadyfortheday. But before that, he had something to do first before leaving Longueville's side.
He give her a soft kiss again on her forehead, only this time it lasted longer, and then slowly he left her side and headed to his workshop. It wasn't like there was a lot to his place of residence here at academy, it was only made up of his room and his workshop. That was about it. No more, no less.
He left most of his things besides his personally items out in the workshop due to the fact that it was more roomy. That said, the reason he was leaving the room to get a drink was because he left it outside in his workshop so that he had it close by when he needed a shot when he was working. The way he'd arranged his workshop was simply, everything that personally belonged to him was placed at the back close to his room while everything that was related to work was placed at the front of the workshop and close to the door that lead to the rest of the academy.
Unfortunately, this included the drinks so he made his way to the front and poured himself a drink and drained it. The alcohol hit his system and jumped started it, washing the morning haze from his body. It was then that a commoner slammed the door open.
"Sir, Colbert the..." she said and then continued softly as she turned red as a tomato and her eyes wondered downwards unable to choose between looking at his manhood or at the ground"...the princess has arrived early and everyone is required to be down at the main hall as soon as possible."
The next few minutes were spent by the both of them starring at each other unable to say anything as both were surprised at the sight of each other. On the one hand you had a commoner who was still young and her cherry so to speak had yet to be popped, and on the other you had a naked ex-soldier. It finally come to an end when the cup in the snake's hand came crushing down to the ground, the sound helping to bring both of them out of their surprise and shock.
"What was that?" he asked.
"The princess has arrived and everything one is required down at the main hall." she said, turning even redder.
"oh."
"I've will be leaving now." she said, after throwing another last look at the professor's manhood and as she closed the door. She turned even redder, as she ran down the hall and towards her room in the commoner residence in the academy, forgetting that she was meant to wake the other teachers.
"oh" he said, his mind not processing the commoner's words.
"OH" he said, realizing her words.
The princess was here, that was right, the princess was here…crap.
He took off to his room and quickly woke Longueville and told her that the princess was here. She didn't need to be told a second time before she, like him, grasped their nearest clothes and got dressed as fast as possible. Together the two of them scrambled from his place and headed downstairs and towards the princess.
In another part of the academy, in the headmaster's office, a single commoner had rushed half-way across the academy so that he could inform the headmaster, only to find him sleeping and his well known familiar standing on its master desk facing him. The commoner stood there confused for a moment unsure what to do at the sight before him.
The headmaster's familiar was there in front of the headmaster's sleeping head which was resting on his desk but the commoner quickly recovered himself and rather than listing to the soft voice in the back of his mind that was telling to ignore the familiar and wake the headmaster up himself. He simply walked in until he stood before the familiar and informed the familiar of the princess' arrival and then stood there starring at the familiar waiting for a response.
He did this due to spending some time watching the interactions between the students and their familiars, and as far as he could tell, they were intelligent, so therefore he believed that the headmaster's familiar should be able to wake the headmaster up without causing any problems. Now, there was nothing wrong with his reasoning, but there was one unforeseen problem. He was not aware of the fact that the familiar was nothing more than a reflection of the mage. Thus the familiar's reaction of simply telexing and doing, what seem like doing nothing, was misinterpreted by the commoner for something else, disrespect towards the princess and the royal family.
There was also something else that he failed to considered due to the simple fact that he wasn't a mage. The bond between familiar and master was a two way connections not a one way connection. Thus Chuchu was fully aware of how tired his mater felt at the moment after spending most of the night getting things ready for the princess' arrival. Besides, Chuchu thought, the princess will understand. Thus Chuchu did not get worked up nor worried at the commoner's message, besides they have known each other for a long time. She wouldn't mind, right?
While Chuchus thoughts wandered, the commoner's temper rose until it broke, and the reasons? There were many, but in the end it come down to two reason, a short temper and his pride his own country.
What happened next would become known as a fairy tale to future generations. But before it becomes this, there was a real tale behind it all. The commoner jumped the familiar with murderers intent yet missed, Chuchu on the other hand was confused at the sudden turn of events. He could not understand how this fight had come about, nor did he feel like fighting it so he avoided the commoner. Chuchu' confusion was soon replaced with laughter and amusement as he watched the commoner making a mess of his master's domain in his attempts at catching him.
But that amusement quickly disappeared when the commoner begin throwing larger objects at him, and so it was from that moment on that the fight truly started.
