Star Wars Episode I: The Familiar of Zero

by Snarky Miracles

On the verge of being expelled from school, Louise Valliere refuses to give up. Her final chance to prove herself worthy of her heritage is to summon a familiar. But she gets much more than she bargained for when the frightening Calista Zarkot crashes into her life. Instead of becoming the master, Louise has become the servant and learns what it means to be Sith...

31. The End of a Road

Chapter Twenty Nine - The End of a Road

Karin the Heavy Wind dove down low under two enemies who tried to allow their dragons to take a bite out of her head on. Ever thankful for the nimbleness of her manticore, Karin didn't waste the opportunity, she looked down and directed her sword wand, throwing her signature Heavy Wind spell down into a group of infantry on their way towards the front lines.

As she pulled back up into the night sky her eyes caught onto the large Albion Battleship. At just over a hundred guns, it was the symbol of power for the Albion Navy. But now, it was the greatest threat in these skies, doing the most unexpected of things. It was making a descent.

"Have they completely lost their minds?" she asked aloud to her Familiar.

Karin looked around, the battle was going firmly in their favor. The rest of her own Sweep were engaged with the two dragons which had moments ago tried to eat her. She turned back towards them, the enemies had to be finished off before any counter move could be organized.

The solution to her most immediate problem presented itself in the form of a pale blue dragon flying fast between the manticores and the two dragons. Two riders threw fire and wind magic at the two enemies as they passed, forcing everyone to split up and maneuver to re-engage on more favorable terms.

The Dragon Knights opted to deal with what they perceived to be the most immediate threat. They circled around and regrouped to move in on the other dragon. Once they were in range, Kirche let off a stream of fire at a Dragon Knight to their left while Tabitha released a wind tunnel to the one on their right. Both were forced to break off and fly away to seek a new angle of attack. Sylphid wasn't having it though. She was faster, Tabitha knew it, and used it. The Dragon Knights had no hope of keeping up. They were lead directly into the pack of manticores while quickly pounced with their stinging tails, eliminating both riders, sending their Familiars to the ground with a splatter of gore.

Karin called her subordinates to her, and also called over Tabitha and Kirche as well. When all were gathered around her, eyes on the sky, ears on her, she began to issue her orders.

"That battleship is coming in. I think they mean to land troops behind our lines. That's the only explanation. Pass word to the Dignity, have them position to fire on them once they're low enough. Then I want three sweeps to provide support. We cannot under any circumstances allow them to land their troops. Miss Tabitha, we will require your aid with this. We need to throw everything we have at it. We only have one chance here. Are you up to it?"

Tabitha and Kirche looked at each other for a moment, and then nodded to each other.

Kirche was the one to answer for them both, "We're up to it. We have a special trick we've been practicing which I think will get this job done. Provided we get the chance to cast it."

"What exactly do you plan to do?" asked Karin with a skeptical tone, but curious expression.

Kirche sheepishly scratched the back of her head, "Well… It is a little dangerous… But I am confident we can get it done."

"Before I can put all our lives on the line, I need to know exactly what you've got in mind. We don't have the time to waste on childish heroics here."

"It's a Water based line spell we turned into a Fire and Wind spell. Tabitha and I have been practicing. Something we got out of a book written by Brinvilliers, it's a called a-"

"I know what it is. Can you two perform the spell? Practicing it is one thing. But can you do it with everyone trying to kill you?"

"We can," answered Tabitha.

"We definitely can."

Karin narrowed her eyes. "You'll have one chance at it. Only one. It'll take everything we have to get you that chance. But when we provide it, you have to take it, and very quickly."

"We'll get it done, Lady Valliere. We won't fail. We don't know how to fail."

Karin nodded, "My only advice to you both is to not hold back. Don't try to control it. Just unleash it."

"Yeah… I learned the hard way about that," answered a grimacing Kirche.

"You have the Devil's luck if you're still alive after that. I hope it holds. Manticore Knights! On the offense! Give them hell!"

---

General Gramont was in a tight spot, and he knew it. Every attempt on the bridge was repelled by the cannons and the riflemen across the river. Every spell was rebuffed by the enemy mage knights. He could only hope the Queen was having more success, but if this level of resistance was any indication, then she would have her hands full as well.

"Damn it Karin… I could really use your help right now! A distraction. Any distraction to give me one chance to deal with those cannons!"

"General! The city behind us is secure. No more enemy forces have been found," reported a messenger.

"All well and good… But it means nothing if we can't get into the rest of the city. Take a message back to Lady Eleonore. Have her send word to the Dignity. I want them to bombard that enemy position!"

The messenger pointed up to the sky. "I think that could be problematic at best General."

Gramont looked up to the sky and glared with anger as the Albionian Battleship flew overhead. Exchanging spells with the Manticore Knights as it moved through the air. "Well… So much for that idea. I suppose we shall just have to be more creative."

The General then turned his gaze back to the enemy defenses. The river was wide. It cut the city in half, there were only two ways across. The river was walled off entirely on both sides except for the two crossings and a few short walk ways which lead to docks for small boats. By design, there was no other way to across to the rest of the city.

"If there's no way around. We simply have to go through," he said while casting his gaze down at the cobbled street beneath his feet. "Mage Knights! We've been stonewalled long enough! Let us show them how it's done!"

The General stepped out into the street with his wand held firmly in his hands amidst the cheers of his soldiers as they scrambled to clear the way around him as his fellow Earth Mages gathered at his side. Fire, wind, and water mages spread out to begin casting spells against the enemy to occupy their attention while they worked.

Gramont started walking down the street with his Earth mages following in step. "We'll need a very thick one for this ladies and gentlemen."

"Understood General!"

After a few meters walk he turned back and judged the amount of cobbled road between him and the gun emplacements. His infantry were taking cover in the alleys behind the buildings, all of his own soldiers began passing the word once they realized what was about to take place. Weapons were drawn, and everyone prepared for the charge.

Gramont directed his wand to the ground along with his fellows and the cobbled stones began to shake loose from the ground. "Won't they try to dispel this General?"

"Be assured that they will try, this is a do or die moment so focus hard!"

The cobbled stones lifted out of the ground and came together to form a stone wall three meters high and as wide as the street itself. As they moved forward more stones gathered and formed a new layer, making the stone wall progressively thicker as they moved forward. Finally when they were in rage of the canons and the shots were fired, it was only enough to breach two layers of their wall.

As they approached the bridge, it detonated, sending debris into the line of Mage Knights providing suppressive fire. But those who survived did not waver from their duty and used the opportunity to kill as many enemies as they could while the wall progressed. As they reached the end of the ruined bridge, Gramont and his Earth Mages rearranged the stones and dropped it down across the river.

"Charge!"

---

Brinvilliers watched from the top of the community center as his soldiers proud into the street leading to the bridge.

"Is everything I asked for prepared exactly as I instructed?"

"Yes Your Excellency," answered one of his officers.

"Very good. I'll be going out to meet my enemy in battle now. Ensure everything goes as planned. We only have this one chance to turn this back in our favor."

"How did the General accomplish that? I've never seen anything like that before!"

"There's a reason he's called The Wall, don't ever forget it," remarked Brinvilliers as he turned to vacate his vantage point, rubbing his forehead the entire way.

"Everyone is reporting the same sort of symptoms as Your Excellency. Even the regular soldiers."

"I suspected as much. I don't know what trickery is being used, but gather your faculties and be extra mindful of your duties."

---

Calista walked ahead of her group. Matilda to her right, Louise to her left, Guiche to her left. Agnes and the musketeers behind them with the Queen herself in the centre of their formation. Behind them marched the Mage Knights and hundreds of the Valliere family infantry.

On the road ahead of them, marched hundreds of mercenaries which made up the bulk of Brinvilliers' army.

Calista drew her Lightsaber staff and split the hilt where she ignited her blade and held them ready at her sides. Louise lifted Derflinger and held him high to her right with both hands. Matilda pointed her sword out and conjured her seven Adamantine Knights to join their ranks.

"Your Majesty. Please stay back while we handle this. You can support us with your spell work," said Agnes as she drew her pistol and cocked the hammer.

"Thank you Agnes. But there is no water to work with here. Besides. There are things about me not even you know," she explained while holding her scepter out to her side and started to transmute it.

This got Calista's curiosity as she turned her head and then her body and started walking backwards for a moment before turning back around and grinned viciously at her enemies.

"Men æta mry, ekoi Eru Henrietta. Syræté kár, shai shæ kuthrat!" exclaimed Calista.

"Shai shæ kuthrat!" exclaimed Henrietta in response.

"What the hell was that gibberish?!" demanded Agnes.

