Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I own nothing of touhou and familiar of zero, all character belongs to their respected creator.

Louise POV

"So you two were the only ones who stayed, can I hear your reasons?" Marisa asked, after Kirche and the others decided they don't want to join, Marisa told them the safe way out of the forest and they quickly left. Only Siesta and Louise remained in Marisa's house.

"I may not be able to learn magic but I would wish to be helpful to our group in some way and I decided that staying with Miss Marisa is the best way to do it." Siesta answered.

"What about you?" Marisa asked Louise.

"I don't know there is just something inside me telling me to stay; it's strange that I actually want to listen to this feeling, maybe I should have just gone with the others…" Louise muttered, she began to doubt why she did actually followed the feeling now that everyone left, uncertainty still lied within her heart.

"That's a valid reason."

"Huh…"

"I said following your own feeling is a good decision; sometimes instincts make better decisions than logic, so listen to it, it might even save your life one day." Marisa told Louise, the thought of listening to instinct sounds kind of stupid but Louise isn't going to anger the magician by saying it.

"So since the two of you stayed to be my apprentice, I guess I can start by teaching you guys the basics right now." Marisa said to them, Louise was surprised the others just left a moment ago and she is going to start teaching right now?

"Miss Marisa, I'm just a commoner so I can't use magic and isn't this a bit sudden?" Siesta asked.

"Nope, I got other things to do later so I should do the lesson now. Also, I don't know what they taught you at your home world, but I would recommend forget about all those things they taught you. Everyone can use magic; it just depends on how much talent you have for it." Marisa said.

Everyone can use magic! But that's crazy! Louise thought, "That's not possible! Only mages should be able to use magic!" Louise said. The first thing Marisa taught contradicted everything she has learned. Siesta on the other hand was so shocked that she was speechless.

"Remember, abandon your common sense and what you learned before, but I guess I should ask you guys this first. How much do you know about magic?" Marisa asked her.

"There is the five elements, fire, water, wind, earth, void and first born magic. A mage who could use 1 element is a dot mage, 2 is a line mage, 3 is a triangle mage and four is a square mage" Louise answered, while Siesta remained in silence. Marisa listened to Louise in silence and proceeds to ask the next question.

"And what is magic?" Marisa asked an even simpler question.

"Magic is just magic isn't it? It's cast by a mage's willpower using their wand." Louise said, magic is just the power that they had. Louise couldn't understand what Marisa means, magic is just magic, and why would you need to explain what it is.

"Incorrect, I guess I should start teaching you guys from the beginning. " Marisa said to them, "Since you two volunteered to be my apprentice then listen closely this is your first lesson!" She then sat down at the table and told Louise and Siesta to sit down as well. Louise looked at Siesta and took a seat listened closely, it was true since she choose this path she should give it all of her attention.

"Magic is the name given to construct of magical energy, it is one of the basic energies in the world though not the most basic. Everything in this world has magical energy within it and mages use this energy to create constructs, which are what spells are, to create the desired effect. You mentioned earlier that in your world that they taught you magic have elements but it is actually false. People who use magic might have a certain affinity toward a certain type of spells, but the energy itself has no element or any affinity. Since using magic only requires one to learn how to manipulate this energy, it is possible for anyone to learn it." Marisa explained. Louise and Siesta listened closely, but questions also surfaced within Louise's heart.

"Why do you tell us to forget about our old magic? Isn't it the same?" Louise asked.

"Because your old magic is too shallow and have many misconceptions. First of all a magic user shouldn't need a focus to help them cast magic, items may be used to make casting easier but shouldn't be necessary. Second of all there is a lot more than five elements in magic, there are many types of spells in magic." Marisa said and then holds out her hand, then a ball of soft light were created in her hand which quickly turned much brighter and released a lot of heat. Louise quickly turned away her eyes to not be blinded by the light.

"I usually use light and heat magic myself but there are other types such as elemental, necromancer, transformation, enhancement, conceptual and many more; Magic has a wide range that is only limited by the talent and imagination of the person using it." Louise and Siesta was in awe they never know that there were that many kinds of magic.

"So what kind will you be teaching us?" Siesta asked, Louise was also curious it will be a great thing to be able to cast things other than explosions.

"You will need to find your own path of magic, since everyone is different, but I will teach you the basics." Marisa said, and then she suddenly seemed to remember something, "I also need to find a place for you guys to stay at."

"Can't we just stay at the village?" Louise asked, it puzzled her why they couldn't. The village has much more comfort and Marisa's house isn't very big.

"It would be easier for you two to learn magic if you stay here, the forest have a much higher concentration of magical energy; it would be easier to gain a feeling for it. So come with me, we need to find a room somewhere for you two." Louise and Siesta followed Marisa's lead. They prayed in their heart that they would at least have room to stretch out their body as they slept.

Henrietta POV

Henrietta looked at the night sky from the balcony of the castle. Too many things had happened recently for her to go to sleep peacefully, the kidnapping of Tristain academy, the disappearance of Lagdorian Lake, and finally the rebellion at Albion. All of these troubled her, but she didn't know what she should do. They memory of that strange blonde hair girl resurfaced in her mind, if only she could have find the girl and ask what she knows, then perhaps she would know what to do. Henrietta worried about the people she knew, her friend Louise, her lover Prince Wales and everyone else who were affected by these events.

