A six-year-old Louise was wandering around the gardens of her family's estate. The young girl had escaped from the halls of the house, and had hid herself within the vegetation that was planted around it.
"Louise, where are you? Come out now!"
The purpose was clear as she heard the shout call out for her.
The youngest Valliere hugged her body, eyes looking at the ground as she could hear the sound of her mother shouting for as the footsteps of other servants marched around the area she was hiding in.
Louise looked down and sat on the grass, her small body meant that she could hide in pretty much any of the bushes without anyone noticing.
So when two maids passed by her hiding spot, neither of them noticed.
And from she could hear from them, it didn't even sound like that they cared to even look for her.
"Again we go through this every day."
"How come Lady Karin keeps scolding her?"
"Apparently she's no good with magic, lot of good being a Noble is if she can't even cast a spell."
"Oh my."
Louise hugged her body closer as she heard those words. Even the servants knew that she was hopeless with magic.
So when they left the immediate area around her, Louise went deeper.
To a place where her mother couldn't scold her because she couldn't cast a spell, where her father could look at her with disappointment, where she didn't need to be compared to her sisters.
The central lake, her 'Secret Garden' where she could just hide there and forget about the rest of the world. Flowers, bright white and delicate to the touch, bloomed everywhere. Birds would rest on the benches and bath themselves in the lake water. And most importantly, was the small boat where she could hid away.
She climbed onto the boat, and snuggled into the blanket there.
She remembered how her father would occasionally bring her and her sisters around the lake on the same boat. Even if there wasn't anything interesting, it just felt nice being outside with her family as they circled the beautiful body of water.
Now she only really came here to hide away from her failures. If she failed to cast a spell, and she managed to leave before she was scolded she hide away here and waited until her mother calmed down.
Sometimes it would work, other times it didn't.
So Louise Valliere, the youngest of three sisters, sat in the boat as it floated around in the middle of the lake as she tried to hold back her emotions.
It didn't take long for another person to show up however, but instead of the furious look of her mother, or the tired exasperation of her father. Instead it was a young man who wore a dark purple cloak and a large brim hat that hid his features.
"Viscount!" Louise couldn't help but call out in surprise, somehow recognising the figure before her despite the lack of features.
This was the man who she was engaged to, something that her father had done when she couldn't show any aptitude in her magic.
He approached the boat and stood beside it, he raised a hand pushed the brim of his hat higher revealing a teen with white hair and a pleasant smile.
"Are you okay Louise?" He asked, concern present in her voice.
The young girl couldn't help but blush and look away, embarrassed.
"Have you been crying?" He asked once more.
Her small hands moved to her cheek and wiped away what tears that had managed to spill and answered "No," she turned her head to look at him with a pout "It's just the mist here."
The young man laughed, and somehow it warmed her heart. When his laughter died down he extended a hand towards her "Come Louise, your father has invited me today for a banquet and I wish for you to join me."
That was right, the man before her had been invited to these banquets, to draw her closer towards him so that she may be more willing to accept her betrothal.
She hesitated, afraid that her mother would still be angry.
She saw the young man's smile drop "Do you dislike me Louise?"
Her eyes widened, and quickly she shook her head "Not at all Viscount," she denied. She paused and sighed "I am just… unsure."
"Then take my hand," he told her "And don't be afraid."
She looked up at the hand, and took it. Gently he pulled her out from the boat and back onto dry land.
The young man smiled once more "Well Louise, shall we head back inside?"
She looked at her family's house, and despite the dread in her heart she nodded. She walked with the young man, and despite the hammering of her heart she couldn't help but feel relaxed.
After all, it was a beautiful day. The sky was a bright blue, the few clouds that floated by were pure white, and the sun-
Huh.
Louise looked up and just noticed that the sun was missing.
Her thoughts were cut off when the bushes along the path to the house rustled.
She took a step back, and the Viscount was ready to protect her.
The vegetation shook, and then.
"Bug!"
Her Familiar stepped through the bushes. The Void Vessel looking around at the foreign area for a moment, before it turned towards her, no doubt hearing her excited gasp.
Louise stepped past the Viscount, a smile on her face. She threw her hands around her Familiar's 'neck' and drew it into a hug. She held it close "It's so good to see you here." She murmured.
The Void Vessel didn't move for a moment, before it raised its hands to return her hug.
"Louise, who is this?" The Viscount asked her in surprise.
She pulled away from her hug and turned to the young man "This is my Familiar!" She said excitedly "Its name it Bug." She then turned her head towards it and gestured towards the young man "Bug, this is the Viscount, he's my fiancé."
Her Familiar looked at the man for a moment, before it simply tilted its head down to look at the ground.
She pouted, but paid it no further mind. When she turned to the Viscount however, she was surprised to see that the young man had a perplexed look on his face.
"Familiar?" He said in confusion, he turned to her "When did you summon a Familiar Louise?"