"I don't know every word she used. But the gist of it was, a wish to be blessed in victory or death." explained Henrietta who then held up her freshly transmuted double bladed sword. "It's a Thyrsian war cry."

"It is an Echani one as well. Different deity, same request. Which one you get will depend on if you actually know how to use that thing or not."

"We'll soon find out won't we? Charge!"

---

High in the sky, Kirche watched the Manticore Knights doing their utmost to draw the enemy's attention, all they had to do was wait for the signal from Karin the Heavy Wind. As she waited, she tightened her grip on her wand and slipped an arm around friend's waist. "Hey Tabitha…"

"Don't. It will be fine."

"I know. But I still want to. Thank you for everything Tabitha. For being my friend. For what you did with Otto. I love-"

"Thank you as well."

Kirche blinked her eye. There was emotion in those words. It was unmistakable, real, genuine emotion. But she wasn't finished yet. She listened, held breath, the small girls' every word like music to her ears.

"Thank you. For being my friend. For caring. It means the world, and I love you too. Very much."

Kirche was at a loss for words and simply pulled her friend into a gentle hug with both of her arms. "Just when I thought I had you figured out, you surprise me yet again."

The two watched the battle in silence. Manticores and their riders fell to the ground in balls of fire, or chunks of meat after being hit by spells from the mages defending the deck of the Airship. It was horrific, yet beautiful.

"Let's not screw this up Tabitha. I have this gut feeling you're going to be even more powerful than that woman one day soon. Before we're finished here tonight, she'll have that feeling as well."

Tabitha said nothing in response, she only tightened her grip on her staff.

"Did you not appreciate that vote of confidence?"

Tabitha shook her head, "Don't need to be more powerful. Just powerful enough," she said, back to her normal monotone.

"I'm not sure I understand."

"You will," she flatly stated.

Kirche' head turned up into the sky where she saw the Dignity fire a volley from its cannons into the Excalibur. The Battleship had descended to a few dozen meters off the ground just outside the city, while the Dignity hovered a few hundred meters above and away where it could fire its shots so they would land on target. But before she could be impressed with the feat of naval combat, Kirche also saw two of the escort ships move towards the Dignity. Cannons out and ready to fire. The two ships were exactly the same as the Dignity, and moved to put it between them.

"Whatare they doing?! They should run for it now while they still can!"

The Dignity fired another volley into the Excalibur, knocking down its Fore-mast, but in the grand scheme of things, it was a minor irritation to the behemoth battleship.

Suddenly there was a large volley of musket fire from the Excalibur directed at the attacking Manticore Knights.

"It's almost time," remarked Tabitha.

Kirche turned her eye back towards the battleship. The marines were on deck and ladder ropes were being thrown off the side. "So it is. I'm ready if you are."

One Manticore knight broke formation from the rest of his sweep and turned up towards where they were hovering in wait. As he flew past, they heard one yell from him, "Go."

Kirche spun her wand in her fingers and then pat Tabitha on the shoulder who in turn looked straight down at Sylphid's head and nodded to her.

Karin took a moment to look around at the situation. The main camp outside the city, filled with nothing but the wounded and those tasked with protecting them. That would be the first target of these rebel soldiers from Albion. After that they would move into the city and begin attacking everything they could find. Eleonore would be their first target. She would not allow it. So much so that she would trust a Zerbst and her little friend to ensure that wouldn't happen.

Then her eyes drifted up into the skies around her. She spotted Sylphid, moving in as planned. She also spotted three Dragon Knights behind them. Sylphid was faster, but if anything interrupted their spell work, this plan would fail.

She pointed her sword wand and tugged the reins, her familiar quick to comply with her commands. Before even the rest of her Sweep realized what was happening, she flew past Sylphid. The pink haired woman stood up on her familiar, she ran a hand lovingly through its mane, "We're getting too old for this shit Fluffy..."

She then leapt from her familiar's left side and grabbed onto the flapping wing of the dragon. Meanwhile her Familiar swung to the right and attached itself to the other dragon by its claws while trying to impale it with its venomous stinging tail.

The beast then started flapping wildly in an attempt to shake her off its wing. Then it spun, climbed, dove, and all the while, she held on tightly. To her relief, both dragon knights now had bigger problems than trying to follow the two girls on the other dragon.

As a teenager, even as a young woman, this kind of battle was her playground. But as she held onto that dragon's wing for dear life, she became acutely aware of the aching in her bones and muscles.

"Yes! Definitely getting too old for this shit!"

The Dragon Knight turned around to see who it was with the audacity to attempt something like this and them his eyes suddenly widened at the sight of who it was climbing up onto his dragon.

"Albert?" asked Karin with an amused voice.

"Karin?! What are you doing?!" he asked incredulously, his own sword wand pointed at her.

"Oh. You know. Same as always," she said while pointing her sword wand.

"So what now? Stand off?" he asked her.

"Just answer me one question. Why are you doing this? Why did you switch sides?"

The man focused intensely on her eyes, "Does any of that really matter right now?"

"No. I suppose not," she said while gathering her wind magic onto her sword wand.

Her enemy did the same. The dragon leveled out in its flight path. The Knight jumped to his feet. So did she. The two crossed swords on the dragon's back. Her moves were emulated by this younger man with whom she dueled. But she was not equaled. At least not in her own mind.

"Don't you think you're getting too old for this Karin?"

Karin narrowed her eyes locked swords with him. "A gentleman does not pass comments like that to a lady! Especially when he's already lost his battle!"

"What do you-"

In that moment, night turned to day, and the two looked away from each other to see the inferno raging across the top of the battleship. Crew members leaping off the sides to their deaths rather than wait to be burned alive.

"In the name of god... A Blazing Wind?! But you're here… and… How?!"

Karin watched with an indifferent expression. "Marianne would have been proud to see those young girls pull that off. Your sword please Albert. I request the surrender of you and your Knights. This isn't your war to die in."

"I'm sorry Karin. But surrender is not an option for us," he answered while pulling back and then thrusting at her with his sword.

She deflected the attack with her own before slashing at his chest, the man then came back at her with his own slash, but she instead jumped off the side of the dragon where she landed in the saddle of her Manticore. "We did what we needed to do Fluffy. Follow that man and let's finish him off."

---

Kirche cheered loudly as the deck of the Excalibur burned behind them. "That was incredible! Look that that fire! Isn't that the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?!"

Tabitha looked up to see the Dignity flying away from the two escort ships. But then one of them turned and opened its gunports. The bluenette pointed up.

Kirche followed the finger to what she was pointing at. "What are they going to do?"

A moment later the question was answered for her when the enemy airship fired its cannons into the Royalist camp.

"There's nobody there but the wounded!" she yelled in protest, as if the crew of the ship could hear her. "We have to do something Tabitha!"

The bluenette shook her head, "Nothing we can do,"

"There has to be something!"

"Can you cast magic now?"

Kirche held up her wand and tried to muster up a spell. Any spell to prove she could. But after a moment reality set in, and she was forced to accept that she indeed could not.

Tabitha looked and saw Manticore Knights flying into the ship's firing solution to cast their wind walls. Trying to block as many shots as they could while the Dignity swung around again to move in to engage with the other enemy ship turning around in another direction looking to intercept them after they fired at the other ship.

After a circle of the camp, the Dignity would fire on one ship, take fire from the other, all while the camp below was under sustained fire with nothing but a few Manticore Knights to protect them from the rain of cannonballs.

Kirche could only watch with clenched teeth as she realized the truth of what Calista tried to tell her. "War really is totally amoral. They're not sparing a thought for the people who can't fight back against them anymore than Calista had a thought to spare for all the people huddled in their homes trying to stay out of the fighting…"

Tabitha reached back and took a hold of Kirche's hand which was still tightly clutching her wand. After a moment, she felt her friend's grip begin to relax.

"Our part is done."

"I suppose you're right Tabitha," she said while using her free hand to take her wand and put it away, she then took a hold of her friend's hand and squeezed it gently, "We have done all we can do."

---

Henrietta stood in the middle of the street, her breath heavy, her hair drenched in sweat. Her double bladed sword held tightly at her side, blood dripping from each blade. The crest on her cloak splattered with blood.

A few meters away, Louise and Guiche stood back to back, their cloths also soaked in blood, their faces covered in sweat, and more blood. Louise had her hand extended outwards, an enemy soldier at the end of her Force grip, little more than a stain against the wall of a building across from her, an angry glare on her face as she released him to fall onto the ground with more of a squishing sound than the thud one would expect of a full grown man hitting the ground.