"Hah…"

"Why are you sighing? You haven't reached the age where one would start regretting their decisions in life."

Henrietta instantly turned her head towards the source of the voice; it was the blonde haired girl that showed up before. She was sitting on top of the roof, looking at Henrietta with an expression of amusement.

"You-"

"Before you attempt to call people, I should tell you that it wouldn't do you any good. I'm just here tonight to look for you so I wouldn't let anyone else interfere with this conversation." Otohime said and hopped down onto the balcony.

"Why do you want to speak to me?" Henrietta said while preparing to run, she isn't sure whether the girl would attempt to harm her but she should be prepared in the case she does.

"Lots of things happened recently didn't it, I watched as the events unfold and I can see in your eyes that you have a sense of helplessness."

"So what if I do!" Henrietta said aggressively, the events had started ever since this girl showed up and had put a lot of stress on her. So there is no need to be polite with her.

"No need to be so aggressive, I'm not the cause of your problems, I'm merely an observer. But I could offer you a way to solve your problems." Otohime said in a seductive tone, these words caused Henrietta to put on her guard but also pulled in her attention.

"Why should I trust you?"

"You don't have to, but I can offer you power, power greater than what have imagined, power that could allow you to chase down the truth and do what you wish. Doesn't that sound great?" Otohime said, but Henrietta was not amused. Her words were like those of the devils, only a fool would make a deal with such a being, Henrietta may not know what sort of being this girl is but she wouldn't walk away from the rightful path.

"Sorry, but I have no need for your de-"

"Is that really what you think?" Before Henrietta could leave Otohime suddenly grabbed hold of her head and forced Henrietta to look straight in to her eyes. Henrietta felt as if those eyes are staring straight into her souls, it was an uncomfortable feeling but Otohime was not releasing her.

"What do you mean?"

"I know about your lover, Prince Wales, right now his country is in the middle of civil war. If there isn't any help he would definitely die. Could you just watch him get killed?"

"I will send people to get him-"

"Who will you send? Wardes or other people? How foolish, you don't know even know that Wardes work for the Reconquista do you? "

"What!" Henrietta was surprised, Wardes works for the Reconquista? No wait, that's not possible. Even if it is true there is no way this girl would know about it. "That's a lie!"

"Whether you believe it is your own decision, but you know deep in your heart that Wales wouldn't leave his country right? You know that he would fight to the end even if it is his death right? Can you really swear that deep down you don't have the tiniest wish that you could save him and be with him?"

"If it is his wish I can accept-" But before Henrietta could finish her words she Otohime spoke again.

"Do not lie to me Henrietta de Tristain! I can see that hidden dark desire within your heart. You cannot let go can you? This fact brings you pain doesn't it? You wish to obtain happiness with him don't you?" These words were poison to Henrietta's heart but also sweeter than honey. No matter how much she refused to accept it, part of her mind were listening to every word that Otohime was speaking and was accepting it. She feels as if she was being over written, thoughts that she never thought of before began to pop into her mind one after another. None of her secrets was safe from those eyes.

"I…"

"Now tell me Henrietta de Tristain, not as a princess, not as a noble, but as a human, what is it you desire? Tell me your true self." Otohime let go of Henrietta and walked a few steps back and asked her.

"I…want…to save…Wales." Henrietta looked down at the ground and said in a low voice.

"What's that? I can't hear you."

"I want to save Wales! Of course I want to save him! We even promised to one day bring our relationship to light, how can I remain calm when he walks to his death! But I can't do anything! I can't leave this country nor do I have the power to stop the Reconquista, Wales would never abandon his country he is that sort of man!" Henrietta let loose her all the feelings she had bottled up and yelled, these were her true feelings, and this was the deepest desire within Henrietta's heart. She couldn't lie to herself, if it means saving Wales she would probably do anything even if she has to sacrifice her place as a princess. These were not noble thoughts and certainly wasn't how a royal should have acted, if any nobles heard these they would probably have an expression of disgust and disappointment. But Otohime smiled, it seemed like the smile of an angle of death to Henrietta, beautiful but cruel.

"Then I would give you power, it is your decision to use it or not. Now follow your desire Henrietta de Tristain, do what you wish, abandon the shackles that bound you and find your true self!" After leaving an object in front of Henrietta, Otohime vanished once again. Silence returned to the balcony as if all that happened before was merely a dream, only the object left remained a remainder that it was reality.

"…"Henrietta stared at the object left behind in silence and for a long time she remained still, there were no need for further words or reasoning.

The second day the princess of Tristain went missing.

Author's note:

We return to Halkeginia's side once again. Not a lot to discuss about other to ask my reviewers about their thoughts on this chapter, might consider skipping over Louise's training since I don't know if I can make a good training arc. Might try to make the next one longer, next chapter Henrietta's journey and Yumemi's plan, stay tuned.