She furrowed her eyebrows "At my second year at the Academy of course," She answer, like it was the most obvious thing in the world "When and where else would I have summoned one?"
But that only made the man look more perplexed "Second year, you haven't even gone to the Academy Louise!"
"Of course I have!" She stomped her foot "I mean I turn sixteen this year…"
She trailed off as she looked at the sixteen-year-old face of the man that was supposed to be ten years her senior. She then looked at her own hands, her own small six-year-old hands.
She looked up "I'm dreaming," and blinked.
When her eyes opened, the young man had vanished as did any other sound that had been present around her.
Louise looked at herself once more, she was back in her sixteen-year-old body.
She then turned her head and to her surprise Bug was still at her side. The Familiar had lifted its head, and was staring at the empty space where the younger figure of her fiancé had once been.
It then turned towards her, tilted its head back and stared into her eyes.
Louise smiled, she reached down and gave it a little pat on the head "Bug, when I said you're supposed to stay close to me. I don't mean follow me in my dreams," She said with a slight giggle. She then reached down and poked it in its stomach "But I don't mind, just don't break anything while you're here."
UNDERSTOOD
She frowned a bit "Even in my dream you can't speak normally can you?"
NO
She sighed but with a smile "That's fine I guess." She walked along the path, now with Bug at her side. Neither of them spoke to each other, as they simply enjoyed the beautiful, and oddly sunless, day in her dream.
She looked down at the Void Vessel at her side "You know Bug?" She called to it.
It turned its head to look at her.
"When school lets out, I'm going to bring you here." She said, more to herself really. She turned, smiling as she saw the flowers along the path "I feel like my sister would l-"
Her foot brushed against one of the flowers along the path.
[Scene]
Louise's eyes opened, causing the mage to wake up with a sudden jolt. She blinked once or twice, and slowly sat up.
She was in her room at Tristain Academy again. She looked out the window, and saw that she was awake early since the sun was just beginning to rise.
She stared out the window for a while, before she recalled what had happened in her dream. She turned to the side of her bed.
A pair of Void Vessel lying on top of a small simple bed met her gaze. It wasn't anything special, a small wooden frame, a mattress, and a blanket in case they ever got cold.
Bug was on its side, while Sib seemed to be lying on its back. After a moment, Bug's body shifted and it rose up from its side lying position.
It looked around the room, and then met her eyes.
It tilted its head.
[Scene]
"Verdante…" Guiche said in a worried tone as he watched the tired figure of his Familiar.
The mole let out a small sound, as if to only acknowledge his presence, before they slumped down on the ground. It rested the top half of its body on the grass and stared forward.
The blonde mage reached out and slowly stroked their scales, his lips pulled in a line as he gently watched their eyes close and fall into a slumber.
"Oh Guiche," A voice called out from behind him, followed by two pairs of footsteps "Is something wrong with your Familiar?"
Guiche turned and saw both Louise Valliere and his girlfriend Montmorency walking towards him. The latter had her own Familiar resting on her shoulder, while the former had both of hers following behind her.
"I don't know to be honest," Guiche let out a sigh as he turned back to the mole. their breathing slowed as it completely fell asleep "Verdante just doesn't seem to be in the best of conditions lately. They seem to always be tired all of the time, and would sometimes just wake up in the middle of the night for no reason.
"Did you try asking Professor Colbert?" Montmorency asked as she knelt beside him, though she had admitted to him that she didn't particularly like his Familiar's form she was still worried about them none the less "Maybe he knows something about Familiars being sick."
"I tried, but no luck." Guiche shook his head. "Professor Colbert just seems to be busy recently, and it's hard to get his attention."
While they were talking, one of Louise's Familiar had broken away from its Master and approached Verdante.
"Sib," he heard Louise call out to the one with four horns "Where are you going?"
The Water Spirit approached the sleeping, looking at it for a couple of seconds. Then it raised its small hand, and whacked it over the head.
The sound, a surprisingly loud 'SMACK', made all three of the mages pause and gape in surprise.
The mole however let out a cry of pain and immediately it was woken up. The Mole's eyes snapped opened.
Guiche wondered if it was just the sun or his own eyes, but for a moment he could've sworn that the usual brown eyes of his Familiar turned a sickly orange.
It bared it claws and let out a growl that he had never heard it made before in the days it had acted as his Familiar.
The Water Spirit that had hit it drew the Soul Wand on its back, and away from it Guiche noticed how Louise's other Familiar had lengthened its arm.
Then just as things were about to start, Verdante seemed to twitch violently before it went still for a moment. The mole then looked up, and immediately recoiled at the sight of the four horned creature standing in front of it.
"Verdante!" Guiche called out for it as it quickly tunnelled underground. The blonde reached for the hole and screamed into it "VERDANTE COME BACK!"