Calista and Matilda stood side by side as they watched the last few enemy soldiers flee for their lives. The Sith Lord then turned to the young Queen with a impressed grin on her face.

"Whomever taught you the use that weapon, taught you well," Calista then turned her gaze to one of the Queen's victims. "You used some kind of magic to simulate the effect of a vibroblade without the actual moving parts. Am I correct?"

Henrietta nodded, and then spoke in a modest voice, "I tried many times to make a vibroblade like this. But magic can't accomplish that particular feat of science. But I found that water can cut just as surely as steel, or air."

Calista nodded her head, "Yes. Our friend, Brinvillers, recently gave me a first hand demonstration of such an application of water magic. Though, I dare say I find yours to be more elegant, and I dare say, civilized."

"You call that civilized?!" exclaimed Agnes with indignation. "My God. Your Majesty. You shouldn't be doing anything like this! Much less the way you did it!"

Henrietta shook her head, her calm facade quickly crumbling under Agnes' glare. "You're wrong Agnes. I said before. I won't ever ask anything of anyone which I am unwilling to do for myself. I can't order people to fight for me, or kill for me, unless I'm willing to bloody my hands as well."

Calista walked over to Louise who had her eyes closed while she took long and deep breaths. She placed her hands on her shoulders and then after a moment Louise looked up into her Master's eyes.

"You did well, my Apprentice. I am proud of you."

"Th… Tha… Thank you, Master."

"We should keep moving before we lose this momentum!" yelled Matilda.

Calista nodded, "She is correct. The cannons to the north have also stopped firing."

Guiche pumped a fist into the air, "That can only mean my father has broken through their defense!"

"I hope so, for our sakes. I also sense Julio's Battle Meditation is beginning to falter. We must act now."

Henrietta nodded. "Get the wounded back to the front gate. Spread out and secure the area. Agnes. Lord Zarkot. Louise. Guiche. And Matilda. With me. The six of us shall advance on our own with the Musketeers while the rest of our soldiers secure everything up to the market district."

Agnes choked and coughed at those orders, "Have you lost your mind?!"

"You heard my order. I know what I'm doing, and you've seen that I can fight as well as anyone else here. This is the endgame, we have to act decisively or all will be lost. Matilda, Guiche, and myself will bring up the rear and use our magic to defend you as needed. Louise, you're with us too, I see you favor attacking from a distance rather than getting up close. Lord Zarkot and Agnes will lead our advance to the Community Center. Musketeers will save their shots for any enemy riflemen we may encounter or draw swords as needed."

"Yes Your Majesty. As you command," said Agnes through clenched teeth as she waved over her Musketeers.

---

At the river crossing, General Gramont lead his troops up the street into their first real battle since entering the city. Two armies of hundreds of soldiers clashing in the narrow streets, where men could only fight one line at a time, and be replaced by the man behind him. Unfortunately for them, the mercenary army didn't have any Mage Knights with them.

While his own men fought their way through, Gramont ordered his Mage Knights to the roof tops. They levitated themselves up and used the vantage points to rain death upon their enemies in the form of fireballs, air blades, and even summoned golems into the middle of the enemy's ranks.

Taking advantage of the chaos being caused, Gramont's troops advanced through the crumbling lines, carving a bloody path through the streets as they advanced against their enemies who couldn't decide if they should stay and fight, or flee for their lives. The General was amazed at what he was seeing take place before him. The perfect morale and fighting spirit of his own troops, the utter confusion on the part of his enemies. He expected better, even from an army made up almost entirely of these soldiers of fortune.

Rather than continue to question why the situation was so chaotic for his enemies he raised his sword and cut down mercenary after mercenary, and then raised his sword into the air and turned back to his soldiers.

"Keep moving! The end is in sight! Push through! Fight on! For the Queen! For Tristain!"

The royalists pushed on, cheering their General as he hacked and slashed his way through their enemies. He knew their objective, the market district. That was where this battle would be decided. That was the heart of the city. From there, everything was within reach. Once it was taken, the war would be over in hours. But impending victory was no reason to celebrate, he still had to get there. If fortune favored them, the Queen would be fighting a similar battle right now and soon they would all meet and march on the palace itself, where they would place her back on her rightful throne.

It wasn't long before the end of the long and narrow street was in sight. The enemy was now in full retreat. The General raised his sword high and with his loudest voice he have his command. "Continue the advance! Accept their surrender, not their retreat! Forward!"

---

Calista and Matilda carved a long and bloody path through whatever meager defenses the enemy could muster. They were depleted, and it showed. There were no more riflemen or mage knights to stand in their way. Calista decoupled her hilt and threw her blades with an angry roar. The red lightsabers sliced their way through a dozen men each before returning to her hands as they all fell apart.

"Nothing but this mercenary scum! Pathetic!"

"How about saving some for the rest of us?" asked Matilda with a sly grin.

The two ran ahead into the market district. Matilda running straight into two pikemen which she dispatched easily enough with her rapier while Calista did the same by leaping over two others and slicing them into halves from behind before taking a moment to recombine her staff and giving it a flourish for five men who came charging at her. One look at her and the weapon she wielded, followed by a quick glance at what she did to the two men she just killed had them quickly changing their mind, dropping their weapons, and fleeing in terror.

"Cowards!" yelled a large group of ten swordsmen as they came rushing out of the community center.

"They are yours if you want them Matilda," said a grinning Calista to her taller friend.

"Meh. Just kill them already. We don't exactly have time to screw around."

Calista spun her staff until it was positioned behind her back and then reached out her right hand towards the incoming enemies. With a bored expression on her face she promptly began to electrocute them.

Guiche had to close his eyes and look away. The sight, combined with their screams, and his own first hand knowledge of how immensely painful it was to be the victim of that power was too much for his mind to bare.

His reaction was not lost on Louise who reached out to put a hand on his shoulder. Guiche quickly put his own hand on hers and gave it a light squeeze. A simple acknowledgment of her compassion for him.

"Quickly! We need to get inside and find Brinvilliers before he has a chance to escape!" exclaimed the young Queen in her most commanding tone as she spun her own weapon and started running towards the building with her escorts following close behind.

Calista quickly ran up beside and slightly ahead of her with Matilda in step behind. With a push of her hand into the air the sealed doors of the building were flung wide open and in she and the green haired woman ran to confront the defenders. Once again there was no battle to be had, merely an execution of those foolish enough to try and fight them. It was over as quickly as it began and Calista walked up to the one unarmed man in the room who was left standing, he was a full head and shoulders taller than her but that didn't help him not feel very afraid of this woman, particularly her eyes which he couldn't keep from staring into with horror.

"I shall ask you one time. Where is he?"

The man shrugged his shoulders, "Where is who?"

Calista reached out her hand and the man was lifted off the ground, he put his hands to his throat trying to pull off whatever it was that prevented him from drawing breath.

"Brinvilliers! Where is he?!" Matilda demanded loudly.

"He's gone! I don't know where! I'm just a messenger!"

"Then you are useless," Calista stated before letting him drop to the ground.

The man took a loud gasp for air before Calista went over to a dying soldier on the ground. With a wave her her hand to his face she asked her question, "You will tell me where Brinvilliers has gone."

"He… Went to fight. General. Gramont. South. Bridge. He prepared a… trap for-" before he could finish the sentence the man succumb to his injuries.

Guiche widened his eyes at what he heard and took off running.

"No wait! Come back! Guiche you can't just-" yelled Louise as she ran after him.

"Louise! Get back here!" demanded Calista.

Before anything else could happen there was a deafening explosion on the level above them. The supports for the roof were destroyed and everything came crashing down around them.

---

Meanwhile. General Gramont stood at the front of his army as they reached the threshold of the market district. The explosion was clearly heard from the Community Centre which was not far away. The smoke could clearly be seen over the rooftops.

"Marius… What have you done?"

"That sound means your Queen is dead, and you have nothing left to fight for. Surrender now, and I will spare the lives of your soldiers."

"Until I see her dead, she is alive and well. But even if it were true. You and I still have unsettled business between us. You have to answer for Montmorency, and for Marianne."

"Really Fernand. Revenge? Isn't that a little beneath you?"

"Not revenge. Justice. There's a difference. You and me. One on one. We settle things between us here and now."

"Why would I accept a duel when I've already won?" he asked with genuine curiosity and then waved his hand towards the Royalist army, "Take no prisoners! Attack!"

"You always were an uncivilized bastard Marius… Charge!"

Gramont knew his only target in this battle. He was surprised to see him still standing there, wand now in hand. Fernand ran towards him, his own wand at the ready, his sword taking a slash at an enemy soldier who got in his way before he pointed his wand at Marius. "Chains!"