Windows were smashed, books were ripped or on the floor, small drops of blood were splattered on the floor, the door was broken, and in the middle of this all was Chuchu standing atop the commoner like a conquering hero and making a speech that only his master could understand.
Yet strangely, the headmaster did not stir from his sleep until the fight was over, yet that did not matter, considering that he could feel his temper skyrocketing through the roof. Osmond was a man that had lived a long time, and in the course of his life, he'd come to value the items he'd collected over the years. These items he'd brought with him, the most dangerous placed inside the school vault while the less dangers items were placed here in his office.
Thus the reason for his anger at the sight that was before him, this wasn't the first time that this had happened to him, but this did not matter to him as his anger grew. He was about to start screaming at his familiar by shouting a simple question "What hell happened?" when he finally felt the warmth of the sun and the rays of sunlight bathe his office, and remembered that the princess was due to arrive today. So within seconds his anger disappeared replaced by concern, worry, panic, and so without another word, he rushed out of his office leaving the conquering hero alone in his office, tired and winded from the fight.
In the residential area, Siesta woke as she heard of the sounds of her fellow commoners rushing about like headless chickens. They screamed; their voices filled with excitement and happiest that their beloved princess would grace them with her presence.
As far as the commoners residence was concerned, this meant that she woke up to the sounds of men and women screaming commands, and cries for help at each other as they worked overtime to get everything ready for breakfast.
The princess is visiting the academy today she thought. Slowly and using every single inch of strength she had, she forced herself into a seating position. She didn't feel well and a voice in her mind told her that she should stay in her bed, but she did not want to. Not because she was a fool, no, it was due to duty and duty alone that she forced herself to her feet.
She felt a wave of weakness and pain. And tears rolled down her face, yet she did not allow it to overcome her. She had a duty to do her job and so with that determination she forced the door open and made her way to the kitchen, where she usually helped out serving food to students at the main hall and later during the day out at the academy garden, which was nothing more than a misleading name for it.
The academy garden were not a true garden per say, rather it was more like a court yard then a garden, but she didn't really care about that, it was the academies problem as far as she was concerned. If they wanted to call it a garden so be it, there was no need to make a fuss over it.
She didn't feel well, in fact every step she'd taken so far was painful, and proving to be a heavy task, yet she forced herself forward with nothing more than her belief in her duty, to do her best in everything that she did. It was a work ethics that was a result of her country upbringing, where hard work, good work ethics, and trust, were required in order to survive away from the city.
So she forced herself forward with each step with nothing more than her will until she reached the kitchen. She was about to open the door to the kitchen when she finally noticed that her family heirloom which always she always carried was missing. Panic was the first emotion she felt yet it quickly disappeared when she remembered what she last did the day before, she was washing her boss' familiars' clothed down at the rear entrance to the kitchen.
She took a deep breath and opened the door to the kitchen, the first sound that she heard was that of her friend Chief Marteau shouting orders at the kitchen hands to get moving, with getting the food out of the kitchen and into the main hall. No one noticed her, as she entered through the kitchen door nor did anyone else notice her when she entered the staircase which lead down to the rear kitchen door.
Once there, she opened the door and was assaulted with a cold presence, yet it was nothing compared to what her body was experiencing. She felt weak, especially her legs, again she was sweating profusely, and her body felt tired, as if she'd spent a whole day working out in the fields.
There she thought, thankyouemperor. As her eyes spotted the golden heirloom laying there in a pond on the stone floor. She picked it up and returned it to her pocket. Yet as she did so she could feel her bodies burden lighten, as if a heavy weight had been removed from her shoulders. But it did not change the fact that she was tired, and so she finally began making her way back up the stairs to the kitchen. But it took longer than it usually did, as she was forced to pause now and then to rest. In short, it was slow going and by the time that she made it to the top, the action was over. No one was in the kitchen but the Chief finally noticed her.
"Siesta, what are you doing out of bed?" he asked, worried.
"Work." she said, as she made her way to the nearest seat and sat down. She did her best not to show how tired and unwell she felt, a task she dreadfully failed.
"But you were almost...I mean you weren't feeling well the day before." Marteau quickly corrected himself.
"It's nothing major Chef." she said, forcing a smile on her face, yet it did nothing to change the Chefs opinion on the matter.
"No, you have to rest." Marteau said, firmly.
"No it's nothing, I feel better." she said, with a forced smile and with what little strength she had. She tried to get up, but her legs give out and her body went crushing down back into her seat.
"No, you rest." Marteau said, more forcibly.
"But the princess is here, I have a duty to do." she said, protesting.