"SIB, WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!" Louise shouted to the one that had the audacity to strike his adorable Familiar. She reached forward and practically yanked it by its cloak, and quickly she grabbed its skull and made it bow "You apologize to Guiche, right here right now!"
The blonde pulled away from the hole and whirled towards the Familiar, fuming. "Louise, how could you allow your Familiar to do such a thing?!" He demanded.
"I'm very sorry," The mage apologised. She turned to the four horned creature that she made bow and hissed at it "What do you have to say for yourself?"
It lifted its head, completely pushing against the force of the larger Noble, and turned to her silently. It reached its hand and grabbed her by the wrist.
Louise's face scrunched up "What do you mean it was a prime chance and you had to take it?" Her frown deepened as she leaned into it "You can't just attack other Familiars because they're asleep Sib." Until finally she bared her teeth "Because just attacking someone who hasn't attacked you is wrong, now apologise!"
Guiche looked at Montmorency, the Water Mage had her arms crossed and an eyebrow raised. Guiche turned back to Louise and saw that she had picked up the four horned Familiar and was holding it towards him.
"Nod twice if you're sorry Sib," Louise said.
The Water Spirit looked him dead in the eye with its eye sockets, and then nodded twice.
"Nod twice if you promise not to do it anymore."
The Familiar didn't nod this time, turning its head to look over its shoulder.
"Sib…" Louise almost growled.
The Familiar turned back towards him and gave two nods.
"Good." Louise nodded and placed it down. "I'm really sorry about this Guiche," she said after set it down. The Familiar almost immediately walked away from its Master and peered into the hole that Verdante had dug into.
The other one was also there, peering inside the hole almost looking like they'd jumped.
Guiche looked at the two for a moment longer, before he let out a scoff and turned to Louise "You are lucky that your Familiar did not permenantly harm Verdante, Louise." He nodded "I shall accept your apologies as well as your Familiar's."
The Valliere let out a sigh of relief.
"Louise."
Both of their heads turned to Montmorency, her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed.
Montmorency turned to him, a serious look on his girlfriend's face "Guiche, I need to talk to Louise for a moment." Her serious look dropped slightly "I'll see you in class alright?"
Taken aback, Guiche could only nod "If you wish, Montmorency dear."
"Thanks," the blonde smiled, before turning to Louise her back facing him.
Guiche could only watch with an awkward feeling as he backed away "I'll see you in class then." He called out to them, before leaving.
The last thing that he saw was the two Familiars dropping a pebble into the hole, and then shaking their heads afterward.
[Scene]
Marion hummed a tune as she walked around the city, a skip in her step as she looked around the stalls.
It had been a while since the maid had taken a vacation at Marteau's advice. And while she was initially against it, mostly because she didn't really deem it necessary to leave the academy, she was convinced rather easily.
It also helped that the Headmaster was actually very accepting of her taking a break just after the whole incident with the thief, he even said that he expected some to take some time away after such an event. It seemed that Nobles weren't completely stuck up jerks after all.
So the maid managed to get at least one week worth of vacation, and to her surprise it had completely worked.
Her sleep schedule had returned back to normal completely. No more waking up in the middle of the night, no more feeling groggy, no more dreams that just try to blind her awake. It felt nice being able to walk around with feeling like she'd passed out.
Maybe she should take more vacation days?
The maid looked around, seeing the many things that the hawkers were selling. She saw one with fruits, some selling trinkets. For a moment she paused at one stall selling some more decorative Lumafly Lanterns, not like the simply ones that had been installed back at the Academy.
The merchant wore a figure concealing cloak, and the only thing she could see were the occasional glimpses of its fingers that peeked through.
She considered buying one, if only for the novelty of her personal lantern. But she walked away when she saw one customer buy a lantern with enough Ecus to last her a month.
Marion then merely continued with her day, enjoying the bright sunny da-
"Oof!"
Marion snapped out of her thoughts as she bumped into someone in front of her. A reprimand was quick to reach her lips, but they died before they could escape it when she saw the billowing purple cloak and the fencing sword at his hip.
Her reprimand turned into an apology as the man turned around, the maid bowing as she did. "F-Forgive me, my Lord." Great even on her days off she had to start kissing up to these jerks "I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."
"No need to worry," a rather smooth voice replied.
Marion lifted her head to see a man with long grey hair, a beard of similar color, and a wide brimmed hat that hid his eyes. He tilted his hat upwards, revealing a pair of grey eyes.
Despite herself, Marion couldn't help but stare at the rather fetching figure. She then shook her head and took a couple steps back "Thank you my Lord," she bowed again "I promise look where I am heading afterwards."
The man let out a small laugh, and then turned away.
She followed him with her eyes, as if waiting for him to suddenly to turn around a strike. But instead he simply took a turn, and left without another word.
Marion's heart slowed down and the maid let out a sigh of relief.