Brinvilliers became enveloped in the metal chains which rose up from the earth around him. But almost too late did Fernand realize that it was fast becoming unnaturally humid around him. "Dispel!" he called out with his wand to clear the magic from around him.

It was in that moment he felt something change. Though he had no idea what to attribute it to, but everything changed. As he looked around, ne saw that the enemy were suddenly fighting properly. Though his own men were still better trained, the enemy were no longer falling over themselves as every man did what they wanted to do. There was coordination again.

Then he saw Marius was freed of his chains. He saw two Mage Knights behind him and cursed his complete disregard for the rules of honorable combat.

Marius then pull out a second wand which started gathering more ambient water from the air around them, coalescing it into a ball around his second wand while he pointed the primary wand at the General, a sliver of something dripping from the tip of the wand which shot out at him. Thanks to his flesh being protected by the strength of the earth, whatever it was didn't penetrate.

Fernand then narrowed his eyes in anger at what he was around Marius' waist. Vials of poisons. That was what he meant to kill him with. Needle like projectiles of liquid poison. He had to be very mindful of his defense against this man.

Marius threw the water from his second wand at Fernand in a steady stream.

Fernand responded by directing his wand to the ground and pulling up the cobbled stones into a shield.

---

Guiche ran as fast as he possibly could, until he found himself in the middle of the melee between his father's soldiers, and Brinvilliers' mercenaries. There was only one thing on his mind, he had to find his father before it was too late. Before whatever trap their enemy had planned could be sprung.

After transmuting his wand into the curved sabre he had come to favor, he began slashing his way through enemies, freeing up allied soldier to aid him in carving his path through the enemy. Suddenly Guiche found himself crossing swords with one of the more highly skilled mercenaries and he was quickly losing ground. Guiche de Gramont was many things, but an expert swordsman was not one of them. He had no doubt that it was either pure luck, or simply the fact that this enemy was merely toying with him before ending his life.

Before he knew what was happening, Guiche was backpedaling away and tripped over a dead body, falling back onto his ass as his enemy raised his sword for the killing blow. Guiche stared into the eyes of his killer as he awaited his end.

But a moment passed and he still wasn't moving. The man suddenly dropped his swords and clasped his hands around his throat. Perplexed, Guiche wasted no time, recovering his sword and then quickly took up a defensive stance and looked around to see if there were any other threats approaching. But his eyes widened when he looked behind him and saw Louise with her hand reaching out towards the man who was about to kill him. It was the look on her face which gave him pause. He had seen angry girls before, but he'd never before seen such unrefined hatred and fury on anyone's face before. She slowly closed her fist tightly, Guiche turned around and saw the man fall dead to the ground.

Guiche turned back to Louise to thank her, but she didn't pay him any mind just yet, with two fingers she pointed to something on the ground beside Guiche, his head turned to see the a pike fly out of of the cold dead hands of an enemy combatant and fly straight into the chest of another who was coming up behind him with a heavy battle axe.

When his head turned around again, he saw her standing very close to him, her furious facial expression somehow turned even more frightening as he locked eyes with her. "Thank you?" he muttered sheepishly.

"The trap wasn't set for your father, it was set for us back the the community centre! The rooftop exploded and collapsed on everyone!"

"Are they alive?"

"I'm still alive! So at least Calista is still alive!" Louise then widened her eyes and shoved Guiche aside, "Get down!"

As the two fell to the ground large number of cobbled stones tore a hole straight through the battlefield, killing everyone who couldn't duck or move away in time. Through the hole came Marius Brinvilliers, followed closely by Fernand de Gramont, spells being cast at each other which were either ineffective, or dispelled outright.

Guiche raised his sword and pointed it at Brinvilliers, but before he could cast his spell the sword was knocked of target by a Mage Knight. Louise raised her hand to deal with the Mage Knight but then quickly had to duck under the slash of a Wind Mage's empowered sword wand. She then raised Derflinger to deflect the next attack coming at her. The spell on the sword was instantly consumed by Derflinger before he realized what had happened, his next attack was met by a slice from Louise's sword which cut through the sword wand. With wide eyes the Mage Knight stepped back away from her and drew his backup wand but before he could do anything with it Louise pushed out with the Force, sending the man flying back into a group of soldiers.

Meanwhile, Guiche was fighting for his life against a fellow Earth Mage. Like two stones being bashed together their swords met time and again with no results. Both were equally unskilled with the sword. Two angry amateurs slashing away at each other. Sabre against long sword, earth mage against earth mage.

Fernand de Gramont regathered the cobbled stones from the street into a makeshift bulwark on his left arm while charging at Marius with the sword wand in his right hand, he took a vicious slash at the man which cut across his chest. Marius staggered backwards away from the general and threw a globe of water at him from his left hand wand which was blocked by the cobblestone shield. Fernand the Wall was true to his name in this battle. His defense was utterly impenetrable.

Marius stepped backwards, putting distance between him and his old friend where he started gathering globes of water on both of his wands. "Earth always gives way to water Fernand. You know this."

Fernand readied himself, his mind filled with nothing but all the possible attacks he could execute with that water. He sent one stream of water straight into the bulwark, and the second stream of water at his feet. Rather than wait for whatever surprise might come next Fernand charged at the man and bashed him to the ground with the stonework shield. Fernand pointed his sword.

"I'll see you in hell Marius!"

"Yes you will," he replied.

Fernand moved to impale the man but he quickly rolled off to the side, Fernand went after him but he felt a growing pressure on his lower legs. He looked at Marius and saw both his wands glowing, and then looked down and saw the water gathering around his feet, the pressure growing more and more intense until he felt his reinforced skin painfully crack.

"I told you earth gives way to water old friend."

Fernand raised his sword wand at the man. The tip began to glow and the Earth under Marius began to shake. The water mage started running out of the area of effect and recalled his water from around the General's legs. The man fell over in agony but still managed to keep his sword wand on target. But before he could get off his spell, he saw his son get in the way and take a slice at the man with his new sword.

"Guiche! Get out of my way!"

Marius quickly gathered the water globes on his wands into a single large globe and used the mass of water to eject a powerful stream which pushed the boy all the way back to his father before he commanded the stream to flow up into the air and then brought it crashing down on Fernand. The General looked to see his shield had fallen apart and had no recourse left to him. The water crashed down on his chest, painfully cracking his skin and ribs before the water receded back to Marius.

"Father!" cried Guiche is his grief and rage as he got back up onto his feet and waved his sword at the ground around him, summoning two brass golems from the stones around him.

Together they charged at Marius while the man sighed in irritation. He pointed both wands at the constructs, "Dispel."

Guiche reached the man by himself and tried to take a slash at him, right where his father had left a bleeding wound across his chest. But the older and more experienced man simply stepped aside. Guiche turned and took another slash at the man but he once again showed the boy what superior footwork could do for you in a sword fight. "It is entirely too soon for you to be taking me on boy."

With one wand, Brinvilliers levitated Guiche off the ground, before the boy could respond with his own magic he was thrown aside and onto the street where he rolled until he was stopped by the brick wall of one of the buildings which lined the area. He tried to get up but found his leg was broken and he couldn't stand up. He looked for his sword but it was laying in the street halfway between himself and the man who tossed him aside like garbage.

"Like father like son…" he muttered himself before raising his wand at the boy while gathering a globe of water. After he unleashed the spell at the young Gramont, he was greeted by the sight of the young pink haired girl wearing the black outfit and holding the gold and black sword in her hands, to his surprise, the water spell was destroyed upon contact with the sword.

"Oh? Aren't you Karin's daughter? The inept one? You saw what I did to those two, and rumor has it you're no mage. But, if you want to end up like them, far be it for me to deny you."

"You're right that I'm not a mage, but you're wrong if you think I'll be easy to kill!"

"I would certainly hope not. You are your mother's daughter after all. I would expect nothing less," he said to her while gathering two globes of water onto his wands.

---

Meanwhile, back in the Community Center. Calista had her hands held up over her head. The debris from the roof hovering above her, a small circle around here where nothing landed on anyone near her. Agnes, Matilda, and Henrietta were safe, the same could not be said of anyone else in the building.

Matilda had her golems working with her to clear the debris from their path to the exit while Calista was sweating and shaking under the strain. "Matilda. Would you kindly accelerate the pace of your work? This is not nearly as easy as I might make it seem."

"If the look on your face is anything to go by, I'd say it's just a little bit tough, but you'll manage."

"If I do not, we will die. So would you kindly stop dawdling!"