"Duty to who my dear Siesta, I have been around people from your little village before." the Chief said concerned.
"To the emperor." she said, tiredly with a smile. The Chief couldn't hold it in and simply laughed at Siesta's statement.
"So you believe the stories." Marteau ask, interested. She said nothing in return to his query and Marteau said nothing in turn to her but simply thought about what her silence meant. It meant that she believed in them, the stories which where nothing more than stories told to children, no one had proof that what they said was true. Nor did anyone have a chance to find that proof as the church had outlawed this by declaring it heresy.
The decision had not been taken lightly, he thought, if he remembered his history right. The decision had been made to end the rounds of civil wars and unrest within the five nations soon after they were created. No one remembered the true reasons for those wars, as they had been lost in the seas of time, the only thing anyone remembered was the wars themselves and the horrors they brought home.
It was this decision that lead them to believe in the founder, and all the shit that came with it and which the nobles justified their rule over them, the commoners. Yet that was long in the past and there was nothing that he could do about it, but this did not mean that he agreed with the nobles. No, he didn't, that was the reason that he'd never reported Siesta or anyone from her village to the church, but that wasn't the only reason.
The foremost reason was simple, he liked the people from her village.
"Yes, to the emperor!" he said, with a smile.
"Well then since you're feeling unwell. I'll make you something and if you feel better later on then I'll allow you to work at the gardens like you always do." he told her, cheerfully and with a smile, and just like that he began to prepare breakfast for his friend using the leftovers.
Siesta did nothing but watched her friend. True, that she was the handmaid of Ms. Valliere but she'd been her handmaid long enough to know that she should not help until her help was requested. And so she spent most of her time helping out in the academy, but mostly in the kitchen.
In a strange way, she thought, they were almost the same. They both refused help until their aid was asked for, it but unlike Ms. Valliere, she had less pride to get in the way. Where Ms. Vallieres pride come from her been born a noble, hers come her from duty and duty alone to mankind.
Yet she admitted sometimes that it wasn't enough. That was why she carried this relic, she thought, bring it out so that she could see it despite the dangers that it meant. That was why she took it from the family caves, she needed something bigger then her to believe in sometimes because duty just wasn't enough sometimes. This moment, she thought, was a perfect example...she didn't feel good at all.
True that ever since she picked up the relic and gotten to sit down that she'd been feeling better but that did not change the fact that she was not feeling well. Her body felt tired, wasted, and drained of energy. It felt like a day spent in the fields yet that wasn't only it. Her body felt as if it didn't belong to her as if she was a ghost looking on while someone else was using...no could it be true? She asked herself.
She forced the thought out of her mind and placed the relic back into her pocket making sure that the Chief did not see it. No there was no point to fear that possibility, at least not yet, she told herself, they have not been seen so there was no need to fear their present but it did nothing to stop the cold coursing through her body.
Lucky for her, it want away as she ate breakfast and warmth returned to her body along with her usual happy personally. By midday she was back at work, the events of the morning buried in her mind.
In another part of the academy, a little pink haired girl woke up from her dreams. It felt strange to her now that she was awake. She saw the sun rays flood her room yet she could not feel a thing, she couldn't feel the usual cold that assaulted her in morning nor could she feel the rays of the sun on her skin.
She held her hands out to allow the rays of the sun to play along her arms, and still she could not feel anything. This is strange, why can't I feel a thing?, she thought. She dismissed the thought, she remembering that today was the day that the princess was due to arrive so it meant that she would be unlikely to talk to the headmaster about leaving the academy. That meant that she'll have to be around a day or two before finally getting a chance to talk to him. Then she waited for the anger but she didn't feel anything.
That was strange, she thought, why didn't she feel angry or annoyed like she usually would at this revelation? Did something change during the nigh...wait there was this voice at night that she remembered hearing, she couldn't place it nor remember what it said but she felt as if she'd always known it. Yet more importantly she remembered completing the familiar binding ritual last night.
Yes! she thought, happily she was a real mage just like the rest of them. Yes, yes, yes, YES! She had her own familiar now so that meant that she wasn't a zero anymore wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, she told herself. The voice had said something about been a void mage. Wait, that couldn't be possible…could it?
That element had been lost for 6000 years, there was no way that she could use it right? Yes that must be it. There was no way that she would be able to use the same element as the founder, she told herself. Yet it did nothing to stop her from grasping onto anything which justifies the return of her pride.