"Dawdling…" she repeated in an imitation of Calista's Imperial Accent. "I love the way your accent makes that word sound. Everything you say sounds so sophisticated, but something about the way that word just rolls off your tongue… It's going to be stuck in my head for hours. Dawdling…"

"I am pleased that you are able to find some measure of amusement from this situation. But Louise is presently fighting for her life, and if we do not promptly extricate ourselves from our present entanglement, she and I will both be dead, and this battle could be lost very quickly with the absence of anything resembling a chain of command!"

"What are you more worried about? Death? Or losing the battle?" asked Agnes in a snide voice.

"Agnes… This is hardly the time," chided the Queen.

"My Musketeers are mostly dead now. I don't know how many might still be alive outside. But she's more concerned with saving her own skin than she is with the rest of us!"

"Agnes… Need I point out that you are alive right now because I am holding up over a metric ton of whatever made up the roof of this structure? I could significantly lighten my load by letting some of this fall on your face!"

"I have to agree with her Agnes."

Agnes turned her sour expression on the young Queen.

"Not the part about her letting some of that fall on your face. I mean the part where we are alive now because of her. If she wasn't with us now, this trap would have been successful, and we would all be dead now."

"Well… You would certainly be dead your Majesty. Agnes too. But me? It would take a bit more than this to finish me off," remarked Matilda while carefully levitating a block of stone out of the way for her golems to begin clearing more of the debris.

"How does that comment help anything?" asked Calista with an annoyed tone.

"It doesn't. But it makes me feel better to know that only together can we be the heroes who save the Queen, and win the war."

"Being a hero is a child's fantasy. Anyone who has ever set foot upon a battlefield knows that there is no such thing to be found in war."

"So says the Pirate Princess," remarked a smirking Matilda.

"Who told you about that!" snapped the angry Sith Lord.

"My lips are sealed. But my point is that, even you, someone who has all the power at her disposal that anyone could ever wish for, have your moments where you dream of being something other than what you are."

"Calista has a fantasy about being a Pirate Princess?" asked a giggling Henrietta.

The Echani woman rolled her sickly sulfuric eyes, "I am going to kill that Jedi… No. I am going to have Extwo follow him around and snap embarrassing holo images of him. I am to spread them everywhere I go. And when he has been humiliated enough. Then I am going to kill him!"

Henrietta couldn't help but burst into a fit of laughter, "Why a Pirate of all things though?"

Calista sighed in irritation, "Everyone has their fantasy. For me, a life of adventure and piracy represented the freedom I could never attain for myself while in the service of my Master. Or the Empire. I could only ever do as I was told. But a Pirate is free to roam. Free to pick any fight. Free to take anything they were strong enough to take. There is nowhere they cannot go. Nothing they cannot do."

Henrietta suddenly stopped laughing and considered Calista very carefully. "I wish you could have explained that to Sir Julio. Then he might finally understand how you think. He wholeheartedly believes you want my throne or something."

"I told you before. A throne is nothing more than a comfortable prison. I could never crave such a thing. As for Sir Julio. I do not owe him an explanation for anything. He has his preconceptions, he paints me with the same brush as every other Sith."

"Don't you do that with him too?" asked Agnes. "Isn't he just a Jedi to you as well?"

"Perhaps you are right about that. But consider his actions. I was not the one who went around trying to turn everyone against him. I would rather let my deeds define me, rather than my words."

"We're almost out! Just a minute more Cali."

"By all means take your time Matilda. There is certainly no need to rush after provoking such a stimulating conversation!"

"It got your mind off how difficult your job was for the time being didn't it?"

"You are too clever for your own good sometimes…"

---

Louise couldn't believe it herself, every spell he used against her, she managed to stop with Derflinger. Her fear of what his magic could do was making her powerful. Marius could see that fear in the young girl's eyes, and he couldn't help the impressed grin that came across his face.

"Your mother would certainly be proud of you right now little one. I can see that you're afraid. But you're not letting your fear control you. Such courage is very commendable. And your sword is certainly very intriguing. I've never seen anything like it before."

"And you never will again after this!" she yelled angrily while running up the man, Derflinger held high, she brought it down over him but with his superior footwork he managed to evade her just as easily as he did with Guiche.

"You're no sword fighter. Why do you persist? Learn from the mistakes of that boy you're protecting."

"You don't want to be goading me into using my strengths against you, but have it your way old man!"

Louise took one hand off her sword while Marius pointed his wand at her, walking with his body half turned towards her as he put distance between them. Louise's eyes scanned the ground around him and then she pointed her two left fingers at a sword on the ground behind him and pulled it towards her, and through the hand with which Marius was casting his spell. Though she only hit him with pommel instead of the blade, it was enough to knock his wand out of his hand mid cast. The wand detonated after leaving his hand, pelting him with splinters.

Louise grinned at herself as she pointed her fingers at something else but before she could move the object his other wand was pointed at her, a jet of water rushed out from it and then hit her sword hand, knocking Derflinger out of her grip and onto the floor. She quickly knelt down to recover the weapon but the stream of water came back and knocked her away.

Marius then dropped his water spell and used his wand the levitate the sword while Louise got up and ran after it. Realizing she'd never make it in time she reached out her hand and pulled back on Derflinger through the Force.

"Louise! Come on! Don't let 'im take me!"

"I won't Derf! He'll only take you from my cold dead hands!"

"The sword speaks? Just when I thought this couldn't get more interesting."

Louise reached out with her other hand and focused all her anger and hatred. This was Derflinger's worst fear. Being taken and used against her. She would not allow it!

"Louise! Behind ya!" yelled the sword.

Louise turned her head and widened her eyes at the arrival of a man with a long pike looking to skewer her upon it. She had to make a split second decision. She released Derflinger, and then redirected her Force power to lift the mercenary off the ground. With a gesture of her hand, and with tightly clenched teeth she slammed him down into the ground hard enough to almost completely flatten him, sending his blood spraying into the air in a fine mist.

Brinvilliers whistled an impressed tune. "Not bad. I should be careful lest you do the same to me."

Louise snapped and turned her hand to him, looking to levitate him off the ground and grant his wish. But before she could lift him up high enough he shot another jet of water at her, knocking her away and then landed on his feet.

"Let me go your miserable bastard! I don't belong to ya! Louise! Louise! Get outta here! Remember what we talked about! Don't just stick around and let it come true!"

"How do you put up with his ceaseless prattle Louise?" asked Marius with an amused voice.

"He's my friend! I'm going to get him back!"

"That will be difficult to do if you're dead. I suggest you take his advice and run away now. You fought valiantly, but you've lost."

"That's not going to happen!" she spat back at him and then directed her hands to him again. "I'm going to make you beg for death!"

Brinvilliers gathered another globe of water on his wand but this time she did something he didn't, and couldn't expect. She howled with rage while lightning, such that comes from the sky, erupted from the tips of her fingers. Marius widened his eyes as he was struck, his body convolvulsing. He screamed in agony and then with all his might forced his arm out towards Louise and created a wall of water before him which stopped the electricity from passing through. He then pushed the wall of water out further and further away from himself until it was so close to Louise that the power could arc from her hands, to the water, and then back to her.

With a shrill scream of pain Louise was thrown away by the backlash of her Lightning. There she lay on the stone street. She could smell the burning of her cloths, and her flesh. But when she looked, she saw Marius was faring little better than she was. He did take a more sustained hit than she did.

Louise started pushing herself up when Guiche started to come to, he saw Brinvilliers running towards her with the sword held high. His eyes widened and he had to think fast or Louise would die in moment. He quickly reached into his bag and grabbed what he was searching for, but when he tried to get up he realized his leg was broken, there was no way he could get up and fight.

"Louise! Take this! You know what to do with it!" he yelled at the very top of his lungs before throwing the 'Wand of Andvarri' over to the pink haired girl.

Louise widened her eyes at the incoming silvery metallic object and reached out for it. With the Force she pulled it into her hands. She didn't know how, she didn't know why, but she just knew to push the button. Calista's didn't have buttons. So she was very confused by how she knew to do that. But it didn't matter now. With a loud and very sharp noise, the lightsaber ignited a bright yellow beam of energy. Louise sprang up to her feet and ran as Brinvilliers swung Derflinger down upon her.

"Holy mother of batshit! Is that Andvarii's lightsaber?!" yelled the sword with a shocked voice.

"Andvarii's?" asked Brinvilliers while his eyes drifted to his ring. "That was his weapon? I'll be taking that too then! It will go nicely with his ring here!" he proudly declared while moving in to strike at Louise.

"Derf! If you hit this thing, can you survive it?" asked Louise while ducking and back stepping away from each attack before Brinvilliers got fed up and went to his wand.

"You bet I can Louise! That bastard never had a snowball's chance in hell against Sasha and me!"

Before he could gather his water for the spell, Louise rushed at him, lightsaber held high as she brought it down over his head. The man brought Derflinger to block the yellow beam. When the two came into contact, there was nothing but a bright flash of light. Much to Louise's immense relief, Derflinger was unharmed.

Brinvilliers looked down at the sword with surprise, "Sasha? You mean the familiar of Brimir?!"

"You're damn right I do buddy! She's the one who made me! And when Louise gets me back, she's got my permission to drench me in your blood!"

"I'll do exactly that Derf!" yelled Louise as she slashed at Brinvilliers using every single lightsaber velocity she knew.

The man simply didn't have an answer for her style of swordsmanship, but instead of feeling fear, he felt pride. It was a strange feeling for him. To be proud of this girl as if she were his own child. But he supposed that in a way, she was. She was the direct result of circumstances he helped create in his life.

"What the hell are you smiling at?! Don't take me lightly!"

"Hardly Louise. Hardly. I was just remembering your mother when she was your age. You're exactly like her. If you survive all of this, I hope to see great things from you!"

"Stop talking to me like a little kid and fight me!"

The two traded blows for another moment before Brinvilliers brought out his wand and fired a powerful jet of water at Louise, knocking her away and dousing her lightsaber in water which shorted out the blade and deactivated it.

As she lay on the ground, she fully realized how unprepared she was for such a fight. Yet at the same time, she felt this immense pride in herself for putting up as much of a fight as she did.

Brinvilliers was of a similar mind, and had no reservations about giving voice to his thoughts as he walked away from her. "You fought well, Louise Valliere. Just as well as your parents, and the rest of us. You are certainly a worthy inheritor of our legacy. Carry it well. I'll be sure to tell your mother how well you fought when next I see her."

Louise pushed herself up and raised the lightsaber hilt, but when she pressed the button nothing happened. She pressed it again and again but nothing happened. Then she looked around and saw the battle moving up between here and the man she wanted to kill. Even with the Force as her weapon, she wouldn't be getting through that many soldiers unarmed.

---

Guiche slowly crawled along the bloody street towards his father, all around he could hear the sounds of people fighting, blades, clashing, people screaming in pain and agony as they lay dying in the street.

When he finally reached his father, the man turned his head and smiled up at his son. "Guiche,"

"I'm sorry father. I failed…"

"No you didn't. We haven't failed at all. As long as the battle is still raging. As long as there are people willing to fight. We haven't failed."

All the boy could do was nod while Fernand reached out and ran his hand through his son's blonde hair. "Do me a favor Guiche. Tell your mother I wish we could have agreed on how you should be raised. But you've been in both our worlds now. You can become whatever you want to become."

"I want to be your son… That's all I ever wanted!" the boy cried while putting his head down on his father's shoulder.

"You are my son Guiche. You always will be. All I ever wanted for you was to be the man that you want to be. Not who your mother wanted you to be, certainly not who I want you to be."

"I will be," he said while lifting up his head to look into his father's eyes. "I swear it,"

Fernand looked back into his son's teary eyes and smiled for him, "I'm proud of you son. Make me even prouder. Find a good wife. Have a good family. Live every day the best you can. Do what makes you happy."

Guiche nodded his head and smile back at his father. They looked into each other's eyes until he finally stopped breathing. The tears streamed down his face as he closed the man's eyes for the last time and then sobbed on his lifeless shoulder.

---

Calista, Matilda, Henrietta, Agnes, and five remaining musketeers entered the market square and joined the battle. The dawn light was already starting to brighten the sky above them.

The Echani Sith Lord savagely cut her way through every enemy she could find as she made her way to where she knew her apprentice would be. It didn't take long. She found Louise kneeling on the ground, a supporting arm around Guiche, who was hunched over his father's lifeless body, his own leg broken. There wasn't time to go to them now. Just seeing them safe was enough. She then decoupled her blades and went back to work slaughtering the enemy.

It wasn't very long after she and Matilda joined the battle that it was over. With clear orders being given by a mage with a name they could all respect, and the Queen herself, the tide of the battle turned very squarely in the favor of the royalist cause, the mercenary army was routed and forced into a full retreat.

That was when Calista approached her apprentice. After Guiche had been placed on a stretcher to be taken back to the front gate where their wounded were to be taken. She was fairly confident the boy didn't want to see her right now in his grief over the loss of his father, so she made sure to be invisible to him until he was gone.

"I'm sorry Master. We. We tried to fight him. He beat us all. The General. Guiche. And myself. He took Derflinger from me."

"I presume then, you intend to get him back?"

"Do you intend to get in my way when I do?"

Calista shook her head before smiling at her apprentice. "No. I have seen you fight in this battle. I did not think you were ready, but by surviving your battle with that man. A battle I very nearly died in myself. You have proven me wrong. You have earned your place in this fight. And your title as a Sith Apprentice."

She then reached out to the object in Louise's hand, "And it would also appear that the Force has seen fit to grant you a Lightsaber of your own."

"The Force had nothing to do with it. Guiche gave it to me. I don't know how he got it. But it's broken now. I got drenched in water by that bastard and it just stopped working."

Calista nodded her understanding, "And how did Guiche happen to come into possession of such a thing, and have it with him in the moment you needed it the most? Do not doubt in the Force Louise. It has a will of its own, and it has granted you a destiny. This is proof of it. A Lightsaber is the weapon of a Sith. It is the symbol of our status and power. By claiming one, you have taken a giant step forward on your path."

"Even a broken one?"

Calista smiled at her apprentice and then closed her eyes. She levitated the weapon above her open hand and then the weapon disassembled itself into all of its base components. With wide and fascinated eyes Louise observed what she was doing, taking a careful note of every part of the weapon.

"This is old. Very old. It predates my own by at least three centuries. But it is very well made."

"That can't be. It's over six thousand years old master. Derf said it belonged to a man named Andavrii, who was a disciple of Brimir himself. He was also the first king of Tristain."

"A weapon with quite a history. It seems Andvarii was also a Jedi. Or at least, looted it from someone who was a Jedi."

"How could you know that?"

"This yellow crystal Louise. This is a natural Adegan crystal, used by the Jedi. It is what produces the Lightsaber's blade. An Adegan crystal is imbued with the Force itself. The reason mine are red is because they were created by artificial means. The places these crystals occur are all controlled by the Jedi and Republic. So the Sith do not have access to these naturally occurring crystals. But this is all for another time. I will tell you everything there is to know about this weapon. But for now, repairing it is a very simple matter of getting the water out of it. Later we can modify it to prevent such a thing from ever happening again."

Calista closed her eyes more tightly as the Lightsaber components began to spin rapidly, drops of water splashing onto both of their faces for a moment before they were all dried. Then she reassembled the weapon, all the parts coming together into their proper places and being sealed tightly away inside the casing. Where before, the casing was tarnished and showing its age, it was now pristine, with a mirror like finish.

"It looks new?" remarked Louise while eyeing the weapon with surprise.

"Indeed. I will teach you how to maintain it as well. But for now…"

Calista pressed the activation switch, igniting the bright yellow blade and then gave the weapon a quick test by executing a basic moveset with it. She felt the hand grips and tested to make sure the weapon would hold up under combat before disengaging it and then offering it back to Louise.

When Louise reached out to take it back, she stopped and hesitated for a moment. "Am I ready to be using this Master?"

"You already used it once did you not?"

"Yes. But… That was-"

"You would not have been granted this weapon if you were not ready for it. Mind the training I gave you. It will serve you well. With this weapon, and once you reclaim Derflinger, there will be precious little with the power to oppose you. But remember to always respect that power Louise. Do not ever take it for granted."

"Yes, my Master. I'm finished with taking things for granted, and I have been since I left the academy," Louise said with the utmost deference as she claimed her Lightsaber and held it tightly in her hands.

"Good. And do try to avoid immersing it in anything liquid, even partially."

"Yes Master," answered a grinning Louise to the smiling Calista.

Above them in the sky came the roaring of Manticores, and from around them came the cheering of soldiers. Calista looked up to see Karin landing between herself and the Queen.

"Aunt Karin. How are things in the sky?"

"Well. We've defeated the Dragon Knights. What few are left have either surrendered or fled the battle. We defeated the Albionian Battleship, but its escorts started bombarding our camp outside the city. The Dignity managed to lead them away from the area after a rather grueling hour of my Knights and I fighting Dragon Knights while simultaneously protecting the camp from cannon fire. Where is General Gramont? I need to see what he needs done now."

Henrietta looked away and closed her eyes tightly.

"What happened?" asked Karin through clenched teeth.