So without another thought, she quickly got ready and headed to the main hall, which according to the chatter outside her door, was where everyone was going in order to have breakfast with her. She couldn't wait to see the princess again after all these years. She was aware that the princess was mostly likely going to be busy touring the academy, but that didn't mean that it would stop her from visiting her after hours. She thought to herself as she entered the main and seat down at her usual place, which meant where no one but her on her table. The closest person seated to her was Kirche and her boyfriends, and Tabitha who as usual was reading a book.
Now she only had to wait, so anxiously she waited for the princess to arrive.
Throughout these events, she did not notice the whispers of her fellow students as they told each other the latest rumors about her, nor did she notice the discomfort that some of them displayed towards her by moving away from her. Students just couldn't place a finger on it but it was best described as unnatural.
The princess felt nervous, she always did before it was time for her to be in front of her people in public. True she was used to it now, but that did not mean anything to her as she could never stop herself from worrying about the possibility of making a fool of herself in front of everyone. This was the one lesson that she could not master, no matter how much practice she's had in the last year or two.
And so it was that as her carriage pulled up into the front of the academy, she was greeted with the sight of Wardes waiting for her and opening the door when the carriage came to a stop, and the sight of Colbert, Osmond, and his new assistant running towards her.
She couldn't help but smile at the sight of all three of them out of breath and not bothering to hide it, as she existed the carriage. She noticed that Osmond looked the same as always but the sight of the next two individuals simply widened her smile. It looked like she had chosen a good day to come, after all she liked surprises.
"Princess, I didn't not think that you would come at this time." Osmond stated.
"Osmond" she said with a smile "We've know each other for a long time, you should know that I like surprises" she said with a sweet soft tone.
"Yes, I do remember princess, but please remember that I am not the same man." Osmond said.
"Oh come on, Osmond the Wise. You are still the same, the only difference is your age." she said, in a playful tone.
"True, enough." Osmond replied, cheerfully.
"So what is the plan Osmond? I know that you have something planed. After all you didn't live this long for nothing." She said still with the same playful tone.
"The plan?" Osmond said confused, before his mind kicked into gear "I'm sorry princess but I did not think that you would come this easily in the morning. I thought that you would have come later around mid-day. After all, I seem remember that you love to sleep in." Osmond finished, in a mischievous tenor.
"I still do, Osmond but today is different, I plan to see an old friend. Then talk to you and a few other people after I finish playing house, and you know how long that will take."
"Yes, I do."
"So then, Osmond the Wise. What is the first order of business?" she asked.
"First and foremost princess, breakfast." Osmond the Wise said, as he made way for the princess and allowed her through to the academy. The headmaster then glared at his assistant and his right hand man disapprovingly. He was about to tell them to go and fix their appearances but the princess beat them to it.
"Colbert and Ms. Longueville you may want to take some time and clean up before coming to breakfast." she said over her shoulder, her amusement clear in her voice.
"Don't worry Osmond, let them be besides, it's not like they are the only ones who are tired." she said.
"Thank you, princess." the pair said at the same time.
"Don't worry, Colbert and Ms. Longueville. This isn't the first time that I've done this so it's nothing new. You may as well leave now and clean up before joining us at the main hall." she told them, with a soft laugh of amusement.
She and everyone present watched both individuals leave the princess' presence.
"You should join them, Osmond." she said.
"No thank you princess. I'm feeling well." Was the answer he gave her.
A soft cry of joy escaped her, as she heard the headmasters answer. She had know the headmaster for a long time now, wait, now that she thought it. That would make it, just over ten years since she'd meet him, she smiled at the thought.
"Come, Osmond." she said "This isn't the first time that I have done this to you. I know, you've just recently woken"
"That is true, princess but that is not a reason to be late, especially when a member of the royal family is visiting." the headmaster replied seriously.
"True, Osmond, but that does not change the matter at hand. I have known you for a long time, and I knew from past experience you don't like work or trouble at your age. It is after all the one reason that you are headmaster and not someone else." she said, still with a playful tone in her voice.
She did not get an answer to her statement but that did not matter to her. What did was the fact that she was no longer nervous as the exchange between them had allowed her to rid herself of her fears. Now, she felt that she could face the rest of the day as spent it in front of her nations youngest and its future.
Yes she thought, I can do this. She looked forward to being able to talk to her childhood friend later tonight. After that, maybe Louise and Wardes could spent some time together and get to know each other. Yet that was all things for later tonight, she still had to deal with the present.
"Well then my dear friend, what are you waiting for? Let us get started." she said, breaming a smile at the headmaster.