"He was killed in battle with Brinvilliers. His son Guiche was also wounded. It was your daughter who ultimately drove him from the battlefield into whatever hole he is presently cowering in," explained Calista while walking up to her with a hand on her apprentice's shoulder.

Karin's eyes widened in fury as she turned around to see the Sith Lord and her Daughter.

"Louise! I told you to stay the hell away from here! What the hell are you thinking?!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Louise flinched and looked away from her mother, she took a very deep breath before Calista released her shoulder and crossed her and stepped away. This was Louise's battle to fight, and she had to let her fight it now.

After a long moment the pink haired girl turned her eyes back on her mother who was now standing very close to her and looking down into her eyes.

"I'm sorry mother. But I'm your daughter. You have to stop trying to protect me and accept the fact that I'm exactly like you. I'm not a powerless little failure of a mage anymore. I am a Sith Apprentice."

Karin narrowed her eyes at her daughter's defiance. "This is the life you want then?" she said with a gesture at all the dead bodies being moved off the street. "The life I gave blood, sweat, tears, and the lives of my closest friends and the love of my life to make sure you would never have to ever experience?"

"When you put it that way, I sound like an ingrate, but yes mother. It is. This is the life I want, and I am prepared to accept the consequences of my choice."

Karin's face became even more soured as she balled up her fist and struck her daughter across the face hard enough to send her to the ground. "So be it then."

"Aunt Karin! Don't do that it isn't-" Henrietta tried to protest but was pulled back by Agnes who shook her head at the young Queen.

"We'll finish this conversation later Louise," she said before turning back to Henrietta. "How many troops do we have left? My scouts tell me the enemy is gathering around the palace for their last stand. That's where we'll find Brinvilliers."

Henrietta had a disgusted look at the woman, but she took a deep breath and cleared her expression before propping up her double bladed sword and leaned on it for support. "I'm afraid I just don't know. I don't have the big picture right now. Our entire command and control chain fell apart. I had to come here and take command myself with the help of Matilda to reorganize and defeat the enemy. I think the wise move would be to get the word out to regroup here in the market square before making an attack on the palace."

Karin put a hand on her chin and huffed in annoyance, "You're right. I could see our forces were spread too thin from the air. We should regroup. But I don't like how much time that gives Marius to regroup as well. He's had all the time he's needed to prepare for this eventuality. My gut tells me to strike while the iron is hot."

Calista helped Louise up while addressing the woman's comments. "I have to agree with your gut feeling. Every moment we spend here is another moment they have to prepare a defense. Regrouping here before advancing is the safe move. The expected move. But if you consider all the tie breaker cards you have in your hand, I would advise you to double down and play your hand."

"I don't think I know what game you're referencing with your analogies. But, if I understand your meaning. You want to send out all our heavy hitters in a full frontal assault?"

"Yes."

Karin looked around at the nods of agreement from Matilda, Henrietta, Agnes, and even Louise.

"Do you all realize that you took away my command for attempting the same thing?"

"Yes. But this time, we have the deck stacked in our favor. All the plus minus cards, all the tie breaker cards-"

"I get it. I get it. We have the better fighters on the ground, and we have air superiority."

"Precisely. Perhaps when this is all over I will teach you all how to play Pazaak. You might enjoy that game."

Karin then turned to fully face Calista and started poking her in the chest. "You listen to me now you little bitch!"

"Mother!"

"Stay out of this Louise before I blacken the rest of your face to match that outfit!" she snapped and then turned back to Calista who was smirking rather smugly at the woman. "If something happens to my daughter, I swear in Brimir's name that I'll-"

"You will what? If this something unspeakable happens to her, I will be dead too, and thus I will be beyond the reach of your retribution."

"Well. I'm glad you know that. So then. I'll gather my Knights. Your Majesty. Gather what troops you can. And let's finish this!" she said before mounting her Manticore and taking flight.

"I still have a lot to prove to her…" muttered a quiet Louise.

"Remember the code Louise. Stay true to yourself, and follow the path. The rest will come on its own."

"Yes Master."

---

Outside the Royal Palace

The sky was brightening by the minute as Henrietta walked at the front of a column of a few hundred soldiers. Her bloodied weapon held upright at her side. Behind her in a straight line was Calista with her lightsaber staff clutched tightly in her left hand. Louise with her new lightsaber clutched tightly in her right. Matilda with her Adamantine Rapier resting on her shoulder. Agnes with her pistol loaded and ready to fire, and long sword drawn and resting on her shoulder as well. In the air above them, over a hundred of the remaining Manticore Knights swooping down to rain death upon their enemies with wind spells. Creating panic as the royalists marched behind their queen upon the palace.

The Queen lifted her weapon and gave it a spin in her hands before giving her order as she started running. "Charge!"

Calista and Louise ran behind her, Louise easily caught up, but Calista overtook them both and rushed headfirst into the enemy lines with her staff spinning and slicing her way through anyone who couldn't get far away from her. Weapons and limbs were severed in her wake as she passed through unopposed.

For Louise though, it was a much slower process. She made sure to stay beside Henrietta, minding her training, she swung her lightsaber with all the grace one could expect from an amateur lightsaber duelist. But nobody except Calista could fully appreciate the difference. To them, and indeed more especially to her mother in the sky, it was a graceful display of skill and agility as she spun her yellow lightsaber around herself and through her enemies, effortlessly cutting down anyone who came close to her. Though she hated the thought of Louise being there now, she couldn't deny that she was her daughter, and that she had chosen a path for herself. From her vantage, the red blades of the Familiar, and the yellow blade of her daughter, were a beautiful sight to see as they left trails of light behind them and through their victims as they moved through the lines.

Between Calista and Louise carving a path through so many enemies at a time, Henrietta doing the same but at a much slower pace, and Matilda striking with precision at officers and any other especially dangerous combatant she could find, it didn't matter how badly outnumbered they were. A few hundred to a thousand. It made no difference. They had fighters worth ten times the number of infantry supporting them down there. It wasn't long before her knights would begin to land. They dismounted and began to attack with their sword wands, spells, and familiars.

Once she was confident the battle was going their way, Karin flew her Familiar up to one of the Palace balconies and jumped off before sending Fluffy away after giving him one last kiss on the muzzle and ran her hand through his mane. "Thank you old friend. I hope we meet again after this. Here, or in the afterlife."

Louise looked up and widened her eyes at what her mother was doing. Suddenly Henrietta was at her side carving up anyone around her who tried to kill Louise while she wasn't paying attention. "Louise! Wake up! If you're going to go to her, just go already!"

"I can't just leave you here like this!"

"It's alright Louise! We got to stand together in a battle! Just like we always dreamed of as kids! But you know you have to go to your mother now!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"Just Henrietta is fine Louise. Now go!"

Louise took a deep breath and started cleaving her way through the enemy until she was close enough to the palace to jump to the second floor balcony where her mother had entered from.

It was a moment later before Calista was fighting back to back with the young Queen. "Good decision. This is their battle now!" yelled Calista in Galactic Basic over the sounds of battle raging around them.

"I know it is. They have to settle with Brinvilliers, but you and I, this is what we were born for isn't it?"

"Battle is in my blood Your Majesty. Battle is what we Echani crave as the means by which we express ourselves. I think you're the same way!"

"I'm not like that! I don't want to just kill people!"

"I did not say you did!"

"I know that Calista. He taught me about that too! We're the same but different!" she asked while impaling an enemy soldier.

"We are indeed!"

"They all think I'm an idiot!" she yelled before stepping away from Calista and spinning her blades through two men who came at her with swords, knocking their weapons away and brutally slashing through their chests.

"Why would they think that?" asked Calista while spinning her staff through a soldier who tried to impale Henrietta through the back.

"Because they think I don't know that I'm not my father's daughter! I know who and what I am. I know whose daughter I am! That's why I wanted to fight this battle so badly! My real father always told me that you can never feel more alive than you do when you're fighting for your life!"

"I understand! I already suspected as much. I will tell no one! So we are the same you and I!"

"We are exactly the same! But I'm no Sith!"

"No! But you are Thyrsian! You're lucky you don't look like them though! They can be a patriarchal society, but they can't change the fact that our maternal genes are dominant!"

"I have no idea what that even means!"

"This is hardly the time to explain it!"

"Can you think of a better time? Battle is for expression isn't it! And I have a lot to express!"

"That you do Your Majesty!"

---

Inside the Royal Palace

Louise stepped out of the room into a long hallway where she saw her mother walking away from her. With quick strides she jogged to catch up. The woman quickly turned around with her sword wand at the ready and then lowered it when she saw who was coming.

"What in the name of god is wrong with you Louise?! Was that battle outside not enough for you?!"

"He took Derflinger! I'm getting him back!"

"That's all you'll fight him for? Your stupid sword?!"

"He's my friend! He tried to use him to kill me, I have to punish him for that! And for all the friends he's hurt! Including you and yours mother! I have as much right to face him as you do!"

"Turn around and get out of here now! I don't have time for this. I won't say it again."

"It's not going to happen mother, just come to peace with it!"

"I will not come to peace with it! Fernand just died out there! I had to watch you fight in that battle just now! I had to find you in the middle of this war! I had to see you risk your life to rescue me from that prison! I had to watch Marianne die! I will not watch you get hurt or worse!"

Suddenly two men with Muskets came around the corners ahead of them and aimed their rifles. Louise's reaction stunned her mother as she was reaching out her hand towards the men and telekinetically pushed their rifles upwards as they pulled the triggers, missing them entirely and hitting the roof before reached with both hands and pulled the men towards them both. Karin didn't stop to question it, she just ran her sword through the one who landed next to her while Louise did the same with her lightsaber.

After deactivating the blade Louise crossed her arms and looked up at her mother who looked down on her with a sour expression.

"How about watching me hurt people? Because it turns out that if nothing else, I am really good at that!"

"That isn't going to impress me Louise! Is this really what you want to do with your life? Fight and kill people? Is that really all you can think to do with this power you have?!"

"I wasn't trying to impress you! I just saved your life! For the second time I might add!"

"So you have a little power granted to you and now you think you can stand up to me and measure up? Is that it?!"

"No mother. All my life, all I ever wanted to be, was you. But now. I have something else I want to be. Something that's my own. I have no idea where this path will take me, but it's mine to walk. Nobody else's! As a child, you were my hero. Now. I want to be my own hero!"

"Then why are you here?" asked Karin with narrowed eyes.

"I already told you. He took my friend, and I'm going to rescue him! He hurt my friends, so I'm going to hurt him! He tried to kill my mother, he killed my aunt and uncle! He has to pay with his own life for that!"

"You fought him already. You saw what he can do. What makes you think you can accomplish any of this?" asked Karin while folding her arms across her nearly flat chest.

"Because I am your daughter, and because I have the power to. But I can't call myself a Sith or stand as a equal next to Calista unless I defeat a stronger enemy. I'll do this, or I'll die. But I will not turn away. Not for you. Not for anyone."

Karin shook her head and sighed with exasperation as she walked away.

Louise balled her fists and clenched her teeth tightly. Having her convictions ignored like that demanded a response. But she had no idea what she could say to make her mother understand.

"Well? Are you coming or not?" she asked her daughter as she continued walking down the hall.

Louise widened her eyes for a moment but then quickly started walking to catch up. "Better not to question it…" she thought to herself.

Mother and daughter then traversed the length of the hall without further incident. That was when Louise pointed down the staircase. "He's down there."

"What makes you say that? He could just as easily be somewhere on this floor?"

"But he isn't. I can feel it. He's waiting down there."

"You can feel it? What does that mean?" she asked while following her youngest daughter down the stairs.

"Hmm. It's difficult to explain. It's like an instinct. Calista taught me to let the Force guide me by trusting my feelings. I can't explain how it works any better than that. You just have to trust me."

Karin rolled her eyes, she didn't believe a word of what she was hearing, but she was already humoring Louise by following her.

"And I can sense that you don't believe me. The Force is a very real thing. It's all around us right now."

"I don't believe in the supernatural. I've had enough conflicts with the Church to know it's all bullshit."

"That could very well be. But the Force is very real Mother. The fact that I can use it, and feel it, should be proof enough."

"Elves can cast magic without wands. But even they can't sense someone's location just like that."

"I'm still too much of a beginner myself to explain it properly. Just believe me when I say that what I do isn't magic as you know it. It's something else entirely."

"What exactly?" she asked as they descended the final flight of stairs.

"I don't know how to explain it. Ask me again sometime. By then I might even understand it myself."

"Very well then… So. Does this new sense of yours know if we're getting close?"

"I can assure you Karin. You are very close."

Louise and Karin both looked at each other with a raised eyebrow after hearing the man's voice from around the corner of the exit of the stairwell.

Louise spun her Lightsaber hilt in her hand before clasping it tightly, her thumb on the activation switch. Then she addressed her mother in a low voice. "I'll go first and distract him. Then you finish him off with whatever spell you can throw at him."

"No! I'm going to finish this, you just stay back!" she yelled while pushing her daughter aside.

When Karin emerged into the hallway she saw no sign of the man anywhere and then proceeded to stomp her foot on the ground in petulant fit of anger. "Damn it Marius! For once in your life grow a pair and fight someone like a man!"

Louise came around the corner and started running down the hall, paying no heed to her mother's display of petulance as she passed her.

"Louise! Wait!" yelled Karin before bolting after her as fast as she could run. "Damn it all! I am too old for this shit!"

Karin followed her youngest daughter into a room and then through an opening in the wall of that room which she never knew existed. It lead into a very dark space, illuminated by nothing but the yellow glow of Louise's lightsaber.

"What is this place?" asked Louise while looking around as her eyes adjusted to the darkness.

"I have no idea…" answered her mother. "A hiding place in case of attack? An escape route?"

The darkness became filled with the sound of Marius' laughter. "You honestly surprise me Karin! You shared his bed at every opportunity for all those years, and you never found out about this place? It took me little more than a day to discover every secret he left behind in these walls. About you, and about this place."

Louise looked to her left and saw a torch up against the wall, she touched the tip of her Lightsaber to it and ignited the flame. It wasn't much light, but it was enough to see where they were standing. On an elevated platform which overlooked a room full of torture devices.

"What the hell is all this?" Louise demanded.

"This is the legacy of tyrants. This was where our late king allowed the Inquisition to conduct their business. Of course, almost none of the poor souls brought into this room were actually heretics. Most were his political enemies you see."

Karin winced and looked away from the torture devices, Louise turned her head and looked up at her with concern.

"Ahh. I see you suspected it was true. Still. One can't help but wonder what actually happened to him. If you didn't know about this, did Marianne? Was that why the king met with an untimely demise? Or was it something else? Did she perhaps learn that your children were actually his? No… That can't be it. You two would have killed each other in your cell when I had you placed together."

Louise blinked and looked back and forth between her mother and her former friend below.

"Shut your mouth Marius! You don't know anything!"

"You're right. All I know is what the former staff of this palace told me when they no longer felt the need for discretion. But it really doesn't matter anymore Karin. I've already won. Word of this room was spread to the people of the city. Documents left behind by the Inquisition were copied and distributed to everyone we could pass them too. In the weeks and months ahead, word of his deeds will reach every corner of Tristain. No tyrant will ever again be able to hold power over the people! Even if you kill me now, and you'll just make a martyr of me and everyone of my brave soldiers who died to defend their rights. Henrietta will face uprising after uprising. And every time she puts one down, the people will only grow to despise her even more. News of it will spread to the whole world, and every tyrant everywhere from Romalia to Gallia will face justice at the hands of angry mobs! I only wish I could be there to see it all!"

Louise looked down at the man now that her eyes had fully adjusted to the light. "Derf! Are you alright!"

Marius looked down at the sword in his hand, and then reached into his pocket and pulled out the metallic mouthpiece from there. "It was rather quite an effort to get this off him. He just wouldn't shut up."

Louise reached out with her hand and grasped him by the neck through the Force. Her mother's' eyes widened in horror at the sight of Louise's face, particularly her eyes which turned the same sickly yellow as the white haired girl as she used her power on Marius.

"It won't be hard to shut you up though!" Louise hissed through her clenched teeth as she closed her fist tightly, crushing his neck while her mother directed her sword wand and sent out a wind blade to slice off his head.

After releasing his lifeless body from her grip, Louise reached out again and pulled Derflinger all the way to her waiting hand. After placing him back in his proper scabbard at her back she reached out and pulled the mouthpiece from Brinvilliers' dead hand and then pocketed it herself. "Don't worry Derf. I'll get you fixed up as soon as I can."

Karin reached out and put a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Those things he said…"

Louise looked up at her mother's mournful expression. "They were all lies. Right?"

Karin smiled down at her daughter, relieved to see that her eyes had gone back to normal. "For the most part. He was right that Henrietta's father wasn't the kind of ruler we all hoped he would be."

"Henrietta will be. I don't doubt it for a moment."

"Neither do I Louise. I'm only sorry that you had to get involved in all of this because of the mistakes we made," she said before pulling her daughter up against her and held her tightly. "I love you so much."

"I love you too mother."